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Islam
Islam: A Short History | Karen Armstrong
4 posts | 9 read | 7 to read
No religion in the modern world is as feared and misunderstood as Islam. It haunts the popular Western imagination as an extreme faith that promotes authoritarian government, female oppression, civil war, and terrorism. Karen Armstrong's short history offers a vital corrective to this narrow view. The distillation of years of thinking and writing about Islam, it demonstrates that the world's fastest-growing faith is a much richer and more complex phenomenon than its modern fundamentalist strain might suggest.Islam: A Short History begins with the flight of Muhammad and his family from Medina in the seventh century and the subsequent founding of the first mosques. It recounts the origins of the split between Shii and Sunni Muslims, and the emergence of Sufi mysticism; the spread of Islam throughout North Africa, the Levant, and Asia; the shattering effect on the Muslim world of the Crusades; the flowering of imperial Islam in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries into the world's greatest and most sophisticated power; and the origins and impact of revolutionary Islam. It concludes with an assessment of Islam today and its challenges.With this brilliant book, Karen Armstrong issues a forceful challenge to those who hold the view that the West and Islam are civilizations set on a collision course. It is also a model of authority, elegance, and economy.From the Hardcover edition.
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BestDogDad
Islam: A Short History | Karen Armstrong
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The book does a great job outlining how Islam changed from Muhammed's original vison to the modern day, and interestingly points out how world events around the Middle East such as the Mongols in the 13th century and the Crusades in the 11th century shaped the religion and its followers.

I think it‘s a good idea to read up on something you don't understand. I learned more about Islam in these 191 pages than I had in my prior 55 years.

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BestDogDad
Islam: A Short History | Karen Armstrong
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I‘ve highlighted the heck out of sections of this book. I‘m ignorant of religions outside of Christianity and am no longer religious but have learned much and am now less ignorant.

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Vexingcircumstance
Islam: A Short History | Karen Armstrong
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Aimeesue ❤️Karen Armstrong❤️ 6y
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Megara
Islam: A Short History | Karen Armstrong
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Pickpick

A super quick read about a huge topic.

Edit: Just like everything I've seen by Karen Armstrong.