Islam For Dummies

Islam for Dummies gives a wonderful broad strokes view of Islam with interesting details of history that lead up to Islam as it is today. It also shows where the religion has been perverted from it's original meaning, particularly in politics and the roles of women. It also explains medical ethics of the Muslim people, which was a wonderful bonus that I wasn't expecting. The book not only gives you an understanding of the religion and its customs, law and tradition, but also sexual, social and economic ethics,the differences between Sufis and Shi'ites, and Islam in America. Along that vein, it also describes common complaints of Muslim people against the Western world, the concerns of American Muslims, and the concerns of Americans (usually People of the Book such as Christians and Jews) *about* Muslims. Better still, the book lists Muslim contrubutions to the world that I had no idea about, noteworthy Muslims of both past and present, and countries with large Islamic presence. A wonderful book for both beginners *and* those who have read the Qur'an, which doesn't always translate well into English (like many languages)and, where that occurs - well, you don't scribble notes in the Bible, do you? So very few copies of the Qu'ran come with proper annotations for non-Muslim people, and I suggest you read this beforehand. It explained a lot of things that confused me when I read the Holy Book first, and I suggest re-reading after.

Updated this particular book

Most Christians choose not to understand another faith, just secretly or sometimes publicly condemn it as the wrong one.Too bad there aren't more who choose to want to understand. The Quran honors Jesus Christ as another valued Messenger of God, like Mohammed is to the Islamic faith. If only the Christians didn't wish to argue Jesus Christ was a God as well, perhaps we could all get along that much better. There is far more in common between the faithful and peaceful Muslim and Christians than to the radicals in either group.

A good introduction to the World of Islam, with succinct definitions and explanations of a variety of concepts. If you're absolutely new to Islam as a religion and want to know more about the faith, this is the book for you.

This book explains everything about Islam and is very informative for new Muslims. I tried reading the Quran and it was very difficult so I purchased this book and I’m learning a lot more.

I would have given this book 5 stars based on content, but I have to take off a star due to the absolutely horrible editing. The publisher should be ashamed - typos EVERYWHERE ('Google' is mispelled 'Goggle' multiple times), even a couple of garbled/transposed sentences (a section comparing and constrasting Sunnis, Shias, and Sufis is just incomprehensible due to transpositions).But putting that aside, the author is extremely knowledgable and very fair, and not without a dry sense of humor (check out the section on the possibility of women's sexual pleasure in paradise). He's also a Christian. Personally, I think it's a good idea for these sorts of books to be written by those outside the faith; a believer can never be fully objective, by definition.

General Islamic introductory information is informative and useful. A primary reason I chose to purchase this book was that I was looking for current, up-to-date information. However, while reading, I became highly disappointed when I realized that the latest statistical information cited covered the period only up to about the year 2002 (approximately 17 years prior to the indicated publication date). That shortcoming indicated to me that the cited publication date was extremely misleading. This volume, rather than being a complete update, was in reality little more than a minimally updated reissue of an earlier edition.

This is a very intersting and thought provoking book about Islam. It is written in language that is easy to follow for someone who is not familiar with the Religion that seems to be very much misunderstood because of Media and local explanations.The layout of the book makes it easy to follow. The authors are respected academics.I recommend this book to anyone who wants to understand the religion as well as to those who may be traveling in the Islamic Countries of the world.

Reading about Islam is essential for anyone because it removes so much ignorance. Islam is a wonderful religion and I am so impressed by it. If I wasn’t Christian I would be a Muslim. The salat (five times daily prayer) and Hajj (pilgrimage) sound really wonderful. You learn everything you need to know in this fascinating book, from the history of Islam to Islamic beliefs, rituals, daily practices and ceremonies etc. I highly recommend this book!

An excellent and very full introduction to the subject. Gaining a greater understanding of Islam is something we all might do. This book is an excellent place to start. It is written in easy to read sections each clearly laid out and set under bite sized headings. Very good value.

Very helpful as an excellent introduction to Islam.

Lovely layout and easy to read

I bought this book as part of a reading list for my studies.It is excellent