Islam Without Illusions: Its Past, Its Present, and Its Challenge for the Future (Contemporary Issues in the Middle East) - Hardcover

Hotaling, Ed

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0815607660 ISBN 13: 9780815607663

Publisher: Syracuse University Press, 2003

Synopsis

Unmasking the tie between Islam and modern terrorism, Ed Hotaling explores the radical challenge posed by terrorists to the religion they claim to follow and their threat to the world at large.

Hotaling describes how Muhammad created the first Islamic state. He was an innovative general and diplomat who respected women's rights. Hotaling draws the stunning conclusion that if the Prophet were alive today, he would be an American. Hotaling explains, "Just as he did in the heat of persecution, embattled leadership and war, he would have stood up today for his principles, debated and negotiated with his rivals, tolerated their ideas until he could win them over . . . and fought in the open."

Here is the amazing story of how Muhammad's followers conquered half the world, exceeded early Christian Europe in the arts, sciences, and government and won the bloody battles of the Crusades. Hotaling traces the path of Islam to modern times and the spread of Islamic Revivalism spurred by the Iranian Revolution. He reveals its connection to the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. With compelling precision, he uncovers alternatives to an impending cataclysmic clash of civilizations.

About this title

From Publishers Weekly

Hotaling, author and former Middle East bureau chief for CBS News, offers a fine book that lives up to its title: it covers a variety of topics, focusing on Islamic history and politics, in an honest and fair fashion. The book is admirably succinct, addressing core beliefs of Islam, the prophecy and life of Muhammad (probably the strongest portion of the book), Muhammad's wives and daughter Fatima, jihad, and more in fewer than 200 pages, drawing on credible sources and exemplifying a skilled understanding of Islam and Muslims. His juxtaposition of the widely accepted Yusuf Ali translation of the Qur'an with the more political and extremist Saudi Arabian translation is rarely done, and shows how interpretation diverges greatly in the Islamic world. Anecdotes from his days as a correspondent and bureau chief are enjoyable. He even compares President Nixon's directing Air Force One to avoid flying over the then-enemy airspace of Israel with Muhammad's miraculous night journey from Mecca to Jerusalem. Hotaling concludes with a chapter that addresses several common "illusions" Americans have about Islam. The book does lack a strong guiding theme, as some sections seem to serve no purpose, and Hotaling's discussion of jihad is weak. These shortcomings, however, can easily be overlooked. Hotaling's bold observations-for example, giving reasons why Muhammad would want to be an American if he were alive today-will engage the reader.

From Booklist

Few books acknowledge the complexity of the contemporary Islamic world. Hotaling, who has spent decades covering the Islamic world as a journalist, manages to avoid academic infighting in this balanced introduction to the diverse responses to Muhammad's seventh-century revelations. Examining such controversial subjects as Islam's history of evangelism, jihad, and Islam's relations with Christianity and Judaism, Hotaling mixes history with glimpses into how contemporary Muslims have interpreted their scripture and history. This is best illustrated by his compelling analysis of two English translations of the Qur'an, a moderate version by the Washington Islamic Center and a more radical, Wahhabite translation by the Saudi government. The differences in translation expose the deep rift in contemporary Qur'anic interpretations among Muslims. Although it isn't quite a comprehensive introduction to Islam as a civilization and religion, Hotaling's balanced, unusually approachable examination of Islamic faith and history examines many questions that matter most to lay readers in America. John Green
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About this edition

• Publisher: Syracuse University Press
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0815607660
• ISBN 13: 9780815607663
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 218