Great World Religions: Islam (2003)
Great World Religions: Islam (2003) Teaching Company professor John Esposito, author of over 25 books on aspects of Islam, provides a marvelous Baedeker to Islam past and present. His coverage and commentary of early Islam is concise and excellent. His historical assessment of the contemporary (from the 18th century onward) resurgence of Islam is exceptional. With 1.2 billion Moslems and, perhaps, the fastest growing major religion, Islam should be understood and appreciated by any thinking American. Professor Esposito provides, for the non-specialist, a concise explanation of: Islamic factions (the five largest Islamic populations are in non-Arab countries); Islamic reformist movements that are moderate and much needed; why reformists are not necessarily fanatics; and the dangers of Western misunderstanding of legitimate Islamic aspirations. Also available on CD, my students find the course guidebook extremely helpful. For a different perspective on religious fundamentalism, see Karen Armstrong’s The Battle for God: a History of Fundamentalism (2001). For an understanding of why the Arab world’s social, economic, and political development over the past two generations is only slightly better than Africa’s, see the U. N.’s 2002, 2003, and 2004 Arab Human Development Report
