Rachel Reviews: The History of Islam from the Beginning to the Present by Christoff Namel
A basic overview of Islam which professes to educate comprehensively but this reader felt it skimmed rather than engaged with the subject
It is difficult for me to write a review of this book based purely on its content; not because it's reprehensible or confronting or difficult to understand but because I didn't feel like there was a lot of it, which is a strange thing to say about a 50,000 word book.
When I read the introduction, I was looking forward to an engaging and passionate discussion of Islam and the claim by the author that "This undertaking required engaging with a vast body of primary and secondary sources, grappling with diverse interpretations, and navigating the delicate balance between academic rigor and accessible prose" made me believe that this would be a stimulating and enlightening read, littered with references and with a detailed bibliography at the end.
I was anticipating an insight into a religion which I know little about from someone who has researched it and strived to "present the material in a manner that is both engaging for a general readership and intellectually stimulating for academic audiences."
This was not the case.
The book is about Islam and for someone who didn't even know that it was an international religion, then this would be a great starting point. Namel starts before Islam existed in the Arab world and talks of tribes and polytheistic beliefs and it all sounds great. However, there's not a great deal of detail here.
In fact, continuing on, I just found this to be more a presenting of a tableau of things of which Islam consists that must be mentioned by an author if a book about the subject is to be written - Mecca, Medina, Sunni, Shia...
However, I am pleased to report that it does become more detailed in certain chapters and that on the plus side, it is fluid to read, using intelligent vocabulary and seemingly formal prose. On the down side, it is very repetitive in places and failed to engage this reader continuously, there only being patches of text where I felt interested and that I was learning something of value but these were rare.
I stand by what I said previously: if you have no idea what Islam is, then this is good place to start and would add that, with some judicious editing, this could be a far better book; but if you're looking for an intellectual read that will stretch you and stimulate, then avoid.
Rachel Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
This review was first published on Reedsy Discovery where I was privileged to read it as an ARC:
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Comments (6)
Hey Rachel. It sounds like the book really didn’t live up to its promise. And two stars from you? Hmm - definitely think I’ll give it a miss.
I don't know much about Islam either but I'll pass as I'm not into non fiction. Loved your review!
Excellent review - well written, honest, and fair.
Good, honest review, Rachel. I've read a couple of other books on Islam and would follow your advice to avoid this one.
It’s a pity the book did not deliver on its promise, Rachel! Thanks for the warning!
Sad to hear they didnt do better. I learned a lot about the good points of islam from a college roommate and think theres more to learn about it than dates and city names etc. yet ive tried to figure out a half dozen times about the differences between sunni and shia and am still lost.