An important work for those seeking to understand—and defend—Islam.
Can a book that is “above time and beyond history” be the subject of a biography? Certain folk of a militant bent may say no, but Lawrence (Islamic Studies/Duke Univ.) bravely offers a sympathetic, even ecumenical, portrait of Islam’s foundational text.
According to Lawrence, the Qur’an, whose name means “recitation,” “sounds better spoken than read silently” and is “an oral book that is also a scripture,” a call to prayer that is the essence of prayer itself. The text—which Muslims believe the archangel Gabriel recited to the prophet Muhammad in the Arabian desert 14 centuries ago—declares itself to be the voice of the true religion (“The true religion with God is Islam”). It also declares, Lawrence holds, that peace (salam) is Islam’s overarching priority, which renders problematic the interpretation of jihad as holy war waged literally against nonbelievers. Lawrence ventures that militant Muslims are a small but vocal minority whose emphasis on confrontation obscures the faith. He goes on to examine the life of the merchant Muhammad, whose first preaching of Islam earned him the wrath of his neighbors in Mecca and prompted his flight to Medina, from which the new religion spread. He offers character sketches of early interpreters of the Qur’an such as Tabari, an immensely learned man who “would still have been one of the most important Muslim scholars of all time” had he confined himself to it instead of writing 30 books on all manner of subjects; and he gently twits Western misappropriations of the Sufi tradition (“Deepak Chopra, Demi Moore and even Madonna have claimed to connect with the Whirling Dervish”). Most usefully—and courageously—he upholds the Muslim tradition against another misappropriation, that of fundamentalist militants such as Osama bin Laden who take the Qur’an to be not a set of moral directives but a mandate for terror.
An important work for those seeking to understand—and defend—Islam.Pub Date: Feb. 10, 2007
ISBN: 0-87113-951-0
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Atlantic Monthly
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2006
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.
A compendium of charts, time lines, lists and illustrations to accompany study of the Bible.
This visually appealing resource provides a wide array of illustrative and textually concise references, beginning with three sets of charts covering the Bible as a whole, the Old Testament and the New Testament. These charts cover such topics as biblical weights and measures, feasts and holidays and the 12 disciples. Most of the charts use a variety of illustrative techniques to convey lessons and provide visual interest. A worthwhile example is “How We Got the Bible,” which provides a time line of translation history, comparisons of canons among faiths and portraits of important figures in biblical translation, such as Jerome and John Wycliffe. The book then presents a section of maps, followed by diagrams to conceptualize such structures as Noah’s Ark and Solomon’s Temple. Finally, a section on Christianity, cults and other religions describes key aspects of history and doctrine for certain Christian sects and other faith traditions. Overall, the authors take a traditionalist, conservative approach. For instance, they list Moses as the author of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) without making mention of claims to the contrary. When comparing various Christian sects and world religions, the emphasis is on doctrine and orthodox theology. Some chapters, however, may not completely align with the needs of Catholic and Orthodox churches. But the authors’ leanings are muted enough and do not detract from the work’s usefulness. As a resource, it’s well organized, inviting and visually stimulating. Even the most seasoned reader will learn something while browsing.
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005
ISBN: 978-1-5963-6022-8
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
This a book of earlier, philosophical essays concerned with the essential "absurdity" of life and the concept that- to overcome the strong tendency to suicide in every thoughtful man-one must accept life on its own terms with its values of revolt, liberty and passion. A dreary thesis- derived from and distorting the beliefs of the founders of existentialism, Jaspers, Heldegger and Kierkegaard, etc., the point of view seems peculiarly outmoded. It is based on the experience of war and the resistance, liberally laced with Andre Gide's excessive intellectualism. The younger existentialists such as Sartre and Camus, with their gift for the terse novel or intense drama, seem to have omitted from their philosophy all the deep religiosity which permeates the work of the great existentialist thinkers. This contributes to a basic lack of vitality in themselves, in these essays, and ten years after the war Camus seems unaware that the life force has healed old wounds... Largely for avant garde aesthetes and his special coterie.
Pub Date: Sept. 26, 1955
ISBN: 0679733736
Page Count: 228
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Sept. 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1955
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