Astin's review
No god but God: The Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam
by Reza Aslan
Astin's review
No god but God: The Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam by Reza Aslan
Astin's review
Reza Aslan is so so so smart...and he is able to depart from acadamia to make a very readable historical view of Islam. I was able to read this cover-to-cover, and stay attentive the entire way. Reza does a fabulous job of re-telling the history of Islam, incorporating the work of modern feminist and non-traditional historical accounts. The result is a view of Islam that is informative about the foundation of any faith: the dominant world-view wins. Or...the perspective of those in power wins. Sometimes important details are lost to history. The result of Reza's work is a view of Islam that is not only palatable, but not too different from my experience of Christianity. Both faiths have some amazing and terrible histories. Their fundamental teachings are often identical. I gained an appreciation for an oft misunderstood faith, and ultimately learned quite a bit about my own faith.
