Islam Paperback – Illustrated, November 1, 1994

I had to read this because it was assigned for my Islam class this fall. I can understand why. It is a perfect example of how not to do religious studies. Al Faruqi, late professor of Islamic Studies at Temple University, purports to write a description of Islam from the Muslim point of view. But he mixes his own Wahhabi point of view with descriptions of "what Islam is really like," such as when he slams the Sufis for basically ruining Islamic civilization. I also had a hard time telling if the book was supposed to be a scholarly description or an advertisement for Islam. All too often he sings the praises of Islam and doesn't touch on any of its history of violence, empire, and sexism. I just can't recommend this as a decent scholarly source.

Got this book for a class I was taking on Islam. I believe that it is a very good representation of the fundamental teachings of Islam. It is thorough, but not overly wordy. A concise reference.My only issue is that the author was one of the greatest proponents of Wahhabi Islam in the West, and was known for being extremely radical. It would have been interesting to know exactly who the author was before reading him.