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: