No god but God

The Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam

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  • 5.0 (2 ratings) ·
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Last edited by ImportBot
July 29, 2014 | History

No god but God

The Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam

  • 5.0 (2 ratings) ·
  • 42 Want to read
  • 2 Currently reading
  • 3 Have read

Though it is the fastest growing religion in the world, Islam remains shrouded by ignorance and fear. What is the essence of this ancient faith? Is it a religion of peace or war? How does Allah differ from the God of Jews and Christians? Can an Islamic state be founded on democratic values such as pluralism and human rights? A writer and scholar of comparative religions, Reza Aslan has earned international acclaim for the passion and clarity he has brought to these questions. In No god but God, challenging the "clash of civilizations" mentality that has distorted our view of Islam, Aslan explains this critical faith in all its complexity, beauty, and compassion.Contrary to popular perception in the West, Islam is a religion firmly rooted in the prophetic traditions of the Jewish and Christian scriptures. Aslan begins with a vivid account of the social and religious milieu in which the Prophet Muhammad lilved. The revelations that Muhammad received in Mecca and Medina, which were recorded in the Quran, became the foundation for a radically more egalitarian community, the likes of which had never been seen before.Soon after his death, the Prophet's successors set about the overwhelming task of defining and interpreting Muhammad's message for future generations. Their efforts led to the development of a comprehensive code of conduct that was expected to regulate every aspect of the believer's life. But this attempt only widened the chasm between orthodox Islam and its two major sects, Shiism and Sufism, both of which Aslan discusses in rich detail.Finally, No god but God examines how, in the shadow of European colonialism, Muslims developed conflicting strategies to reconcile traditional Islamic values with the social and political realities of the modern world. With the emergence of the Islamic state in the twentieth century, this contest over the future of Islam has become a passionate, sometimes violent battle between those who seek to enforce a rigid and archaic legal code and those who struggle to harmonize the teachings of the Prophet with contemporary ideals of democracy and human rights. According to Reza Aslan, we are now living in the era of "the Islamic Reformation." No god but God is a persuasive and elegantly written account of the roots of this reformation and the future of Islamic faith.From the Hardcover edition.

Publish Date
Publisher
Random House
Language
English
Pages
336

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Previews available in: English

Edition Availability
Cover of: No god but God
No god but God: The Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam
January 10, 2006, Random House Trade Paperbacks
Paperback in English
Cover of: No God But God
No God But God
April 28, 2005, William Heinemann
Cover of: No god but God
No god but God: the origins, evolution, and future of Islam
2005, Random House
in English
Cover of: No god but God
No god but God: the origins, evolution, and future of Islam
2005, Random House
in English
Cover of: No god but God
No god but God
2005, Random House Publishing Group
Electronic resource in English
Cover of: No god but God
No god but God: The Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam
March 15, 2005, Random House
Hardcover in English

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Book Details


First Sentence

"IN THE ARID, desolate basin of Mecca, surrounded on all sides by the bare mountains of the Arabian desert, stands a small, nondescript sanctuary that the ancient Arabs refer to as the Ka'ba: the Cube."

The Physical Object

Format
Hardcover
Number of pages
336
Dimensions
9.4 x 6.5 x 1.2 inches
Weight
1.4 pounds

ID Numbers

Open Library
OL8363704M
Internet Archive
nogodbutgodorigi00asla_786
ISBN 10
1400062136
ISBN 13
9781400062133
Library Thing
6599859
Goodreads
832080

Source records

Internet Archive item record

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History

Download catalog record: RDF / JSON / OPDS | Wikipedia citation
July 29, 2014 Edited by ImportBot import new book
April 6, 2014 Edited by ImportBot Added IA ID.
August 10, 2010 Edited by IdentifierBot added LibraryThing ID
April 24, 2010 Edited by Open Library Bot Fixed duplicate goodreads IDs.
April 29, 2008 Created by an anonymous user Imported from amazon.com record