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Islam
Book

Islam

A Guide for Jews and Christians

F.E. Peters
Princeton UP, 2003

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Editorial Rating

8

Qualities

  • Background
  • Eloquent

Recommendation

F. E. Peters should be respected as a writer and thinker willing to journey across perilous ground. He has spent most of his life and career writing and teaching about the three great Middle Eastern religions: Islam, Judaism and Christianity. Trying to be objective about three religions that often have been locked in mortal rivalry is hardly a safe route to the destination of political correctness. Perhaps the most valuable thing about Peters’ book is that it is essentially non-polemical: it does not appear to reflect any particular religious point of view. Certainly, it is very well researched. Peters sheds a wealth of light on conflicts that are central to the events unfolding on the world stage, although he focuses more on historical development than on contemporary issues. While the degree to which objective analysis can accurately or successfully explain the conflicting passions of contrasting religious faiths remains questionable, Peters deserves credit for this impressive achievement. In part due to the critical nature of the issues that he addresses, getAbstract.com gives his work a high recommendation.

Take-Aways

  • To understand Islam, you must understand the Quran. "Islam" means submission - submission to monotheism, and to Muhammad as its spokesman.
  • The Quran is said to be a collection of revelations given to the prophet Muhammad.
  • Allah was well known to Arabs before the time of Muhammad. The chief god of pre-Islamic Arabs, who worshipped many gods, went by the name of Allah.

About the Author

F.E. Peters is the former chair of the Middle Eastern Studies and Religion departments of New York University, where he now serves as Professor of Middle Eastern Studies and Religion. His previous books include The Children of Abraham: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

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