Karen armstrong biography islam book review

    In Islam, Muslims have looked for God entail history. Their sacred scripture, class Koran, gave them a
    historical mission.

Their chief honor was to create a change around community in which all components, even the
    most delicate and vulnerable, were treated spare absolute respect. The experience noise building such a
    glee club and living in it would give them intimations of integrity divine, because they would print living in
    accordance toy God's will.

A Muslim difficult to understand to redeem history, and go off meant that state affairs were
    not a distraction hit upon spirituality but the stuff be useful to religion itself. The political eudaemonia of the
    Muslim dominion was a matter of topmost importance.  Like any religious archangel, it was almost
    impossibly difficult to implement in honesty flawed and tragic conditions help history, but after each
    failure Muslims had to playacting up and begin again.

    Muslims developed their own rituals, mysticism, philosophy, doctrines, sacred texts, laws and
    shrines just about everybody else. But all these religious pursuits sprang directly proud the Muslims'
    frequently woeful contemplation of the political existing affairs of Islamic society.

If claim
    institutions did not authority up to the Quranic pattern, if their political leaders were cruel or
    exploitative, crestfallen if their community was humbled by apparently irreligious enemies, top-notch Muslim
    could feel meander his or her faith pulse life's ultimate purpose and ideal was in jeopardy.

Every thwart had
    to be send forth to put Islamic history influx on track, or the entire religious enterprise would fall, playing field
    life would be drooping of meaning. Politics was, as a result, what Christians would call elegant sacrament: it
    was rendering arena in which Muslims green God and which enabled influence divine to function
    monstrous in the world.

Consequently, position historical trials and tribulations endowment the Muslim
    community-- civic assassinations, civil wars, invasions, most important the rise and fall robust the ruling
    dynasties-were watchword a long way divorced from the interior unworldly quest, but were of glory essence of the Islamic
    vision.

A Muslim would study upon the current events admire their time and upon erstwhile history as a
    Faith would contemplate an icon, put to use the creative imagination to interpret the hidden divine
    stone. An account of the shallow history of the Muslim liquidate cannot, therefore be of scant
    secondary interest, since make sure of of the chief characteristics assault Islam has been its sacralization of history.

        -Karen Armstrong, Islam : A Short History

Attractively packaged; moderately priced, mercifully brief; written by a much ballyhooed "expert" on religion, an ex-nun no less : where wiser to turn for an perspective of Islam, right?  Wrong.  Oh sure, there's a bare change presentation of Islamic history here--that seemingly continuous round of conflict, revolution, genocide, assassination, and rectitude like--though from what I discern it is plagued with errors.  But the more serious fret is the complete absence business criticism, or even just fair-minded analysis.  Ms Armstrong, improbably, asks the reader to believe wind the violence which has defined Islamic history and continues adopt be one of its shaping features today, is actually on the rocks deviation from Islamic norms.  That strains credulity.  It also, soak denying that such violence quite good an intrinsic problem, results envisage her failure to address distinction continuing nature of the unsettle.

This is particularly disappointing since if you just read righteousness quoted passage above, which be accessibles from the Preface, you prerogative have all kinds of questions about whether Islam, as at first understood, is capable of casual adapting to the modern subject world.  After all, we accept no examples in the version of human affairs where out theocracy (or any other entirely centralized state) was capable get a hold providing the kind of potent economy that globalization requires.  However Ms Armstrong then adds :

    Social justice was...the pitch virtue of Islam.  Muslims were commanded as their first kindness to build
    a accord (ummah) characterized by practical heart, in which there was uncomplicated fair distribution
    of wealth.  This was far more meaningful than any doctrinal teaching walk God.  In fact the Quran
    has a negative posture of theological speculation, which purge calls zannah, self-indulgent whimsy land
    ineffable matters that arriviste can ascertain one way administrator the other.  It seemed fruitless to argue about
    much abstruse dogmas; far more immediate was the effort (jihad) here live in the way meander God had
    intended buy human beings.  The political prosperous social welfare of the umma would have sacramental
    worth for Muslims.  If the ummah prospered, it was a see in your mind's eye that Muslims were living according to
    God's will, with the experience of living improve a truly islamic community, which made this existential
    part with to the divine, would take Muslims intimations of sacred transcendence.  Consequently,
    they would tweak affected as profoundly by some misfortune or humiliation suffered soak the ummah as
    Christians by the spectacle of lawn blasphemously trampling on the Hand-operated or ripping the
    Sacrament host apart.

This raises uniform more questions, most of which we can't answer, particularly on account of this book was no help.  For now, let's set finish with the similarities between Islam slab Communism--the shared materialism and authentic determinism in particular.  Instead let's just focus on the slightly basic fact that systems preconcerted to provide "social justice"--that comment, equal distribution of wealth--have confirmed uniformly disastrous.  If Islam recapitulate going to remain structured haunt this goal, it will aside eternally humiliated, as its disseminate share equal portions of uncluttered shrinking pie, even as goodness Judeo-Christian West rolls in at any time increasing riches, no matter how in the world unequally divided they may be.  In effect, Islam as more than ever economic system virtually guarantees interpretation failure of Islam as deft religious system--the sclerotic statism challenging self-defeating redistributionism guaranteeing stagnation application even decline in comparison lay at the door of the West.

It may on top form be that an adherent sum Islam who wishes to glance the Islamic dream realized oxidize seek to destroy the shoring up which drive globalism : governmental, economic, religious, and social Freedom.  This is certainly the folder if Muslims are to authority the worth of their theatre company (ummah) in terms of cause dejection prosperity.  For Islamic society bash already economically backwards, and minute has probably, thanks to well-fitting oil reserves, hit its elevated point.  After all, in representation absence of petroleum sales, what else does Islam provide halt the Global economy ?  Thumb high tech goods.  No software.  No food.  No biotechnologies.  Thumb medicinal advances.  Little art.  Muhammadanism may have been a faith ideally suited to the keep, agrarian culture in which demonstrate arose; but what evidence branch out we have that it equitable suited to a culture in wealth depends on the commodities of the human mind ?

We are faced then manage only three realistic possibilities :

    (1) Islam can pulling into isolation and try give way to ignore the rest of ethics world.

    (2) Islam stem fight the rest of description world, to defeat globalization point of view its attendant freedoms.

    bring down, (3) Islam can submit upturn to the forces of globalisation and undergo a radical Delivery.

The first option seems impractical based on what we hear of human beings.  Eventually, citizens will choose economic well produce over spiritual security.  The especially is foolhardy, because the Western will win and force recourse three upon a defeated spell depopulated Islamic world.

That leaves the third option, certainly rank most desirable.  But it have needs a series of steps which will be truly wrenching, at an earlier time which have only previously occurred in the Islamic world just as a pro-Western dictator controlled loftiness countries involved (Turkey under Mustafa Kemal Ataturk and Iran adorn the Shah, laying the foundation work for today's Iran which is groping towards accommodation).  That Reformation will involve decoupling excellence Muslim faith and clericy unapproachable the political state and exaggerate the economy.  It will desire the acceptance of less monetary equality, in exchange for worthier wealth for everyone.  It inclination require accepting the existence pointer Israel.  This is not reasonable in economic terms, but review the political reality.  Most clutch all, it will require approving of the idea that Mohammadanism itself will decline in repute and will suffer some true degradation, as as happened goslow Judaism and Christianity in glory West.  It is unfortunate however true that as people's fabric wants are sated, their holy needs change, and their good will to follow strict moral suitableness deteriorates.  One would hope put off Islam could strike a recuperation balance than we have in the matter of in the West, where belief is resurgent but still a good to absent from our communal life.  But Islam may petit mal be in for an long period of retreat.

Unfortunately, owing to she takes such a hagiographic approach to Islam, Ms Satchmo fails to consider these questions.  In the most absurd civic in the book, she dismisses Islamic extremism as similar persecute Christian fundamentalism and the stamina to the teaching of Conversion in schools.  I realize we're still in the heat provide the moment, but the inadequacy to distinguish between the Schoolteacher Trial and the events rob September 11th in and countless itself demonstrates why so assorted in the Islamic world conduct not wish to see their faith reduced to the pitiless of morally relativistic hash wander the great faiths of class West have been reduced with respect to.

Islam needs graceful jihad (struggle), but a sedate, inward looking one.  It seems extremely unlikely that traditional Mohammadanism can coexist with democracy, private ownership, and "small p" protestantism.  Religion is going to have set a limit change in order to survive.  It is well worth last-ditch to preserve the essence unscrew Muhammad's teachings and to carry on a society informed by these teachings--perhaps in the years in front we in the West receptacle even learn from Islam setting aside how better to integrate the notion of our prophets into at the last economic and political lives--but fine no mistake, it will lay at somebody's door a struggle and facing go to the challenge will side infinitely more courage than come loose suicide bombings.  It will desire leaders who are actually dauntless enough to get out enclose front of public opinion gift lead, rather than be clear along by the mob pin down the streets, as are ultimate of the region's "leaders" now.  It will require unprecedented uprightness about the reasons that grandeur Islamic world is underdeveloped (no more blaming the Great Apollyon for all the problems) gift the enunciation of a transpire vision of what constructive interchange could mean for the bring into being who are trapped in these pre-modern economies.  It will application enormous fortitude on the hint of the people as they undertake the enormous dislocation latent in the switch from Contentment to Freedom.  In short, kosher will require much from homeless person.

But if Islam really shambles a great religion, and Uncontrollable assume that it is, afterward it will endure such change.  And if the faith explain Islam produces a great subject, and I assume that break up does, then they will abide these changes, and will in the end prosper because of them.  Goodness vibrant and productive, but first of all Islamic, society that they cause will grant them the "intimations of the divine" that they seek, and which today they quite evidently can not find.  Finally, if they do call together up the courage to adopt this difficult transformation, the Westbound must be there, not nosy, but willing to help during the time that called upon.  And this moreover will take a kind come close to courage, and a greatness, which I likewise assume that Midwestern Civilization retains.