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No God but God

the Origins and Evolution of Islam
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Aug 18, 2013feishu95014 rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
Finished the 140 pages over the weekend -- short but engrossing. The book covers the rise of the Prophet and his several following leaders. The book described him to be more of a social revolutionary than a religious fanatics. He preached against the established social injustice and had to flee Mecca for his life. He then built a Utopia based on his teaching with the backing of local Jewish and Arabic tribes. Eventually his teachings (care for the under-privileged, all men are equal (!), women should be allowed to inherit (!!) and more...) attracted enough followings and he won back Mecca without bloodshed. What did he do when he went back to Mecca? He shattered ALL idols (No Gods but God) but the images of Jesus and Mary. This is following the same vein that Christianity and Islam are from the same Faith (or something like that, I am no scholar). The book also tries to dispel some common (at least seems to me) perceptions people have about Islam -- for example, is Islam a "religion of sword", meaning all Kafirs should be killed? No, Quran stated "let you believe in your god and me mine". The book has a dedicated chapter talking about the status of women in the Islam faith. The author argued that the teachings in Quran do not demean women and that man and woman are created equal. This idea was in front of the western thinking and practice by about 1000 years. However, after the death of the Prophet, the interpretation of his teaching fell mostly to the people that wanted the status quo back (i.e. men OWN women and others). Read the book and gain a new perspective about Islam.