Scan barcode
davidfosco's review against another edition
informative
reflective
medium-paced
3.5
'The Crisis of Islam' does an excellent job of reviewing the history; however, the author takes to the sideline in the novel always being careful not to be too critical of either the West or Islam.
inquiry_from_an_anti_library's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
informative
reflective
tense
medium-paced
3.0
Is This An Overview?
Islam has a diverse community, formed by diverse views. There are those who seek peace and friendly relations with others, but there are also those who seek to justify conflict. This book is focused on explaining why there are those who want conflict, on the justifications. The Islamic community had been a leading civilization in military power, commerce, and science. But since at least the 17th century, Islamic communities have been falling behind. Without an effective resolution to the gap. There are those who place the fault on Western imperialism. Some sources of material support came from foreign sponsors who also provided a philosophy to express anti-Western sentiments. Although foreign influence did not cause the sentiments, many Islamic states were receptive to the sentiments.
Those who seek conflict, need an enemy to retain power. Even creating conflict to prevent cooperation and diplomatic relations. In Muslim states, there is no separation of government and religion. Islam has a devote population with high participation, and deference to the community that is no longer found in the West. Giving people an identity, and obtaining loyalty. There are those who seek a pure and authentic Islam. A piousness that restricts behavior, with those who commit inappropriate behavior seen as legitimate targets of conflict.
Caveats?
As this book focuses on understanding those seeking conflict, there is not much on those seeking cooperation. There is a lot of Islamic history, with this book covering relatively few events that focus on explaining the claims.
shesagift's review against another edition
3.0
Overall, I really appreciated Lewis' argument. A lot of what he had to say is totally in line with things I've learned over the years and opinions I've formed. However, this gets 3 stars rather than 4 because I think this book could have used some footnotes. The notes are pretty sparse in the back, and I could have used some brief information on some of the conflicts he refers to. I knew what most of the conflicts were, having studied Middle Eastern history in the past, but some of the references I wasn't sure about (and had a hard time looking up because not all events were accompanied by dates). Given that they are key in the points he makes about the roots of anti-American sentiment, a brief history would have been something good to have on the bottom of the page. Overall though, this was an excellent overview of a period of complex history. A basic knowledge of Islam and general M.E. history is sort of a pre-requisite for this book, but if you have this background knowledge, you'll get a lot out of it.
maria_pulver's review against another edition
4.0
The book does not require any previous study of Islam and the style is accessible to any reader.
Its ability to convey the difference in perception of the modernity by Muslim and non-Muslim societies, the ability to explain the depth of the religion-based differences of such perception is probably the most significant virtue of this book.
Lewis is reasonably neutral in his narrative and provides internal logic and historical background that explains fundamentalist Islam. He also provides some valid reasons why Islamic fundamentalists manipulate and distort the scripture.
Unfortunately, written in 2003 it does not account for recent changes, but it does confront Bin Laden's attacks on Western morals.
Its ability to convey the difference in perception of the modernity by Muslim and non-Muslim societies, the ability to explain the depth of the religion-based differences of such perception is probably the most significant virtue of this book.
Lewis is reasonably neutral in his narrative and provides internal logic and historical background that explains fundamentalist Islam. He also provides some valid reasons why Islamic fundamentalists manipulate and distort the scripture.
Unfortunately, written in 2003 it does not account for recent changes, but it does confront Bin Laden's attacks on Western morals.
sgtbigg's review
3.0
Good historical overall, however having been published in 2003, it's a little dated on the more recent stuff.
More...