ISLAM

Wide-ranging, compact history of Islam.

Tolan hopes to provide a balanced and useful story of Islamic faith and culture, as seen through the lens of a non-Muslim, academic historian. Overall, his work can be useful and worthwhile, though it can also border on tedious. Tolan has crafted a relatively short book in which he aims to fit a cumbersome subject—the history of a major world religion and cultural presence across 15 centuries and most of the world. As a reference work for students and academics, it is highly useful; for the lay reader looking for a broader understanding of Islam, it may prove dense. Tolan records a history replete with power struggles, violence, conquest, and dynastic leadership, punctuated with examples of science, philosophy, culture, and tolerance. After recounting the life of Muhammad and the development of the Quran, the author delves into the power struggles and political dynasties that followed. From the Umayyad caliphate to the Fatimid caliphate, from the influence and legacy of Saladin to the lengthy history of the Ottoman Empire, under Suleiman the Magnificent and others, Tolan packs his pages with facts about centuries of Muslim power struggles. The Crusades, expansion of Islam into Spain and into Central Asia, and Islamic interactions with other religions and cultures are also important topics. One fascinating chapter devoted to Ibn Battuta’s wide-ranging travels in the 14th century provides great insight into the cultures across the Muslim world of that time. Finally, Tolan delves into Islam in more modern eras, bringing the reader up to the present day. “Today’s struggle between rival factions of Islam has been playing out for centuries,” he explains, and indeed, in preceding pages the reader sees ample evidence of the truth in this statement.

Well researched and objective, if somewhat uninviting.