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Library | Item Barcode | Call Number | Material Type | Item Category 1 | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Searching... | 30000010061229 | BP173.7 A96 2003 | Open Access Book | Book | Searching... |
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Summary
Summary
This balanced and sensitive study draws on a wide range of original sources to provide a scholarly yet highly readable account of the period, exploring the delicate interplay between religion and politics and the roots of the conflict that led to the Crisis of Succession and Sunni/Shii schism.
Reviews 1
Choice Review
Ayoub (Temple Univ.), whose background is in comparative religion, analyzes the relationship between religion and politics during the turbulent period of the first four caliphs of Islam. He aims to provide a balanced analysis of the crisis of succession beginning with the death of the Prophet Muhammad while avoiding sectarian Sunni and Shi'i perspectives as well as Western-oriented views that downplay the role of religion in the formative period of Islam. Ayoub succeeds in his goal, thanks in part to his mastery of the primary sources that exist for the period. He prefaces many of the discussions of these historical sources with background information about the author, his sectarian affiliation, and his possible motives for writing the account. Indeed, the appendix of primary sources translated into English makes the book very useful to non-Arabic speakers, who will also appreciate Ayoub's clear writing style. Readers, however, will question the usefulness of leaving out of the discourse such classic works as Hugh Kennedy's The Prophet and the Age of the Caliphates (1986, 2nd ed., 2003), which could yield some useful comparisons. ^BSumming Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty. I. A. O'Connor Indiana University South Bend
