I got Huston Smith's "Islam" for a church study group. The book had been recommended by one of the study group pariticpants and by a professor acquaintance who uses Smith's book in a survey of world religions. Both gave it very good reviews. And so do I. The Introduction is especially key to understanding why all who are unfamiliar with Islam--or those who know only what they've gleaned from the media since 9/11 should learn about it. Smith's Prologue explains why Islam is so important an element of the Judeo-Christian traditions in the West. Smith uses cogent citations from a variety of sources to underscore his commentary and understanding of Islam. The subtitle, "A concise Introduction" is to be taken seriously; every word in this book counts. A beauty of this book is that Smith presents a faith that we in the West consider exotic and foreign, yet is born of Abraham as are Judaism and Christianity. Something I learned that made this short book so useful for me is that he explains clearly why the Koran is so often misunderstood and why translations seem to be a clutter of chopped up sentences that seem not to hold together. It almost makes one want to learn Arabic so as to fully appreciate Islam as a faith and way of life. No, no, I have no intention of converting, but Smith's book has helped me understand my own Christian faith far more clearly.

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