Reza Aslan presents an honest and refreshing perspective on the religion, history and changing face of Islam. His work is scholarly, very accessible, and his examination of history and current events is unique. His description of the current conflict amongst Muslims and the West as an Islamic reformation will ruffle feathers, but his thesis is very convincing, thought-provoking and backed up by many facts on the ground.

There are a some points I would take issue with such as his usage of the terms modernist and traditionalist, but over all, this is a very thoughtful and insightful study and analysis. It is very interesting reading. I highly recommend it!

Michelle R. Kimball
Santa Barbara, California

Someone called this a "loving history" of Islam and I couldn't agree more. Aslan may have an axe to grind, but I didn't notice it. I really appreciated his straight forward explanation of the history and evolution (interesting to look at religions as evolving) of Islam. I highly recommend this book to those of you that want to improve your understanding without being jerked around.

Great writing style, unpretentious and clear. Well documented. This one doesn't go back to the bookstore as a used book, it stays in my reference stacks.