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Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam
Random House
March 2005
336 pages
ISBN: 1400062136
Hardcover
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Non-Fiction
Though it is the fastest growing religion in the world,
Islam remains shrouded by ignorance and fear. What is the
essence of this ancient faith? Is it a religion of peace or
war? How does Allah differ from the God of Jews and
Christians? Can an Islamic state be founded on democratic
values such as pluralism and human rights? A writer and
scholar of comparative religions, Reza Aslan has earned
international acclaim for the passion and clarity he has
brought to these questions. In No god but God, challenging
the “clash of civilizations” mentality that has distorted
our view of Islam, Aslan explains this critical faith in
all its complexity, beauty, and compassion. Contrary to popular perception in the West, Islam is a
religion firmly rooted in the prophetic traditions of the
Jewish and Christian scriptures. Aslan begins with a vivid
account of the social and religious milieu in which the
Prophet Muhammad lilved. The revelations that Muhammad
received in Mecca and Medina, which were recorded in the
Quran, became the foundation for a radically more
egalitarian community, the likes of which had never been
seen before. Soon after his death, the Prophet’s successors set about
the overwhelming task of defining and interpreting
Muhammad’s message for future generations. Their efforts
led to the development of a comprehensive code of conduct
that was expected to regulate every aspect of the
believer’s life. But this attempt only widened the chasm
between orthodox Islam and its two major sects, Shiism and
Sufism, both of which Aslan discusses in rich detail. Finally, No god but God examines how, in the shadow of
European colonialism, Muslims developed conflicting
strategies to reconcile traditional Islamic values with the
social and political realities of the modern world. With
the emergence of the Islamic state in the twentieth
century, this contest over the future of Islam has become a
passionate, sometimes violent battle between those who seek
to enforce a rigid and archaic legal code and those who
struggle to harmonize the teachings of the Prophet with
contemporary ideals of democracy and human rights.
According to Reza Aslan, we are now living in the era
of “the Islamic Reformation.” No god but God is a
persuasive and elegantly written account of the roots of
this reformation and the future of Islamic faith.
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