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Islam: What Non-Muslims Should Know
Kaltner presents Islam as first and foremost a religion of orthopraxis, a set of prescribed practices - the five pillars of Islam. Showing the deep humanism of Islam and its most cherished commitments, Kaltner presents Islam through assertions that counter frequent misconceptions of the faith.
80 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published March 1, 2003
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
September 26, 2017
For the layman, quite ideal as far as even-handed introductions to this often misunderstood/stereotyped religion go. For those well-versed, this might very well be overly simplistic, and not in-depth enough. Seeing as I consider myself to be somewhere on the middle of the spectrum, at times this was supremely enlightening, at others -unavoidably, of course - the information being given was already known by me.
Some things of interest:
1) One of Islam's main pillars is that it - and this is where it differs from the other great monotheistic religions - very much is a religion of orthopraxy (i.e. faith must be outwardly shown, just believing isn't enough, which of course explains why Westerners are uneasy with it, because for believers it HAS to be visible to others that you are indeed a believer).
2) Muslims consider many of the figures in the Torah and the Biblical scriptures to be early, if imperfect, bringers of the word of God and as such are commanded by their sacred texts to respect and not do harm to the followers of these religions. Of course, various historical conflicts/grievances have posed obstacles to this call for peace between the three faiths. Polytheism is very much frowned upon to put it lightly, of course.
3) As a whole (Shi'i Iran is the sole exception), Islam does not have a clear clerical hierarchy ( such as the Catholic Church) or official organisation to speak of, as the only authority is Allah himself, whose will was expressed through his prophet, Mohammed. Not all Imams have had solid theological schooling (it is not a requirement), and act rather independently from other Imams. This makes it mighty hard for the Islamic world to give any unified statement on whatever topic, such as a condemnation of certain dramatic events (i.e. terrorist/radical acts) in which the part played by Islam is discussed. Naturally, at first this might make it seem as if all one billion Muslims uniformly support such acts, which of course is plainly absurd. It is often forgotten that Muslims themselves are more often than not victims themselves of those same radicals, since their belief isn't "pure" enough in the eyes of the perpetrators.
With this and Islam and the Future of Tolerance: A Dialogue under my belt, I guess all that remains for me to do now is to delve into the primary sources myself: the Qur'an and the Hadith.
Only then would I find it appropriate to call myself more than adequately informed on the subject and be able to hold my own in the quagmire of heated debates surrounding it.
Some things of interest:
1) One of Islam's main pillars is that it - and this is where it differs from the other great monotheistic religions - very much is a religion of orthopraxy (i.e. faith must be outwardly shown, just believing isn't enough, which of course explains why Westerners are uneasy with it, because for believers it HAS to be visible to others that you are indeed a believer).
2) Muslims consider many of the figures in the Torah and the Biblical scriptures to be early, if imperfect, bringers of the word of God and as such are commanded by their sacred texts to respect and not do harm to the followers of these religions. Of course, various historical conflicts/grievances have posed obstacles to this call for peace between the three faiths. Polytheism is very much frowned upon to put it lightly, of course.
3) As a whole (Shi'i Iran is the sole exception), Islam does not have a clear clerical hierarchy ( such as the Catholic Church) or official organisation to speak of, as the only authority is Allah himself, whose will was expressed through his prophet, Mohammed. Not all Imams have had solid theological schooling (it is not a requirement), and act rather independently from other Imams. This makes it mighty hard for the Islamic world to give any unified statement on whatever topic, such as a condemnation of certain dramatic events (i.e. terrorist/radical acts) in which the part played by Islam is discussed. Naturally, at first this might make it seem as if all one billion Muslims uniformly support such acts, which of course is plainly absurd. It is often forgotten that Muslims themselves are more often than not victims themselves of those same radicals, since their belief isn't "pure" enough in the eyes of the perpetrators.
With this and Islam and the Future of Tolerance: A Dialogue under my belt, I guess all that remains for me to do now is to delve into the primary sources myself: the Qur'an and the Hadith.
Only then would I find it appropriate to call myself more than adequately informed on the subject and be able to hold my own in the quagmire of heated debates surrounding it.
Read
August 8, 2022A really accessible text covering lots of Arabic and Islamic terms, as well as Islamic concepts and history. I am really intrigued by the push-and-pull of conservative and progressive theology in the last century or so within Islam, particularly with the "fall" of colonialism, the rise of globalization, and "human rights" legislation that looms around places of revolution, so I hope to read more about some of these thinkers. Good primer for a newbie (like me) with good questions for discussion at the end of each chapter.
May 8, 2017
Clarified many things but definitely didn't go into more specifics about Islam.
May 1, 2020
A good introduction to Islam for westerners.
Want to read
October 19, 2016Note: I accessed a digital review copy of this book through Edelweiss.
August 2, 2024
I felt that this book was very informative and a great introduction to Islam. I will definitely recommend this book to others who are hoping to learn more and need a starting place.
February 6, 2017
I like this compact 136 page book by a Tennessee religion professor as a starter because the six chapters get to the heart of distinctives about Islam and common misperceptions: “Islam is a Diverse and Complex Faith,” “Islam is a Religion of Orthopraxy,” “Muslims Respect Judaism and Christianity,” “There is No Institutional Hierarchy in Islam,” “There is No Clear Separation Between Religion and Politics in Islam,” and “Jihad Does Not Mean ‘Holy War.’” Questions at the end of each chapter and a short “further resources” section are helpful for teaching.
June 5, 2008
It is a very interesting book for anyone who wants to know more about Muslim's and their life, it has definitely answered a lot of questions I have had and has increase my interest in the Quran so much so I actually bought a copy to read. It is a great book for anyone who wants a broad picture of what Muslim and Islam mean.
August 30, 2010
Interesting...
May 16, 2012
A good, quick overview of Islam.
March 18, 2012
Enlightening, have to read more before I can give a good review.
July 3, 2013
Very good introductory book for non-Muslims that helps to provide answers to a misunderstood faith.
December 11, 2016
Excellent introductory book on the topic.
Want to read
October 30, 2016Thanks to Fortress Press and Edelweiss for a review copy of this book.
Read
April 29, 2017Read this for my Understating World Religions class.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews