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Le sabre d'Allah (Roman)
De Mohammed à Daech, comprendre l'islam à travers son histoire.Voici près de quatorze siècles, un homme inspiré par une révélation céleste commença à parler dans une ville au milieu du désert. Quarante ans après sa mort, un empire né de ses mots s'étendait de l'Atlantique à l'Asie. Cet homme s'appelait Mohammed.L'expansion musulmane ne fut pas uniquement religieuse, militaire et politique : elle s'est également manifestée sur le plan intellectuel et artistique et, à un moment de son histoire, l'islam a constitué un relais précieux entre la science antique et la Renaissance européenne. Mais, très rapidement, cet expansionnisme fulgurant s'est traduit par d'innombrables confl its internes, dont l'antagonisme entre chiites et sunnites est le plus connu. Les intérêts politiques ont fi nalement pris le pas sur la dimension religieuse de l'islam pour donner naissance au XXIe siècle à une excroissance monstrueuse appelée Daech.Comment ? Pourquoi en est-on arrivé là ? Pour tenter de répondre à ces questions, sans doute est-il nécessaire de retourner au sable du désert...Avec son incomparable talent de conteur, Gilbert Sinoué nous livre les clés indispensables pour mieux connaître et comprendre la deuxième religion du monde.
306 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 3, 2016
6 people are currently reading
25 people want to read
About the author
Gilbert Sinoué
78 books550 followersSee also: جيلبرت سينويه
At age 19, after studying at a Catholic Jesuit school in Cairo, Sinoué went to France to study at the national music conservatory in Paris. He became skilled in classical guitar. He later taught classical guitar to others and started writing.
In 1987, at about age 40, he published his first novel, La Pourpre et l’olivier ou Calixte 1er le pape oublié (The Crimson and the Olive Tree or Calixte I the Forgotten Pope). It earned the Jean d’Heurs prize for best historical novel. In 1989, he published Avicenne ou La route d'Ispahan, relating the life of Avicenna (Abu Ali Ibn Sina in Arabic), the Persian doctor, philosopher and scientist.
His novels and other books span a variety of genres. Sinoué's third novel The Egyptian is the first of a saga set in Egypt of the 18th and 19th centuries. Published in 1991, this novel won the literary prize Quartier latin. In the biography L'ambassadrice (2002), Sinoué relates the life of Emma, Lady Hamilton.
In 2004 his thriller Les Silences de Dieu (The Silences of God) won le Grand prix de littérature policière (Grand Prize for Mystery/Detective Literature).
Gilbert Sinoué quickly established himself as an engaging storyteller and master of a variety of genres. His biography, The last phar'aoh, depicts the battle of Mehmet Ali, the pacha, with the Ottoman empire. In the thriller Le Livre de Saphir (The Sapphire Book), the narrator converses with God.
In addition to writing books, Gilbert Sinoué is a scriptwriter and screenwriter.
At age 19, after studying at a Catholic Jesuit school in Cairo, Sinoué went to France to study at the national music conservatory in Paris. He became skilled in classical guitar. He later taught classical guitar to others and started writing.
In 1987, at about age 40, he published his first novel, La Pourpre et l’olivier ou Calixte 1er le pape oublié (The Crimson and the Olive Tree or Calixte I the Forgotten Pope). It earned the Jean d’Heurs prize for best historical novel. In 1989, he published Avicenne ou La route d'Ispahan, relating the life of Avicenna (Abu Ali Ibn Sina in Arabic), the Persian doctor, philosopher and scientist.
His novels and other books span a variety of genres. Sinoué's third novel The Egyptian is the first of a saga set in Egypt of the 18th and 19th centuries. Published in 1991, this novel won the literary prize Quartier latin. In the biography L'ambassadrice (2002), Sinoué relates the life of Emma, Lady Hamilton.
In 2004 his thriller Les Silences de Dieu (The Silences of God) won le Grand prix de littérature policière (Grand Prize for Mystery/Detective Literature).
Gilbert Sinoué quickly established himself as an engaging storyteller and master of a variety of genres. His biography, The last phar'aoh, depicts the battle of Mehmet Ali, the pacha, with the Ottoman empire. In the thriller Le Livre de Saphir (The Sapphire Book), the narrator converses with God.
In addition to writing books, Gilbert Sinoué is a scriptwriter and screenwriter.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
April 1, 2018
This fascinating book gives some hints to better understand the Islamic world and better appreciate some of its frictions with the so-called Western world.
It analyses first the history of Islam, from the revelations of Prophet Mohammed up to the 21th century. It depicts the unprecedented speed at which Islam spread from a tiny region around Medina and Mecca to become the main (and sometimes the only) religion of a vast territory extending from Asia to the Atlantic and counting around 1.5 billion of Muslims.
The Prophet died in 632 AD and by 650, his successors had already conquered Mesopotamia, Syria, Palestine and Egypt. Soon frictions and power struggles arose around successions, which led to countless violent deaths and murders (which was not uncommon in other regions of the world at the time) and - more importantly – to the schism between Sunnis and Shiites that still resonates today and explains some more recent conflicts in the Middle East.
Between 650 and 750, the reign of the Umayyad’s transferred the capital of Islam to Damascus. This civilisation greatly contributed to the World Heritage with, a.o. wonderful monuments that are still standing today in the Near East, among which the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, and very meaningful contributions to sciences and mathematics. At the same time, Arabic became the language used in the administration and transformed linguistically a vast region comprising, next to the Gulf Peninsula, the Near East and North Africa.
During the same period, the empire continued to expand towards Central Asia and Spain. The Ommeyads will rule over Andalusia until the 12th century. Tribes from North Africa will later take over and control parts of Andalusia until the surrender of Granada in 1492. In Muslim Spain, Arabs and Christians co-existed harmoniously. They will leave behind some of the most fantastic pieces of architecture like the Great Mosque of Cordoba and the Alhambra of Granada, and great thinkers like Averroes who will contribute to European philosophy.
From 750 starts the reign of the Abassids in the Middle East that moved the capital to Baghdad. After two centuries of crusades during which Jerusalem and other cities will change hands several times, the Mongols will conquer vast areas of the Muslim world in the 13th century and Tamerlane will follow in the 14th century. Both the Mongols and Tamerlane were certainly great warriors but poor administrators. Their conquests were mostly centuries of turbulence. But Islam will thrive again with the rise of the Ottoman Empire that will rule over vast areas of Southern Europe, Asia Minor, the Near and Middle-East and North Africa. During the 16th and 17th cent, some major defeats at the battles of Lepanto (1571) and Vienna (1683) will mark the end of its expansion. Nevertheless, the Ottoman Empire will remain a major power in the Middle East until the beginning of the 20th cent.
At the end of the day, one is tempted to conclude that the grandeur of this formidable civilisation may also be its greatest frustration. This has been exacerbated by later events like the gradual colonisation of parts of the Islamic world by Western countries, especially in the Middle East in the 19th cent, and by the – too – large influence that some social Western transformations may sometimes have had on traditional Middle Eastern societies in the 20th cent. In large parts of the Arab World, this confrontation of traditional communities with the so-called Western modernity has indeed led to frictions and frustrations among communities that were neither willing nor prepared to accept it. The book is in that respect a great help to help understand a complex society as well as contemporary conflicts and crises prevailing in the Islamic world in general and in the Middle East in particular.
Review by Bruno Gremez
It analyses first the history of Islam, from the revelations of Prophet Mohammed up to the 21th century. It depicts the unprecedented speed at which Islam spread from a tiny region around Medina and Mecca to become the main (and sometimes the only) religion of a vast territory extending from Asia to the Atlantic and counting around 1.5 billion of Muslims.
The Prophet died in 632 AD and by 650, his successors had already conquered Mesopotamia, Syria, Palestine and Egypt. Soon frictions and power struggles arose around successions, which led to countless violent deaths and murders (which was not uncommon in other regions of the world at the time) and - more importantly – to the schism between Sunnis and Shiites that still resonates today and explains some more recent conflicts in the Middle East.
Between 650 and 750, the reign of the Umayyad’s transferred the capital of Islam to Damascus. This civilisation greatly contributed to the World Heritage with, a.o. wonderful monuments that are still standing today in the Near East, among which the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, and very meaningful contributions to sciences and mathematics. At the same time, Arabic became the language used in the administration and transformed linguistically a vast region comprising, next to the Gulf Peninsula, the Near East and North Africa.
During the same period, the empire continued to expand towards Central Asia and Spain. The Ommeyads will rule over Andalusia until the 12th century. Tribes from North Africa will later take over and control parts of Andalusia until the surrender of Granada in 1492. In Muslim Spain, Arabs and Christians co-existed harmoniously. They will leave behind some of the most fantastic pieces of architecture like the Great Mosque of Cordoba and the Alhambra of Granada, and great thinkers like Averroes who will contribute to European philosophy.
From 750 starts the reign of the Abassids in the Middle East that moved the capital to Baghdad. After two centuries of crusades during which Jerusalem and other cities will change hands several times, the Mongols will conquer vast areas of the Muslim world in the 13th century and Tamerlane will follow in the 14th century. Both the Mongols and Tamerlane were certainly great warriors but poor administrators. Their conquests were mostly centuries of turbulence. But Islam will thrive again with the rise of the Ottoman Empire that will rule over vast areas of Southern Europe, Asia Minor, the Near and Middle-East and North Africa. During the 16th and 17th cent, some major defeats at the battles of Lepanto (1571) and Vienna (1683) will mark the end of its expansion. Nevertheless, the Ottoman Empire will remain a major power in the Middle East until the beginning of the 20th cent.
At the end of the day, one is tempted to conclude that the grandeur of this formidable civilisation may also be its greatest frustration. This has been exacerbated by later events like the gradual colonisation of parts of the Islamic world by Western countries, especially in the Middle East in the 19th cent, and by the – too – large influence that some social Western transformations may sometimes have had on traditional Middle Eastern societies in the 20th cent. In large parts of the Arab World, this confrontation of traditional communities with the so-called Western modernity has indeed led to frictions and frustrations among communities that were neither willing nor prepared to accept it. The book is in that respect a great help to help understand a complex society as well as contemporary conflicts and crises prevailing in the Islamic world in general and in the Middle East in particular.
Review by Bruno Gremez
April 2, 2020
J'ai lu ce lire pour nourrir certaines méconnaissances. Tout de même lourd et j'ai peu retenu.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews