Islam: The Religion and the People

What a Fantastic Approach.

This book took an academic approach to the study of Islam. I found it accurate and filled with nuggets of information about widely misconstrued elements of the Muslim faith and culture. I do not think this book would serve well as a primer for the first time student of Islam. Some foundational understanding will make this book everything it is supposed to be. Anyone interested in Islam for the first time would get a lot from this book if their ignorance on the subject was evened out by a comfort with the language and flow of academic research.