Description
Day after day we read of the caliphate and the Qur’an, of Sunni and Shi’a, Salafis and Sufis, integration and isolation, radicals and refugees. Almost a quarter of the world’s populate is Muslim. It is clear that understanding the modern world requires knowing something about Islam. But while much is said and written about Islam and the global trends and historic events connected to it, little attention is given to placing these phenomena within their greater historical, religious and intellectual context. Tracing thirteen centuries of Islamic history – from the foundation of Islam in the seventh century and the life of Muhammad, through the Crusades in the Middle East and the growth of great empires, to the often fraught 21st century – this book considers questions of interpretation and legacy, of the lives of Muslims and how they relate to others.
