Jj Dj Dj itibaren High Catton, York, East Riding of Yorkshire YO41, Wielka Brytania
Aslan presents a brief history and overview of Islam, including the role of Islam in the contemporary world. Although I don't usually read histories, this book has been very readable (Aslan holds an MFA in fiction from the Iowa Writer's Workshop) and extremely thorough. Aslan ties together the 3 major religions of the world (Christianity, Islam, and Judaism) with his detailed description of the pluralistic and polytheistic societies that dominated the Middle East in the days leading up to the prophet Muhammad's birth, and how Muhammad's development of Islam arose from existing prophetic traditions in Judeo-Christian scripture. If you don't know anything about Islam, this is a good place to start.