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  • Islam: Its History, Teaching, and Practices
  • Liyakat Takim
Islam: Its History, Teaching, and Practices. By S. A. Nigosian. Indiana University Press, 2004. 178 pages. $19.95.

Nigosian makes it clear in the preface of his book that his basic intent is to outline the essential aspects of Islam as a living force. The author does not claim to provide a systematic exposition of Islam's history or philosophy. Rather, his focus is to identify a great world religion and recognize its contributions to human civilization. However, apart from a couple of paragraphs, the book has little to say regarding Muslim contribution to human civilization or the scientific achievements of medieval Muslim scholars.

This brief introduction to Islam is based on secondary (primarily western) sources. It is organized around seven topics: the life of Muhammad; [End Page 536] post-Muhammadan Islamic political development and the creation and expansion of the Muslim empire; the emergence of sectarian Islam (Sunnis, Shi'is, and Sufis); Muslim scripture (the Qur'an, sunna, and hadith); the Islamic legal tradition (shari'a); the five articles of faith and the five pillars of Islam; and other religious observations and festivals. Nigosian also examines the beliefs and practices of Muslims in their social, cultural, and historical settings.

In addition, the author includes features that help the reader understand and remember important Islamic dates, events, and concepts. These include key dates, Muslim dynasties, the ninety-nine names of God, numerous photographs, a glossary, and a bibliography.

A cursory glance at the contents of the book will indicate that the scope and length of the book necessitate that the author sketches out rather than fully argue for the material he presents. The large amount of material covered in a short book inevitably means that important issues are treated in a rather cursory manner and significant details are compromised. If the work is to be used as a textbook for an introductory course in Islam, supplementary readings like Frederick Denny's Introduction to Islam or Karen Armstrong's Islam will be required to provide a more nuanced discussion of the subject matter and to fill significant gaps that appear in the topics covered in this work.

In the first chapter of his work, Nigosian examines the Muslim historical sources based on a historical-chronological approach. It is evident from his discussion on the principal Muslim and non-Muslim sources on Muhammad's life and character that the author approaches his study with certain assumptions regarding the tendentious character of early Muslim sources. The general thesis projected is one of the unreliability of eighth and ninth century sources whose reading of earlier versions are seen as anachronistic.

Nigosian's basic historical-chronological approach also means that he is not able to couch his discussion under any theoretical model or framework. For example, he starts his work by discussing the role of religious leaders who created faiths that have endured for centuries. The discourse on the roles and functions of the founders of religion would have been greatly enhanced with a discussion or even a mention of Weberian concepts of charismatic leadership and the routinization of charisma. However, such theoretical constructs are largely absent in this work.

Nigosian's work also glosses over important facts that need proper elucidation. The author's view that "the early Muslims were looking for a political successor to Muhammad since a religious successor was unthinkable" is not tenable (18). In fact, the caliphate during the times of the rightly guided caliphs (632–661) was conceived along politico-religious lines. The caliphs undertook many religious and political functions of the Prophet especially because there was, as yet, no distinct group of scholars that could occupy a separate religious office. At least in the early period of Islamic history, there was no distinction between the offices of the 'ulama' (scholarly elite) and that of political authority, the caliphate.

Similarly, Nigosian portrays the election of 'Uthman as the successor of 'Umar as a simple choice between two contenders. It is important to realize [End Page 537] that given the crisis at the death of the Prophet, 'Umar had hoped to formulate an acceptable method of caliphal appointment. He did...

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