Islam: A Short History

272 Pages·2002·0.55 MB·English

by  Karen Armstrong

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ISLAM

KAREN ARMSTRONG
ISLAM
A Short History
A M O D E R N LIBRARY C H R O N I C L E S BOOK
T H E M O D E R N LIBRARY
N E W YORK
2002 Modern Library Paperback Edition
Copyright © 2000,2002 by Karen Armstrong
Discussion questions and pronunciation guide copyright © 2002
by Random House, Inc.
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American
Copyright Conventions. Published in the United States by
Modern Library, an imprint of The Random House Publishing
Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York,
and simultaneously in Canada by Random House
of Canada Limited, Toronto.
MODERN LIBRARY and the TORCHBEARER Design are registered
trademarks of Random House, Inc.
This work was published in hardcover and in slightly different form
in the United Kingdom by Weidenfeld & Nicolson, a division of
The Orion Publishing Group, Ltd. and in the United States by
The Modern Library, a division of Random House, Inc., in 2000.
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING — IN — PUBLICATION DATA
IS AVAILABLE
ISBN 0-8129-6618-X
Modern Library website address: www.modernlibrary.com
Printed in the United States of America
2 4 6 8 9 7 5 3 1
CONTENTS
List of Maps vii
Preface I X
Chronology xiii
1 BEGINNINGS
The Prophet (570-632) 3
The Rashidun (632-661) 23
The First Fitnah 3 3
2 DEVELOPMENT
The Umayyads and the Second Fitnah 41
The Religious Movement 45
The Last Years of the Umayyads (705-750) 50
The Abbasids: The High Caliphal Period (750-935) 53
The Esoteric Movements 65
3 CULMINATION
A New Order (935-1258) 81
The Crusades 93
Expansion 95
The Mongols (1 220-1 500) 96
4 ISLAM TRIUMPHANT
Imperial Islam (1500-1 700) 115
The Safavid Empire 117
vi . Contents
The Moghul Empire 124
The Ottoman Empire 1 30
5 ISLAM AGONISTES
The Arrival of the West (1 750-2000) 141
What is a Modern Muslim State? 156
Fundamentalism 164
Muslims in a Minority 1 76
The Way Forward 1 78
Epilogue 189
Key Figures in the History of Islam 193
Glossary of Arabic Terms 203
Pronunciation Guide 207
Notes 209
Suggestions for Further Reading 211
Index 219
Discussion Questions 229