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Great World Religions: Islam

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Great World Religions: Islam

By: John L. Esposito, The Great Courses
Narrated by: John L. Esposito
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About this listen

How familiar are you with the world's second-largest and fastest-growing religion? In these 12 lectures, Professor Esposito guides you through the facts and myths surrounding Islam and its more than 1.2 billion adherents. Many in the West know little about the faith and are familiar only with the actions of a minority of radical extremists, but this lecture series will help you better understand Islam's role as both a religion and a way of life, and its deep impact on world affairs both historically and today.

What does the future hold for Islam and the West in the new century? How will it change under the influence of conservatives, reformers, and extremists? Moving from Muhammad to the present, from the 7th to the 21st centuries, you'll explore Muslim beliefs, practices, and history in the context of its significance and impact on Muslim life and society through the ages, as well as world events today. Topics you'll cover include the life and legacy of the prophet Muhammad; the nature and true meaning of jihad; the Muslim beliefs about other faiths such as Judaism and Christianity; Islamic contributions to mathematics, science, and art; the intricate relationship between Islam, modernization, capitalism, and democracy; and much more.

Professor Esposito takes a closer look at the historical development of two great Islamic institutions: Islamic law and Islamic mysticism. And he examines the worldwide "struggle for the soul of Islam" occurring today between conservatives and reformers, mainstream Muslims and extremists.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

©2003 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2003 The Great Courses Islam

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This is the first "Great Courses" audiobook I've listened to and I have to say that I'm very impressed. I know quite a lot about Islam and religion in general and I was dubious about how much I would really learn from such a short course. However, I have been very pleasantly surprised! Prof. Esposito packs an enormous amount into each 30min lecture but does so with such enthusiasm and precision that you never feel that you're drowning.

The great strength of this course is its holistic approach. I knew a lot of the content before but I had never heard it presented with such an emphasis on context and the historical development of Islam. In Prof. Esposito's hands, familiar facts and concepts develop new significance as he shows how the pieces fit together to create the whole; I can think of no higher praise for a teacher.

Highly compressed scholarship

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I'm not a Muslim so I'm not qualified to say but I believe this course to be respectful of Islam's truth claims and culture. It appears balanced and I don't recall the lecturer making any attempt to undermine religious with skepticism. Nor does he assert them. Rather he describes what they are and on occasion how they transformed the claims of the prior polytheism. The greatest downside for me is it's a bit basic but this is also one of it's greatest strengths as an introduction.

Respectful basic overview.

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I have listened to this wonderful series of lectures with such wonder it has been a revelation of a profound nature. I feel that I understand so much more. Thank you Professor Esposito

Very enlightening

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I’ve listened to a lot of the Great Courses series on religion and history and while there is a lot on Judaism and Christianity, there’s hardly anything (comparitively) on Islam. I felt I learned a lot and really hope more lectures follow, there’s so much more to explore. I did feel the narrator’s bias just a few times which I’ve not noticed in other lectures in this series, I wish the chapter on women and Islam spoke more to what the Quran actually states rather than interpretation, though interpretation is clearly important, I wanted more from the text itself. Overall, very informative and I hope for more!

Wanted more!

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Thank you so much for incredible course. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to these lectures. Very interesting. I recommend to all

NoMore Islamaphobia

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John Esposito covers a significant amount of history and information in just 12 half-hour lectures. For the most part it’s very accurate and thorough. A good introduction to anyone who knows little of Islam, or only know what they hear in biased western media or from right-wing pundits.

A balanced perspective from a non-Muslim

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I found this audiobook of tremendous value.The author has good grasp of the subject matter and presents it in a very interesting manner.It should be useful to anyone who wants to understand Islam both in a historical and contemporary context.Many myths about Islam are laid to rest and the fact that the three Abrahamic faiths have much in common is emphasised. Recommended listening!

Great introduction to this topic

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Would have liked more about what the Koran actually says! Virtually nothing on this. I think a run down of the Koran and Sharia would have laid good foundations for the political discussions later in the book.
As the lectures go on, the professor emphasises that Islam has varying strains of belief and practice but he labours the point. He seems to be trying to convince a Western reader that Islam is not that bad - assuming that the listener needs corrected on their bias and assuming that it's his job to do it.
On this mission of cross cultural bridge-building he treats lightly anything that might draw the reader to the opposite conclusion. We therefore hear nothing about beheadings and amputations. There is a passing reference only. I think he should have more faith in his audience's ability to assimilate all the conflicting information to come to a balanced point of view.

Repetitive and apologetic

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A brilliant narrative- very factual and to the point. Thoroughly enjoyed it. I will highly recommend it.

a great read

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I got as far as the fourth chapter, before giving up - the amount of factual information about the history of Islam, Islamic scholars of maths, science and literature, and the faith of Islam itself could have been summarised in 10 minutes.

I bought this audiobook because I felt that I knew very little about Islam, but for me there was little that I didn't know already from current affairs programmes, and too much generalisation and "philosophy". If there there is more fact in later chapters, that is great, but they need to move this to the front of the audiobook ... I don't normally throw in the towel on a book.

However, the speaker is very enthusiastic about his subject.

Too much generalisation and short on fact

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