This new introduction to the salient characteristics and history of Islam is as successful as it is ambitious.

It offers a clear, thoughtful and concise account of the following Islamic theology, revelation, dogmatic evolution, mysticism, and law; social and economic aspects of medieval-largely urban-life; a summary of the historical development of each of the main regions of the Islamic world; the principles trends and most important political/cultural events from the rise of Islam to the present; notes on Arabic, Persian and Turkish languages; on nomenclature, and on the Muslim calendar.