November 05, 2002
The Biography of the Prophet
What do you expected to do before Ramadhan? For me, read a book about Islam of course, another is take soul journey. This recent weekend, I visit one of my friends, a girl who intentiously has writing her nice thought and inspiration on her nicely page, fariEnsiklo, she is also my partner at the Ensiklo website. Frankly, she borrowed me one of her new book, Muhammad: A Biography of the Prophet, a book written by Karen Armstrong, a celebrated biography of the controversial man in the West perspective. Reading this book, i must be tunning my perspective to the era of sixth century, when the coming of Islam just been introducing by the Prophet. For no doubt, you must read this too, okay!
Muhammad, his story, his religion, and his people are among the least understood elements of world history to your average Westerner. The information we are bombarded with today portrays Muslims as terrorists, anti-western, blood-thirsty savages. This book endeavors to release the Western mind from the bonds of ignorance and the blinders of propaganda, and reveal a Prophet, and a people, with a real, sometimes tragic and sometimes triumphant history, with a conclusion of remarkable success. Whether you agree with Muhammad or not, you will finish this book appreciating his genius, his faith, his leadership, and his accomplishments.PS: If you interested to study more about Islam, try to read others Armstrong's work, all worth to read and has been acknowledged by every scholars: Islam: A Short History, A History of God: The 4,000-Year Quest of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, and The Battle for God.Most importantly, you will read the story elegantly portrayed within the context of the cultural dynamics of the Arabia of Muhammad's day. Without that context, it is easy to cast Muhammad's actions as barbaric. Additionally, Armstrong does a fine job of demonstrating the demise of much of Muhammad's most original thinking by zealous, but culturally constrained leaders who followed him (most notably the emancipation of women).
Because most Western Christians don't read Arabic, we will never understand nor appreciate the Koran, Muhammad's crowning achievement. But with the help of Karen Armstrong, we can gain an appreciation of the origin of that great work, and the meaning it has in the lives of nearly a billion people in the world today.
Posted at November 05, 2002 08:51 AM | Books
