Understanding Muslim-West Alienation: Building a Better Future
Rating: Gold Award/Extremely Recommended: Reviewed by Jennie S. Bev
Understanding Muslim-West Alienation: Building a Better Future is a well balanced and massively researched analysis of the common misunderstandings between Islam and the rest of the Western world, which is supported by historical accounts and data as far back as 14 centuries ago. It is written in easy-to-read sections with self-explanatory headers. Readers who prefer not to read books about history of religion and politics due to various reasons may find it completely the opposite. Unlike other books of similar genre, Khan’s is simple and straight to the heart of the issues. Most, if not all, of your questions about Islam, its communities and why the western world perceives them the way it is today will be answered. Should you need to read only one book about Islam and expect to be enlightened from it, be it this one. For once, a scholarly book doesn’t have to be tedious.
Rating: Excellent; Reviewed by Paul Lappen
Many books have been written attempting to explain Islam, and the Islamic view of the world, to the rest of us. This is an excellent place to start. It doesn't claim to be a detailed reference source, but does a fine job at giving a general look at the Islamic religion. It is highly recommended.
3. RebeccaReads.com (www.rebeccareads.com)
Rating: 3 Teapots; Reviewed by Rebecca Brown
Arshad Khan has written a clean, lean textbook with no hyperbole, ornamentation or exaggeration. He simply states the facts as he sees them, and they are compelling. This is not an America-basing book, rather it is a sincere effort to bridge the gap between two dynamic cultures—secular Americanism and religious Islam. Understanding Muslim-West Alienation: Building a Better Future is a worthy primer, no bells and whistles, nothing fancy—simply an eminently accessible read for those wanting to know more about how we all got to this sorry state of affairs, where we might be going, and exactly what drives Muslim extremists to vilify the West.
4. Heartland Reviews (www.heartlandreviews.com)
Rating: 4 Hearts; Reviewed by Andrew Firth
Arshad Khan’s new book is a major contribution to our fundamental appreciation of why relationships are perceived to have broken down so dangerously between the West and the Muslim community. In tracing the history of Islam he selects the key events that have shaped its doctrine and presents its modern perspective on the world in a way that is neither dry and academic nor monolithic and dogmatic. Arshad Khan’s book is a broadly based and very readable presentation aimed at crossing the conceptual divide and encouraging mutual understanding. Much of his writing is in brief outline, and would therefore be of only cursory interest to experts in the field, but is an excellent summary of factors that have hitherto been misrepresented and communicated only indirectly and incompletely. It also offers a comprehensive background for thought and further, more detailed, exploration. If one wishes to take part in the present debate in even the smallest way, this book is an essential primer.
5. Curled Up With A Good Book (www.curledup.com)
Rating: 3 Stars; Reviewed by Shampa Chatterjee
The rift between the Western World and Islam has perhaps never been greater than it is today. Yet despite the injustices, mistakes and misconceptions, there is also a serious effort by people on both sides to bridge the gap and better understand one another. Understanding Muslim-West Alienation is a welcome effort by Arshad Khan in this direction. With its plain and simple text, this book written for the politically uninitiated describes and analyzes various aspects of the Muslim-West dichotomy. The reader is left with a holistic view of this complex situation and some idea of the politically tough decisions both sides need to take to diffuse the tension.
6. C.A. Bowling (www.amazon.com)
Arshad Khan does an outstanding job in creating a balanced view of the status of relations between Muslims and the West. The book was well written and presented in a very logical format. Its greatest strength is that Khan does not engage in finger pointing or blame placing, but presents an unbiased view of the past and lays out recommendations that both sides can take to bridge the gap.
7. Midwest Book Review (www.midwestreview.com)
Rating: Highly recomended; Reviewed by Jim Fox
Understanding Muslim-West Alienation: Building a Better Future by author, consultant, and academician Arshad Khan is a very straightforward guide written in plain language, to give the non-specialist general reader insights and perspectives into how America is perceived by the Muslim world. Rational, evenhanded, educated, and well-researched, Understanding Muslim-West Alienation summarizes centuries of history culminating in the aftermatch of the September 11 attack with an eye toward explaining the conscious and unconscious motivations behind individual and group perceptions. Highly recommended reading for anyone seeking to better understand the background to the curent international conflict between secular west as epitomized by the United States, and Islamic fundamentalism as typified by al-Qaeda, Hamas, and similar Muslim extremists groups. Understanding Muslim-West Alienation is a timely and particularly welcome contribution to Islamic Studies reading lists and reference collections.
