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Rating: 
Summary: This is a very interesting reading...
Review: for those, including myself, with limited knowledge of the Middle East and Islam. The author poses a very interesting question, does an Islamic government hinder economic development? By reading this book, I learned a lot about the far-reaching influences of an Islamic government in the Middle East on its people and their lives. Viorst provides plenty of evidences to answer the question above.
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Summary: Quite simply the best on Islam
Review: I have traveled extensively through Turkey, Egypt and Israel and have read much on the Islamic world and the Middle East and Central Asia--from left-leaning writers like Said and Aburish to more Western-oriented analysts like Fouad Ajami and Judith Miller. No one has done a better job than Viorst of explaining Islam to Western readers. He catches the nuances of Islam's complexity and diversity, and looks unflinchingly at the qualities in Islam that have kept so much of the Arab and Islamic world mired in poverty and backwardness. But he is ultimately more hopeful than Adjami and Aburish and focuses with a wide enough lens to see the threads in Islamic thought that could lead its adherents out of their current morass. It is popular in many quarters to blame the problems of the Middle East on colonialism and American and Western hegemony. This is clearly an oversimplification and counter-productive for those trying honestly to figure out a solution. Viorst's analysis gets to the root of the internal problems that have made the Arab world's response to colonialism so very different and so much more self-destructive than Asia's. This is a "must read".
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Summary: A sobering account of the role of Islam in the Arab world
Review: In this book Viorst examines the role of Islam in shaping the political puzzle of the Arab world. This book is not about religion, nor is it a book about the Middle East. It is about the "political" Islam as an ideology and a force that shapes developments in the Middle East. Islam is only one of the many pieces of the Middle East puzzle (repressive regimes, regional ambitions, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and of course oil, are the others) but it's one that envelopes all else. And while Islam is not the only religion in history to force a political agenda, its influence in the Arab world today is powerful, steering islamic societies away -if not against- the western world. The question Viorst sets out to answer is this: is Islam responsible for the economic and social stagnation of the Arab world? In search for the answer he examines the historical roots of Islam, the development of Shari'a, and recent and past developments in a number of islamic countries. Viorst describes the current ideological state of Islam as a battle between orthodoxy, fundamentalism, and modernism. Orthodoxy represents the religious status quo; it is rooted in the tradition of Islamic law but coexists comfortably with secular authority. Fundamentalism represents a rebellious and militant sect that feels betrayed by orthodoxy and seeks the submission of all things secular under religious law. Modernism represents the hope for an Islamic reformation that will lead to enlightenment and renaissance. It becomes apparent, however, that modernism currently lacks the strength to be relevant in the ideological debate. The true battle is between orthodoxy and fundamentalism and the distinction between the two is one of degree more than one of ideology. As we follow Viorst on a tour of islamic countries (Egypt, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Jordan and Iran) we soon realize that religious influence cannot be easily divorced from the political situation in which it is born, in particular the lack of free political expression that is the common denominator throughout the Middle East. In such a repressed climate, the loose hierarchy of Islam turns the local mosque into a political nucleus, its imam into a cell leader, the Friday prayer into a rally -the only form of self organization that is tolerated. Why has this failed to produce a liberal theology and a force for social justice? It is, Viorst explains, because Islam's orthodoxy is introverted, transfixed by a strict code whose moral, social and intellectual norms are thirteen centuries old. By western standards, the golden age of Islam was the mid-8th century, when an Arab empire stretched from Persia to Spain and Baghdad was the cultural center of the world, eagerly absorbing the Greeks and prolific in producing mathematics, medicine and astronomy. But for Islamic orthodoxy this is a period of worldly living, moral decay and heretic experimentation with western values. The true golden age, we learn, is the rashidun, a 30-year period in the mid 600's, during the infancy of the new religion in the deserts of the Arabic peninsula. The book was written before 9/11 and some passing references to the now extinct Taliban will sound dated. But in the aftermath of the war in Iraq, the subject remains both relevant and timely, as we witness the re-emergence of islamic politics following the collapse of a brutal but secular regime.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Book; Necessary Reading
Review: In this book, the astute Mr. Viorst has given us a key to understanding what is going on in the Islamic world today. With events in the Middle East taking up so much of our attention in the wake of September 11, 2001, it would be well worth anyone's time and effort to come to grips with the issues he explores in this book. Although Mr. Viorst is Jewish, he is a judicious and fair commentator on Islamic matters. As far as the unjust criticism leveled at him by a previous reviewer, I will point out that every other reviewer gave this book either 4 or 5 stars. Please read this book and Thomas Friedman's - they will increase your understanding, challenge you intellectually, and are fun to read.
Rating:
Summary: A great Analysis of Arab's Mentality
Review: It is obvious from this book that the Author is in toutch with Arab predicaments and delimmas. The Arab would choose to stay behind and welter in poverty and humilation rather than to become a prosperours intellectual secular nation. But what realy got my attention in this book is something interesting about the former Afghany islamic fundamentalist regime, the Taliban. Regarding the punishment of homosexual sinners, the author mention that the Taliban couldnot find a decisive islamic punishment, so they mad up their own - until Muslim Ulma agree on some punishment.- Actually The Koran itself discuss this matter. Let's first look at these Koranic verse :"15. If any of your women are guilty of lewdness, take the evidence of four (reliable) witnesses from amongst you against them; and if they testify, confine them to houses until death do claim them, or Allah ordain for them some (other) way. 16. If two men among you are guilty of lewdness, punish them both. If they repent and amend, leave them alone; for Allah is Oft-returning, Most Merciful." 4:15-16 Yousif Aly Translations. Acctually Mr. Aly translations in verse 16 - "punish them both. " is untrue and does not represent the original Arabic which could be better represented by the English "rebuke them both", which means the punishment can be even as mild as just verbally in case of male homosexual. The case of Lesbian is far severer - death - and also ambiguous - Allah ordain for them some (other) way. - Therefore it seems that the Taliban - and also, strang enough but True , most islamic fundamentalist Orthodox - would choose to violate the Koran than to present it as weak on its punishment of homosexuals.
There are some errors in the book, which realy do not affect the book's subject, but the critics of the author may hold it to attack the book. For example as the author mentions: the custodian of Muhammed after his mother's death was Muhammed maternal grand father. Acctually it was his paternal grand father. But as I mentioned that has no count regarding the theme of the book and its bright presentation
Rating:
Summary: Essential reading
Review: This book provides an excellent overview of the central Islamic countries, and is essential reading for those who want to understand the modern Islamist terrorist groups. This book was written before the terrorist attacks on the U.S. on September 11, 2001, and it is eerie to read this book (which describes important events in Egypt and other countries) while attempting to trace the movements of Al-Qa'ida in the shadowy background. Hopefully the paperback edition will appear soon. Highest recommendation!
Rating: 
Summary: journalist not a scholar
Review: This brilliant book by the New Yorker's former mideast correspondent gets to the heart of why Islam with all its greatness and failings is what it is today. If Americans would read this book, they would no longer wonder why Bin Laden is the way he is, or Saddam, or the Iranian theocracy -- or the democracy-loving writers and other heroes who are fighting sometimes with their lives at stake to bring their religion and their nations into the 21st century. Fair and fascinating.
Rating:
Summary: Superb
Review: This is an extremely thoughtful book by a Jewish writer who has obviously taken great pains to get to know the various strains of Islam and to approach his subject without the blinders of nationality or religion. He does an excellent job of sorting out the historical and cultural movements across the Islamic world. Although it was written before the events of September 11, 2001, it is prescient in its enumeration of the movements and events which gave rise to those tragedies. For westerners used to secular governments, freedom of religion and the strict separation of church and state, it provides a chilling reflection on a world where religion and religious thinking play a much more central role in the life of nations. It does get disjointed in places and requires great concentration on the part of the reader. However, that does not detract from its importance for any student of the modern Islamic world.
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