May 27, 2019
In his comprehensive, helpful debut, Slocum, an aircraft design engineer and former missionary, encourages Christians to establish friendly relationships with Muslims. He begins by exploring the origins of Islam, introducing readers to the life of Muhammad, before delving into Koranic passages. Concentrating mainly on passages often cited as inciting violence, Slocum argues that the vast majority of Muslims view their religion as nonviolent. He then moves briskly through a history of the Middle East, covering the Islamic Empire, colonialism, and the rise of pan-Arabism. Exploring how Islam emerged from the Middle East to become a global religion, Slocum shares personal experiences from living in the U.S. and, as a missionary, in Kazakhstan, to highlight facets of the everyday lives of Muslims (“I know of no force more powerful than that of face-to-face interaction” to dispel unfounded fears, he writes), including a particularly affecting story of visiting a San Diego imam. While his sections discussing aspects of Islam that most Christians are fearful of or may be misinformed about—notably, jihad and sharia—are instructive, they often read like study guides. Slocum’s most valuable contribution is his highly critical discussion of U.S. foreign policy, including a concise history of American involvement in Afghanistan and Iraq, which he uses to answer President Bush’s question, “Why do they hate us?” Effectively countering pernicious, misinformed narratives, this is an essential contribution to interfaith studies.
Starred review from July 1, 2019
An exploration of Islamic beliefs and history that aims to challenge American Islamophobia. Debut author Slocum, a former Christian missionary to Kazakhstan, writes that he was horrified at ignorant depictions of Muslims in American media after the 9/11 attacks. During his years as a missionary, he "never changed anyone's mind to become a believer in the Bible," he says, but his newfound Muslim friends left an indelible mark on his own life--particularly, the fact that their culture prized hospitality toward strangers. The book begins by subverting popular American conceptions of Sharia law by rooting it in social justice, centered on protecting the poor and weak. Similarly, Islam's "greater jihad," he says, is not a literal holy war (a term first coined by Christian Crusaders) but rather "the internal struggle of living a life that is pleasing to God." The book's middle chapters offer a survey of Islamic history from Muhammad through the present day, highlighting both the wonders of the Islamic Golden Age and the horrors of European colonialism. To Slocum, the birth of the "dark blight" of Wahhabism in the 18th century marked a decisive turning point. Although the moderate Muslim majority rejected this absolutist ideology, he says, it gained traction in Saudi Arabia at the same approximate time that the West undergirded a Saudi monarchy linked with Wahhabism. Central to the book's analysis of radical Islam is the notion that it's a force of the West's own making, from their support of the mujahedeen in Afghanistan to their installation of a brutal monarch in Iran. In doing so, Slocum is particularly deft at challenging the tropes that Islamic radicals hate American freedom or that Islam is an inherently violent religion. Although many in the West tend to associate Islam with Arabs, this book highlights not only the faith's ideological diversity, from Sunnis to Shias to Ahmadis, but also Muslims' ethnic diversity; only about 10 percent of the world's Muslims hail from Arabic nations. Of course, none of this will be new to Islamic scholars or historians of the Middle East, but to many Americans who are unfamiliar with the topic, this is a first-rate primer. A clear, concise, and thoughtful introduction to Islam.
COPYRIGHT(2019) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Starred review from June 1, 2019
Islamophobia centers on the notion of Muslims as the other, and at its worst, portrays Muslims as incapable of rational thought and motivated by a single-minded determination of destruction. Mutual distrust has muted moderates and turned up the rhetoric of hate. This book seeks to understand the roots of this discord and examines the possibility of co-existence. The first two chapters outline the beginnings of Muslim life and the salient forces that shaped it. The book then goes on to provide an overview of Islam's religious landscape, its development, major divisions, and nuances. Slocum then explores the origins of Islamophobia and delves into the everyday lives of Muslims across the globe. The narrative deftly weaves historical events with personal anecdotes, making it relatable and resonant. The last chapter outlines possible trajectories to mutual co-existence. Well-researched, cogently argued, and drawing on the work of scholars as well personal insights, Slocum's work avoids clich�s and deeply examines the complex relationship between Islam and the West. In the end, Slocum unmasks a clash of ignorance and reveals a shared humanity to which we can all relate.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)