I've read and own many of the "For Dummies" series, and this one doesn't deserve the title. It's dry, un-entertaining, and the author seems out of touch with his topic, focusing on minority groups and sects, as well as more obscure parts of the religion that don't exactly apply to Muslims as practiced today. I've since gone back and found factual errors or a misleading representation inside it. I wouldn't recommend the book, save your money on someone else.

Instead, I got "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Understanding Islam" by Yahiya Emerick, and found him a much more articulate author, who explained it in plain english; something that this "For Dummies" author didn't do so well.

I have been deeply saddened by the ongoing conflict between Christianity and Islam - when I thought we shared so many beliefs. So, I bought this book to educate me - and hopefully enlighten me. I can't compare it to any other intro book on Islam because this is the only one I have read. But I am learning a lot about the beliefs, history and internal structure of Isalm, about the Prophet Muhammad and of the different sects within Islam. (some times too much history of names and dates and who did what to whom believing they were the next in line to lead Islam).

Bottom line is that I learned a lot - about Islam, and also about their issues and concerns about Jesus and (separately) about the Christian churches and their beleifs/dogma. I am still absorbing and thinking about all this.

This has been a very helpful book to me.

The coverage was very straight forward and provided basic information for someone who was not familiar with Isalm. It is a good book to become familiar with Islam and to understand basic beliefs. It is a good basic refernce book.

The coverage was very straight forward and provided basic information for someone who was not familiar with Isalm. It is a good book to become familiar with Islam and to understand basic beliefs. It is a good basic refernce book.

I thought this book was great for providing information on not only the religion but the culture of Islam. It does not try to prove or defend the religion, just provide information.

I read this book before deploying to an Islamic country in an effort to understand Islam better. This book was perfect for someone like me, who knew a tiny bit about Islam from briefings and history channel and didn't know any actual Muslims or ever read the Koran, etc. It provided a good starting off point to learn the basics of Islam. I was surprised to learn the author was Christian from reading the other reviews here; I could not tell the author was not Muslim from reading the book itself. He was very respectful of the faith. You're not going to find a book about religion that is going to be completely unbiased or an "incorrect interpretation/representation" to some of the more knowledgeable readers particularly if they are Muslim themselves. I'm sure not all the information in this book would be agreed upon by 100% of Muslims everywhere... but it was a great starting point for me. It was well organized by topics and chapters and included history and references to the Koran. One of my favorite features was the references listed at the end of each chapter for more information on a topic. This book covered the basics in each chapter and directed the reader to other sources for more details. This book is also great for providing recommended readings for works cited pages for college paper on this topic. I checked out some of the recommended readings and the ones I tried were very helpful. Since buying this book, I have studied Islam in more detail and spent some time in the Middle East. I still reference this book on topics I am hazy on or want further recommended readings for. When it comes to religion, you can't please everyone, but this is definitely a good book for dummies like me.

Gives a great insite to the islamic people in an easy to understand context. Answers questions you might be hesitant to ask of Islamic people.

THIS BOOK IS LOVELY AND SO VERY HELPFUL TO ME AND MY FAMILY. I AM ALSO VERY APPRECIATIVE OF HAVING IT AVAILABLE TO ME AT ALL TIMES VIA INTERNET. I HAVE READ IT VIA INTERNET AND THE ACTUAL BOOK AS I HAVE A VERY BUSY LIFESTYLE.