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No God But God: The Origins, Evolution and Future of Islam Paperback – 1 Sept. 2011

by Reza Aslan (Author)
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 1,631 ratings
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*Ten years on from 9/11, much of the Muslim faith remains largely unknown and misunderstood in the West.

*While there have been a number of successful books on the topic of Islamic history - from Karen Armstrong's Islam: A Brief History to Bernard Lewis's The Crises of Islam - there is surprisingly no book for a popular audience about Islam as a religion, let alone one by an author from an Islamic background.

*No God But God fills that gap, addressing issues of belief: the difference between the Quran and the Bible, the meaning of the Hajj, the Muslim relationship with Jesus, the Muslim attitude towards Jews, equality between the sexes and more.

* This revised and updated edition includes a wealth of new material and new chapters covering recent uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya; the changing face of Islam in Europe and North Africa; and a number of topics of heated debate (the veil controversy; Islam & women; Iraq War as a Jihadi recruiting agent etc).

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  1. Print length
    384 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Arrow
  4. Publication date
    1 Sept. 2011
  5. Dimensions
    13 x 2.4 x 19.7 cm
  6. ISBN-10
    0099564327
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0099564324
  8. See all details
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Review

Beautiful [and] fascinating ― Metro

Truly illuminating -- AS Byatt ― The Guardian

A revelation ― Yasmin Alibhai-Brown

Aslan is a superb narrator, bringing each century to life with vivid details and present tense narration that makes popular history so enthralling... A terrific read ― Glasgow Herald

Outstandingly useful ... always balanced, vivid and readable ― The Independent

About the Author

Reza Aslan is an internationally acclaimed writer and scholar of religions. He is also a graduate of the Iowa Writers' Workshop. At Harvard, Aslan was elected president of Harvard's chapter of the World Conference on Religion and Peace, a UN organisation committed to global understanding. His is first book, No god but God: The Origins, Evolution and Future of Islam, has been translated into thirteen languages and named by Blackwells as one of the hundred most important books of the last decade. Currently teaching an introductory course on Islam at Iowa, Aslan is also at work on a novel.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Arrow; Revised edition (1 Sept. 2011)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 384 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0099564327
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0099564324
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 13 x 2.4 x 19.7 cm
  • Customer reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 1,631 ratings

About the author

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Reza Aslan

Reza Aslan

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Dr. Reza Aslan’s bachelor’s degree is in religious studies, with an emphasis on scripture and traditions (which at Santa Clara University means the New Testament). His minor was in biblical Greek. He has a master of theological studies degree from Harvard University, in world religions, and a Ph.D. from the University of California, Santa Barbara, in the sociology of religions. UCSB’s doctoral program is an interdisciplinary one that draws from religion, history, philosophy, and sociology, among other fields. Aslan’s doctorate in the sociology of religions encompasses expertise in the history of religion. Reza also has a master of fine arts degree from the University of Iowa.

Dr. Aslan is currently professor of creative writing at the University of California, Riverside, with a joint appointment in the department of religion, and he teaches in both disciplines. He was previously Wallerstein Distinguished Visiting Professor at Drew University, where he taught from 2012 to 2013, and assistant visiting professor of religion at the University of Iowa, where he taught from 2000 to 2003. He has written three books on religion.

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4.4 out of 5 stars
1,631 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book informative and enlightening. They describe it as a great reference on Islam that is well-written and clear. Readers also mention that the book has been updated and rewritten well.

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33 customers mention ‘Insight’30 positive3 negative

Customers find the book informative and enlightening. They say it's a great reference on Islam that works well as an introductory volume. Readers appreciate the thoughtful and well-argued content that makes them face the complexity of religious matters. The book sheds much more light on history than most contemporary sources.

"Such a great read, the author gives context and has introduced this complex and at times controversial topic with ease. Such a pleasure to read...." Read more

"...the side of the Sufis, a relatively gentle and reflective tradition in Islam with mystic leanings, which grew up in the shade of the Shia branch of..." Read more

"...with Islam, or those who are just curious, as this book sheds much more light on the history that most contemporary scholarship, and is both readable..." Read more

"...It's a great reference on Islam, works well as a one-stop introductory volume or as a nuanced, thought-provoking overview to combine with other texts..." Read more

32 customers mention ‘Readability’32 positive0 negative

Customers find the book engaging and educational. They describe it as well-written, providing a different perspective on Islam. Readers appreciate the narrative style, which brings fun back into reading history.

"Such a great read, the author gives context and has introduced this complex and at times controversial topic with ease. Such a pleasure to read...." Read more

"...The book has many strengths, but perhaps what stands out is the insight given into the life of Mohammad, and how he was a genuinely universal social..." Read more

"...It's a great reference on Islam, works well as a one-stop introductory volume or as a nuanced, thought-provoking overview to combine with other texts..." Read more

"...This book is the hammer, it will reshape your soul on the anvil of its powerful narrative...." Read more

14 customers mention ‘Readable’14 positive0 negative

Customers find the book readable and clear. They say it should be read by all to get a better understanding of Islam. The edition has been updated and rewritten well, and the language and style are easy to read. Readers also mention it's well-explained aspects of today's Muslim life for someone who doesn't know.

"...believers is sketched credibly, and the final result is easy and pleasant to read...." Read more

"...light on the history that most contemporary scholarship, and is both readable, accessible, and highly informative. In short, a masterwork!" Read more

"Reza Aslan is brilliant. The book is clear, engaging, beautifully written and very readable...." Read more

"...It is well written, easy to read and a good size (~300 pages)...." Read more

Top reviews from United Kingdom

  • rupi
    5.0 out of 5 stars Love the book!
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 30 October 2024
    Verified Purchase
    Such a great read, the author gives context and has introduced this complex and at times controversial topic with ease. Such a pleasure to read. Thank you so much.
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  • Andrew Ross
    4.0 out of 5 stars Well researched and written but too pious and uncritical
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 30 December 2017
    Verified Purchase
    Reza Aslan is a good writer and a good historian of religion. His 2013 book Zealot on Jesus was excellent, so I had high hopes for this 2011 book on Islam. Many hopes were indeed fulfilled: the historical timeline is clear, the known facts are in place, the conjectures are properly flagged, the context for contemporaries and believers is sketched credibly, and the final result is easy and pleasant to read.

    Any historian of Islam will be confronted with controversy and compelled to take sides. Aslan takes the side of the Sufis, a relatively gentle and reflective tradition in Islam with mystic leanings, which grew up in the shade of the Shia branch of the Mohammedan faith in lands that had rich and deep traditions of belief and philosophy. In doing so, he distances himself from the Sunni branch and those of its variants such as Wahhabism that have attracted Western anger in recent years.

    What Aslan does not do, and what diminishes his book for me, is stand back far enough from the entire tradition of veneration for the revelations of the Prophet, and their expression in the series of texts that form the Quran, to see the wood for the trees. Even today, no pious Muslim would dare regard the revelations or their canonical expression as anything but holy, but for a modern Westerner with some respect for science and rational thinking the leap of imagination required to take such affirmed holiness at face value is just too great. This reader at least is driven to taking a remote anthropological stance on the Arab and related societies of a thousand plus or minus a few hundred years ago and regarding their strange belief system as shot through with hardly less nonsense than any other ancient myth or curious narrative.

    Despite his Muslim roots, Aslan is a modern Western writer, so he must must see the need to keep such rational readers on board, even if in the end he parts company with them in continuing to venerate his holy relics. There may be a learning curve here, for he does a fine job in standing back from Christian or other pieties in discussing Jesus in his later book Zealot; perhaps it is easier to stand back from a faith one feels no residual need to defend or believe in. Modern societies with Christian or Muslim roots are surely robust enough to rise above superstitious awe in face of alleged revelations and the purportedly holy texts that spring from them, or at any rate we can only hope so, if we are to avoid a new clash of civilizations.

    Like Aslan, I have some sympathy for the Sufi thread in the story of Islam, and feel some distaste for the hardened institutional forms of the Muslim faith, which like their Christian equivalents have led to serial disasters in the societies swayed by them. Unlike him, however, I see little hope for a revival of Sufism in the Muslim world and indeed little hope of sufficient reform within Islam to accommodate it to the constraints of life in an age of global connectivity, robots, and nuclear weapons. Only a clean separation of secular life, including politics, from the inner life of religion can enable us to regulate the modern world, it seems to me, and even a revived Sufism would be of no obvious help in doing so.

    In summary, then, a modern history of Islam, especially one that like this volume takes us up to contemporary political issues surrounding the ongoing wars in Muslim majority societies, can only work for Western readers if it rises above a partisan perspective. As it is, Aslan seems to feel sympathy for the victim narrative that Western imperialists have cruelly exploited the Muslim world, which must therefore rise up and restore its fortunes by defeating the infidels. This cuts no ice with me, even in the context of a volume of history that otherwise deserves some praise.
    35 people found this helpful
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  • Adrian J. Smith
    5.0 out of 5 stars Revealing, insightful, and highly readable
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 8 March 2016
    Verified Purchase
    Having read various works on both the history of Islam, and Islam's current issues over it's own identity, this work in particular, stands out.
    The book has many strengths, but perhaps what stands out is the insight given into the life of Mohammad, and how he was a genuinely universal social reformer. From the early chapters, a portrait of Mohammad as a genuinely tolerant man with universal and all inclusive aspirations, is unveiled, in stark contrast to the intolerant vision of Islam such contemporaries present in the world today.
    The chapters about the prophets succession, and the Sunni-Shi'a divide are of particular strength, and a notable feature of Aslan's style is how he juxtaposes the work with examples from the present, or recent history.
    The last chapter is a work on Islam's current identity issues, and how there are many Islam's out there. For a work examining Islam's identity and current issues, it is best to read Ali A Alawi's Crisis of Islamic Civilization, however the strength of Reza Aslan's work is an overall history of Islam.
    The current edition has been updated and rewritten very well, and it shows that Aslan takes great care in keeping his work up to date.
    On the whole, this book can be recommended to both those who are familiar with Islam, or those who are just curious, as this book sheds much more light on the history that most contemporary scholarship, and is both readable, accessible, and highly informative. In short, a masterwork!
    6 people found this helpful
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  • nagapie
    5.0 out of 5 stars If you're going to buy one book on Islam, make it this one
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 3 December 2014
    Verified Purchase
    Reza Aslan is brilliant. The book is clear, engaging, beautifully written and very readable. It's a great reference on Islam, works well as a one-stop introductory volume or as a nuanced, thought-provoking overview to combine with other texts. It's arranged in such a way that you can easily pick out chapters on particular issues, such as jihad, Islamic law, Sufism, and women. I particularly enjoyed his discussions of Muslim feminism and the 'Islamic Renaissance'. He is great at dismantling the common misconceptions in a matter-of-fact way while openly and honestly exploring some of the challenges faced by contemporary Muslim communities. This is the level of discussion that we don't see often enough in the press, and which Western societies desperately need if we are going to be able to build healthy relationships with Muslims in our own countries as well as abroad. After reading this I immediately ordered three more copies for my parents and friends.
    5 people found this helpful
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  • Gnothi Seauton
    5.0 out of 5 stars Set yourself free, I dare you!
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 8 June 2018
    Verified Purchase
    Reading this book is like boxing for the first time with a pro for real. I felt like as if my beliefs are being punched hard. I try to preserve myself by ducking, counter arguing, but fail each time as the narrative of Dr Aslan is so irrefutable. Anyone claiming to have a rational mind, with the courage to know the truth, has to accept the arguments put forward in this book. This book is the hammer, it will reshape your soul on the anvil of its powerful narrative. If you are too meek to face the truth, do not attempt to read this book, your ego will force you to reject it outright and you will lose out big time to learn the truth, thus failing to set yourself free. However, if you are not afraid of the truth, then go ahead, read this book and set yourself free.
    One person found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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  • Adriana Tucci
    5.0 out of 5 stars Melhor livro que eu li esse ano
    Reviewed in Spain on 4 February 2021
    Verified Purchase
    Esse autor é perfeito, leitura maravilhosa, já estou buscando outro do mesmo autor. Para quem quer iniciar os estudos sobre islamismo, vai desde o início..
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  • augustin singbagbee
    5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
    Reviewed in Canada on 11 June 2018
    Verified Purchase
    I love the book. Very very delivery service. Recommended to other potential buyers.
    Report
  • Rommel
    5.0 out of 5 stars Lectura obligada para entender el Islam
    Reviewed in Mexico on 27 October 2017
    Verified Purchase
    Es interesante saber él origen y evolución a través del tiempo del Islam. Un pasado caótico lleno de violencia,sangre y mal interpretación y también ver su cambio ahora con las redes sociales.
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  • Yash Sharma
    5.0 out of 5 stars Let the truth prevails : The Unraveling of Islam
    Reviewed in India on 17 July 2018
    Verified Purchase
    It is not prophets who create religions. Prophet are, above all, reformers who redefine and reinterpret the existing beliefs and practiced of their communities, providing fresh sets of symbols and metaphors with which succeeding generations can describe the nature of reality. Indeed, it is most often the prophet's successors who take upon themselves the responsibility of fashioning their Master's word and deeds into unified easily comprehensible religious systems.

    - Reza Aslan
    -------------------------------------------------

    Hello there! I hope you are doing good.

    That's my views about this wonderfully written book on Islam.

    This book is multidimensional. It covers nearly all the aspects of Islam.

    * Like from its origins, and how it evolved and spread throughout the world.

    *The message which Prophet Muhammad(PBUH) preached throughout his Life i.e compassion, social and economic justice, egalitarianism.

    *And how this message is hijacked by the ulemas ( self proclaimed religious scholars ) and the best example of this is the 1979 Iranian revolution.

    *The difference between Shia's and Sunnis.

    *About the most mystic part of islam i.e Sufism.

    *And the various conflicts within islam.

    And the author rightly mentioned that whatever problems the Muslims are facing worldwide has to be resolved by themselves and the best way to reform is to reinterpret the Holy Qur'an again in the present context.

    After reading this book I can surely say that this book deserves to be read by every rational human irrespective of his/her religion.

    I hope you like this, Thanks for Reading, Jai Hind.

    With Regards,

    Yash Sharma

    For more information You can visit -

    Dontbignorant.in

    My Ratings : 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 ( 5/5 )

    Table of contents :-
    ---------------------

    1. The sanctuary in the desert(pre-islamic Arabia )

    2. The keeper of the keys(Muhammad in Medina )

    3. The city of the prophet(the first Muslims )

    4. Fight in the way of God(the meaning of jihad )

    5. The rightly guided ones(the successors to Muhammad )

    6. This religion is a science(the development of islamic theology and law )

    7. In the footsteps of martyrs( from shi'ism to khomeinism )

    8. Stain your prayer rug with wine(the sufi way )

    9. An Awakening in the East(the response to colonialism )

    10. Slouching towards Medina( the quest for islamic democracy)

    11. Welcome to the Islamic Reformation ( the future of islam )
    Customer image
    Yash Sharma
    5.0 out of 5 stars
    Let the truth prevails : The Unraveling of Islam

    Reviewed in India on 17 July 2018
    It is not prophets who create religions. Prophet are, above all, reformers who redefine and reinterpret the existing beliefs and practiced of their communities, providing fresh sets of symbols and metaphors with which succeeding generations can describe the nature of reality. Indeed, it is most often the prophet's successors who take upon themselves the responsibility of fashioning their Master's word and deeds into unified easily comprehensible religious systems.

    - Reza Aslan
    -------------------------------------------------

    Hello there! I hope you are doing good.

    That's my views about this wonderfully written book on Islam.

    This book is multidimensional. It covers nearly all the aspects of Islam.

    * Like from its origins, and how it evolved and spread throughout the world.

    *The message which Prophet Muhammad(PBUH) preached throughout his Life i.e compassion, social and economic justice, egalitarianism.

    *And how this message is hijacked by the ulemas ( self proclaimed religious scholars ) and the best example of this is the 1979 Iranian revolution.

    *The difference between Shia's and Sunnis.

    *About the most mystic part of islam i.e Sufism.

    *And the various conflicts within islam.

    And the author rightly mentioned that whatever problems the Muslims are facing worldwide has to be resolved by themselves and the best way to reform is to reinterpret the Holy Qur'an again in the present context.

    After reading this book I can surely say that this book deserves to be read by every rational human irrespective of his/her religion.

    I hope you like this, Thanks for Reading, Jai Hind.

    With Regards,

    Yash Sharma

    For more information You can visit -

    Dontbignorant.in

    My Ratings : 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 ( 5/5 )

    Table of contents :-
    ---------------------

    1. The sanctuary in the desert(pre-islamic Arabia )

    2. The keeper of the keys(Muhammad in Medina )

    3. The city of the prophet(the first Muslims )

    4. Fight in the way of God(the meaning of jihad )

    5. The rightly guided ones(the successors to Muhammad )

    6. This religion is a science(the development of islamic theology and law )

    7. In the footsteps of martyrs( from shi'ism to khomeinism )

    8. Stain your prayer rug with wine(the sufi way )

    9. An Awakening in the East(the response to colonialism )

    10. Slouching towards Medina( the quest for islamic democracy)

    11. Welcome to the Islamic Reformation ( the future of islam )
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  • Amazon Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
    Reviewed in Australia on 26 September 2016
    Verified Purchase
    Well written.
    Report