Book Review: No God but God by Reza Aslan

One of the tragedies of the religious struggles in Nigeria, between Islam and Christianity is that both religions don't even understand each other. Completely.

One of the tragedies of the religious struggles in Nigeria, between Islam and Christianity is that both religions don't even understand each other. Completely.

My curiosity about Islam has never been satisfied. I wanted to understand this religion. I wanted to see it for what it was. Christians and Muslims have always held each other suspiciously, but my instinct tells me that it doesn't have to be that way. Everyone can have their religion and then we can still live in peace and trust each other. A big stumbling block in our understanding is violence. My sympathy for understanding Islam was fueled when I visited Egypt and Dubai. In Egypt, I saw a country with a 96% Muslim population that had stamped out terrorism. I don't know of any other country that has effectively fought terrorism like that country. Then in Dubai, I saw a city that was clearly Islamic- everywhere you went there was a mosque, yet there seemed to be an allowance to be whatever you wanted to be and also importantly, unprecedented economic development. I read that the Prince built a Church as he was building a Mosque. When we visited the Dubai Expo venue, we were taken through these large statues of Islamic Scholars who contributed immensely to global knowledge and history.

Some years back, I read the book "The Silk Road" by Peter Frankopan. In it, he gave a sweeping history of the world using the east as the central point. It was a wonderful read. It sowed the seeds of understanding the middle east in my mind. One country that remained in my mind even after reading the book was Bagdad! Bagdad had a thriving intellectual community until it was stamped out.

Reading Reza Aslan's book contributed immensely to my understanding of Islam. One book is not enough, of course. But this one book will give you a thorough understanding of how Islam began, the ideologies that shaped it, the internal struggles, the battles, and how it evolved into the modern world.

The author's perspective is that the 9/11 attacks were not things that should be used to judge Islam. He makes his argument from history. Indeed, he showed that there were many times Muhammad told his followers not to meet out violence on a people that he could overpower in a short time.

The most important achievement of this book to me is that it explained to me Islamic traditions such as the five pillars of Islam, (Shahada, Salah, Sawm, Zakat and Hajj) the Kabba, the role of the Imams, the importance of the Quran, and the place of the Prophet in Islam, the Caliph, Jihad, etc. The author wrote as though he was offering an explanation for events. He was explaining how certain philosophies became dominant in Islam, this was helpful for new entrants into Islam.

He makes some profound points in regards to how religious movements evolve, they are worth thinking about.

We can always disagree on things. In fact, as I read this book, I could see more clearly where Islam and Christianity diverged and why the two cannot agree. But I think we can make attempts to understand each other. We can make attempts to look at our neighbors over the fence and say "Hello Isa. How are you? Can you explain to me why you worship five times every day?" We can look at our neighbors and say "Hello Emmanuel. Can you explain to me why you say there are three Gods?" That won't hurt, and it won't cost anything.

Perhaps my curiosity about Islam has also been sustained by some good Muslim friends that I've had over the years. Some of the friendships I've enjoyed the most are with Muslims who have been true friends with me. I am always indebted to them. Some years back, I asked one of them to get me a Quran, but he didn't and he didn't tell me why even though I asked him several times. After reading this book, I understand why he couldn't. He wasn't supposed to, the Quran is a document sacred and is to be read (and interpreted) primarily by the Imam and until a few centuries ago, Muslims everywhere, not outsiders.

Thank you for your good friendships!