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Krisztina (USA: NY) (2008/02/11):
Written with tolerant perspective of Islam. Aslan describes his religion in a non-defensive way. Tells the history of Islam and the concept of monotheism in a story-telling fashion, about Muhammad and Islam's history, but mostly in a way a historian tells it. When he tells it in this fashion, he statements seem easier to accept and less educational, therefore making it naturally more interesting.I mean, he's not like "this is Islam and everything else is a lie," but he tells things like that Muhammad possibly performed sacrifices to pagan gods (prior to his revelations) because that's what the Quraysh did back then. Also Aslan mentions how Muhammad protected Christians and Jews, and he publicly acknowledges that some of the hadith are chronologically inaccurate, i.e. Guy 1 claims he heard Guy 2 say he heard this about Muhammad, when Guy 2 wasn't even born when Guy 1 was alive. He mainly talks about those hadith that very few Muslims believe are accurate and that the majority reject or regard with high suspicion. It could be so easy to make this a "this is the story of how my religion goes, and everyone else is wrong" or a "my religion is the right one" argument, but Reza Aslan is relatively unbiased, and this is why I recommend No God But God.
I mean, that attitude is hard to find in any writing about religion, be it Islam, Judaism, Christianity, Hinduism, or the rest of them.
JessicaGreen (USA: VA) (2011/11/21):
immensely readable.
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