useful - Rated 
I know some people have commented that this book came across as obscure and complex, but luckily for me I didn't find that. I found it incredibly helpful and illuminating in what is a deeply complex religion. The key facts that I was able to take away with me have helped to shape my understanding of Islam and what it means to be a Muslim. I thought that it was well written and extremely interesting.
hard work - Rated 
I love the idea of these very short introductions. The series is an excellent idea. However I've really struggled with this one. It feels like the author has tried to cope with the shortness of the book by making some very long sentences! Hard to understand and confusing with lots of unfamiliar names. Not really what I was hoping for.
A most helpful guide - Rated 
This pocket-sized volume is an excellent means for the serious reader to move towards an in-depth understanding of Islam. It is well illustrated with photographs and maps, and the author introduces a wealth of Islamic quotations. The vocabulary is academic to a degree, but the sentence structure is straightforward, making it readily accessible for those with a reasonable level of English. Together with its companion volumes on the other major world religions, this is a set book for the Open University course "Introducing Religions" (A217).
Those looking for an easier read might consider "Understanding My Muslim Neighbour", which uses a dialogue form to explore the main characteristics of Islam from a Christian viewpoint.
Trying far too hard to impress - Rated 
I got hold of this book hoping for some short, snappy answers to a lot of basic questions I had about islam. Big mistake. Ruthven falls into the worst academic style, where obscure words are used (Sublunary? Numinous?) instead of perfectly sufficient everyday ones. One suspects this is a poor attempt to
make the author appear smart to the reader, but Ruthvens rambling sentence structures fail to convey much meaning. I found my self having to fight the text a great deal to extract any information or arguments from it, a crime in any writing but especially when it bears the title "a short introduction". Short on facts and very long on waffle.
Islam a very short introduction - Rated
I was hoping this would be a short overview on Islam, however after reading a few pages of this book, I had lost the plot, what is the book trying to say, it was boring and long winded. Hoping this would be an 'idiots' guide to Islam, this book is far from it. It is written as if one needed a post grad in the english launguage to even attempt to read it. Not bed time reading would definetly give it a miss. For someone who wants an over view of Islam an idiots guide, I would recommend a book by Ghulam Sarwar 'Islam Beliefs and teachings'. Is is an easy read and gives an overview of the religion.
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