Book Review: “Dynamics of Muslim Worlds”

The reasons to be interested in the current state of Islam cannot be fully numerated. It is one of the world’s largest faith traditions. It is intersecting with other major faith traditions. We need to learn about our Muslim neighbors for all kinds of reasons. Dynamics of Muslim Worlds is a sometimes technical look at Islam around the world today.

The book is divided into three parts which focus on Regional Perspectives, Thematic Analyses, and Missiological Assessments, respectively. The first part is particularly intriguing. Martin Accad’s chapter on “Challenging the Monochromatic View of Islam” is perhaps the best chapter in the book. In it, Accad notes that non-Muslims tend to view Islam as a single, unified entity when it manifestly is not. Among the things that such a faulty view reinforces, the notions that Islam is inherently violent or the “conflict thesis”–the notion that Islam must be in an ideological and direct conflict with any other idea–are examined and shown to be wanting. Other chapters explore Islam in Europe, Asia, and Africa and show how it is shaping the look of religion across the world.

The second part has more extremely important topics, including two of the hot-button issues that arise when people talk about Islam: women and Sharia. Cathy Hine’s chapter on women in Islam demonstrates that, again, mistakes about Islam are abundant in our culture. Far from being silent and wholly without voice in Islam, many women are actually working both to change Islam from within and to preserve its traditions. Sharia law is typically the bogeyman in many discussions of Islam, the implication being that all people will be forced to submit to it (again, hearkening back to Accad’s chapter and the “conflict thesis”). However, the many interpretations of Sharia and its application once again mean that we cannot simply see it as a single, unified tradition in Islam. The final section focuses on missiological questions and challenges facing those doing outreach to Muslims.

Dynamics of Muslim Worlds gives readers a broad base from which to learn more while also providing some quite detailed analyses of Islam. I recommend it for readers interested in getting a deeper perspective on Islam and learning about its influence in the world today.

The Good

+Detailed yet brief analysis of significant issues
+Touches upon Islam across the world
+Gives readers an introduction to numerous topics
+Excellent tone and enagement

The Bad

-Somewhat esoteric for the lay reader

Disclaimer: I was provided with a copy of the book for review by the publisher. I was not required to give any specific kind of feedback whatsoever.

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SDG.

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