Islam A Guide for Jews and Christians by F. E. Peters (Princeton and Oxford: Princeton University Press, 2003. 285 pages.)

Abstract

In the epilogue of Islam: A Guide for Jews and Christians, Francis Edward
Peters, an expert on medieval Arab thinkers and the author of several comparative
works on Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, describes what might
have led him to write the present book: while sitting at his breakfast table,
he watched the 9/11 events from his window. “My chief reaction on that terrible
day was one of profound sadness […] at the sure knowledge of the hate
and misunderstanding that prompted the act … I have spent half of my professional
life trying to explain the hate and unravel the misunderstanding
that pervades religious history” (p. 276). 

This book seeks to describe milestones of Islamic history, as well as its
core beliefs and customs, to western readers who are supposedly familiar
with the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament. It is not an academic work
per se, since, like his two-volume The Monotheists: Jews, Christians, and
Muslims in Conflict and Competition (Princeton University Press: 2003),
whose paragraphs on Islam are in fact similar – if not identical – to considerable
portions of the present work, it lacks footnotes and a bibliography.
The book contains nothing new for those already involved in this field.
However, as it is the outcome of his long acquaintance with the Arabic
sources and considerable classroom experience, it is extremely valuable and
accessible both for students and interested readers. From this respect, anyone
teaching introductory courses on Islam might benefit tremendously
from Peters’ historical and cultural insights as well as from the didactic
method employed here ...