What Everyone Needs To Know About Islam Summary

What Everyone Needs to Know About Islam is an informative book by John L. Esposito. It is a great introduction to Islam. With terrorist attacks constantly talked in main stream media, Islam gets a bad reputation. Many people perceived Islam as a violent religion and misunderstand Muslim beliefs. However, for somebody like myself who knows very little about Islam but wants more information regarding this religion, this is a perfect book to start with. Esposito’s wrote this book in a question and answer format. Esposito stated he intentionally wrote the book this way for people who “have specific questions and are looking for direct answers.” It is very easy to follow and the author’s tone throughout the book is very straightforward. Furthermore, Esposito covered a wide variety of topics such as “How did Islam originate?”, “Do Muslims believe in heaven and hell?”, and “How is Islam similar to Christianity and Judaism?” Moreover, the author talked about Muslim’s customs and cultures such as “Why does Islam separate men and women?”.

This is more evident after the 9/11 terrorist attack. Some people think Islam despise any other religion. However, this is not true according to Esposito. He said that the Quran emphasizes “there is to be no compulsion in religion.” (pg. 70). The group or individuals giving Islam a bad reputation are the Islam religious extremists. They are prejudice not only to other people with different religions but even to other Muslims who do not believe their way of thinking. It is important to understand that radicalized Muslims have different point of view compared to the majority of Muslims who believed that Christians and other religions are “People of the Book” as well (pg. 70). Esposito explained this misunderstanding on his book. He further stated that Muslims did not force their beliefs on other people. He added that Muslims are respectful to other religious