Product Description

Islam. For some, the word is frightening; for others, mysterious. For all, it is a religious force that cannot be ignored. Now here’s a question-and-answer book on Islam written specifically for Catholics. Inside Islam addresses Islam’s controversial teachings on God, jihad, the role of women, and more.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #480120 in Books
• Published on: 2003-09
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback

About the Author
Robert Spencer is the author of two previous books on Islam, "Islam Unveiled: Disturbing Questions About the World's Fastest Growing Faith" (Encounter Books, 2002), and an in-depth study of jihad, "Onward Muslim Soldiers: How Jihad Still Threatens America and the West (Regnery Publishing, 2003).

Daniel Ali converted to Catholicism from Islam in 1998. He has gained national recognition as the founder of the Christian-Islamic Forum. He is also the co-host of the video series "Islam and Christianity" with Fr. Mitch Pacwa, S.J. on the Eternal World Television Network.

Customer Reviews

A very handy guide for all - not only Catholics
Robert Spencer, firmly established as one of the foremost Christian (he announces his devout Catholic faith in the introduction in a way he did not in previous books) has done a very useful service with "Inside Islam: A Guide for Catholics".

In this book Spencer answers in a clear and convincing manner one hundred important questions about the Muslim faith, covering such issues as what Muslims claim to believe, contradictions within the Qur'an, the nature of Allah compared to the God of the Bible, and the effects Islamic teaching has had on the culture of Muslim countries over the fourteen centuries since Muhammad's time.

What is especially noteworthy is that, though he is clearly not sympathetic to Muslims, Robert Spencer has an ability to explain how Muslims themselves see their beliefs that was never discussed, for instance, in the PIG to Islam . This is most especially seen in the way Spencer is able to explain easily how Muslims see themselves as successors of Abraham and that, contrary to the view of many people within both Christianity and Islam, Islam does not believe in the same deity that Christianity or even Judaism does. He is also balanced enough to not omit the fact that Islam in Southeast Asia was not spread by the sword so much as by preaching - a pity he did not do that in the PIG to Islam!

Spencer's explanation of important points about what Islam teaches about sin, forgiveness thereof and salvation is also very well-done and most of it is generally ignored by almost all studies of comparative religion. Recalling the Qur'an itself as i read it when a child makes me doubt Islam denies free will to the extent Spencer says, but he does illustrate (as he did in the PIG to Islam) how Islam's belief in so powerful a deity has had a stifling effect on Muslim cultures. "Inside Islam: A Guide for Catholics" shows clearly how Islam supports slavery because people are slaves of Allah (and I know that freeing a slave is apparently punishment according to one verse of the Qur'an).

"Inside Islam: A Guide for Catholics" also shows clearly how the Qur'an evolved in ways that most Muslims would consider heretical today, and the role of the Sunnah (also emphasised firmly in the PIG to Islam) in authorising some Muslim teachings that most Westerners would consider unethical at best and which are not found in the Qur'an.

It is true that Spencer's claims that Islam is racist are rather dubious - though these come from the Sunnah rather than from the Qur'an itself. Spencer is nonetheless right that non-Arab Muslims do tend to believe Arab culture superior to their own and that it is rare for Muslims to maintain most of their pre-Islamic culture (though he does not discuss similar examples with Christianity). His viewpoint that Muhammad must have been literate and pretended otherwise is similarly not perfectly argued, though I myself know absolutely nothing about literacy in pre-Islamic Arabia.

These criticisms, though, do not detract from the undoubted merit of the book, which is superior to Spencer's other efforts simply through being more balanced.

Required Reading
My pastor recommended this book during one of his sunday sermons.
This book does an outstanding job of explaining various aspects of the muslim faith and of the islamic mind set.

The authors quote directly from the Koran and contrast that with direct quotes from the Bible.

This is niether an in depth study of Islam nor a superficial glossing of the subject. It gives good solid information in the time honored method of Question and answer.

Buy it new or used, but Buy it.

Good book!
Very interesting. Well done and extremely informative. Would recommend to anyone interested in learning more about Islam.