John Tolan

Heretic and impostor or reformer and statesman? The contradictory Western visions of Muhammad. In European culture, Muhammad has been vilified as a heretic, an impostor, and a pagan idol. But these aren't the only images of the Prophet of Islam that emerge from Western history. Commentators have also portrayed Muhammad as a visionary reformer and an inspirational leader, statesman, and...

A concise new narrative history of Islam that draws on the transformative insights of recent research to emphasise the diversity and dynamism of the traditionToday's Muslim world is in upheaval: legalists and mystics engage in intense debates, radical groups invoke Sharia, Muslim immigrants in the West face prejudice and discrimination, and Muslim feminists advocate new interpretations of the Koran. At...