Lost Islamic History
Reclaiming Muslim Civilisation from the Past
A lively and illuminating history of one of the most powerful religious, social and political forces.
REVISED AND EXPANDED EDITION
Description
Over the last 1,400 years, a succession of Muslim polities and empires expanded to control territories and peoples stretching from southern France to East Africa and South East Asia. Yet many of the contributions of Muslim thinkers, scientists and theologians, not to mention statesmen and soldiers, have been overlooked. The bestselling Lost Islamic History, now in a new updated edition, rescues from oblivion a forgotten past, charting its narrative from Muhammad to modern-day nation-states.
From Abbasids and Ottomans to Mughals and West African kings, Firas Alkhateeb sketches key personalities, inventions and historical episodes to show the monumental impact of Islam on global society and culture.
Table of contents
1. PRE-ISLAMIC ARABIA
2. THE LIFE OF THE PROPHET
3. THE RIGHTLY GUIDED CALIPHS
4. THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE MUSLIM STATE
5. INTELLECTUAL GOLDEN AGES
6. THE ISLAMIC SCIENCES
7. UPHEAVAL
8. AL-ANDALUS
9. THE EDGE
10. REBIRTH
11. DECLINE
12. OLD AND NEW IDEAS
Reviews
‘A great read . . . An excellent brief history of the driving force that made Islamic civilisation the greatest of its time and then the factors behind its decline.’—Imran Khan, Prime Minister of Pakistan
‘Presenting 1,400 years of Islamic civilisation in a comprehensive, easy to follow manner is no small feat . . . the book is valuable not only for its insights into lesser-known aspects of Islamic history, but also as a general introduction to the subject.’ —AramcoWorld
Author(s)
Firas Alkhateeb is an American researcher, writer and historian who specialises in the Islamic world. He is currently a PhD student in Islamic thought at the University of Chicago. He founded and writes the website Lost Islamic History.