Islam: What Non-Muslims Should Know

Currents in Theology and Mission, Oct, 2004 by Mark C. Mattes

Islam: What Non-Muslims Should Know. By John Kaltner. Minneapolis: Fortress, 2003. xi and 136 pages. Paper. $6.00.

This volume is particularly welcome in an America that increasingly has an Islamic community and is becoming exposed to the wider Islamic world. John Kaltner is a professor of religion at Rhodes College in Memphis. He writes in light of the questions that many Americans have had about Islam since September 11, 2001.

Kaltner offers features one would expect in an introductory book on Islam: a history of Mohammed and early Islam, the distinction between Suni and Shi'i Islam, and the well-known five pillars (profession of faith, prayer, almsgiving, fasting, and pilgrimage). However, he also emphasizes themes of Islam not as well known to Americans: its diversity, its tendency towards an "orthopraxy," its inherent respect for Judaism and Christianity (as "people of the book"), its lack of an institutional hierarchy, its geography as encompassing more than the Middle East, and its tendency not to separate religion and politics. A major point that Kaltner makes is that Islam is not violent by nature.

For Kaltner, it is important to note that "There is no ingrained animosity toward Judaism and Christianity imbedded in Islam. Just the opposite is true. The followers of Moses and Jesus enjoy a special relationship with Muslims since they have all been given the same revelation" (pp. 70-71). With respect to women's issues, Kaltner notes that the Qur'an itself does not call for the full veiling of women and that much of the Qur'an implies equality for women, though "some passages [of the Qur'an] draw a distinction that favors the male" (p. 87).

The book is especially helpful in describing Islam's reaction toward Western modernity. Kaltner presents the views of early accommodationists to modernity, such as Ahmad Khan (1817-1898), an Indian who attempted to reconcile Islam with the scientific worldviews that were developing in Europe, and the Egyptian Muhammad 'Abduh (1849-1905), who sought to stress the compatibility of Islam and science without supporting European colonialism. Kaltner traces the rise of Islamic fundamentalism in the writings of Sayyid Qutb (1906-1966), who reacted very negatively to the individualism of the West (pp. 109-14) and whose views are adopted by Islamic anti-Western extremists.

This book provides the basics about Islam in nontechnical language, but it moves beyond them to break stereotypes. One might wish that something were said in the book about the plight of the Palestinians. Overall, though, Kaltner does an excellent job in giving Americans an objective portrait of Islam. The book is enhanced with questions for discussion at the end of each chapter. I recommend it for church study groups, including youth groups, and college and seminary classrooms.