Review

"...a user-friendly book that is beneficial to a popular audience....It is particularly useful for non-Muslims who are newly encountering Muslim communities in the West or are traveling in or moving to a Muslim-majority country....Islam & Muslims is one of the best books of its kind in English to date." --Journal of Shi'a Islamic Studies, Spring 2009, Volume II, Number 2

From the Publisher

"Sedgwick’s long experience of living in the Muslim world and studying Islam gives authority to this book which successfully balances coverage of formal beliefs and actual practices. This realistic analysis is sympathetic but not apologetic. Islam and Muslims is a very helpful resource for anyone trying to understand the dynamics of Islamic history and contemporary Muslim life."

—John Voll, Professor of Islamic History at Georgetown University, and Associate Director, Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, Georgetown University.

"Islam & Muslims is really very, very good. I can attest that I truly enjoyed reading it, taking great satisfaction in the way that Mark Sedgwick managed time after time to ‘get it right’."

—L. Carl Brown, Garrett Professor in Foreign Affairs Emeritus, Princeton University

"Looking for a really good one-stop book on Islam and Muslims to recommend to friends and relations? Islam and Muslims is up-to-date, well-informed, insightful and sympathetic without being evasive."

—Michael Cook, author of The Koran: A Very Short Introduction

"Mark Sedgwick’s Islam and Muslims is an accessible and informative survey of the way Islam is actually practiced today, written in a refreshingly direct style. It will appeal especially to the general reader seeking a knowledgeable but non-technical view of Muslim societies."

—Carl Ernst, Director, Carolina Center for the Study of the Middle East and Muslim Civilizations, William R. Kenan Professor of Religious Studies, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

"Islam & Muslims draws on Mark Sedgwick's expertise and experiences as a scholar of Islam who has lived among Muslims for many years. The book stands out for its insightful focus on the everyday life of ordinary Muslims. Through comparisons between Islamic, Jewish and Christian traditions, Islam & Muslims succeeds in explaining to non-Muslims in the West not only the ideals of Islam, but also the diverse ways Islam is experienced by contemporary Muslims."

—Kambiz GhaneaBassiri, Assistant Professor of Religion and Humanities, Reed College

"Islam and Muslims is a most accessible, intimately informative, and thoroughly engaging read. Students and general readers alike will simply love this book. Whether one is wondering about how Muslims worship, what Muslims think about family and gender, why Islam has ‘clashed’ with the West, or all of these and more, this unique book is one that I would most highly recommend!"

—Bradley S. Clough, Abdulhadi H. Taher Chair in Comparative Religion, The American University in Cairo