San Antonio College Library

A historical overview of the relationship between the Christian and Islamic worlds, from the seventh to the sixteenth centuries, traces the religious misunderstanding between the two great religions, despite long periods of peaceful coexistence.

Award-winning investigative journalist and poet, Eliza Griswold has spent the past seven years traveling between the equator and the tenth parallel: in Nigeria, the Sudan, and Somalia, and in Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines. The stories she tells in "The Tenth Parallel" show us that religious conflicts are also conflicts about land, water, oil, and other natural resources, and that local and tribal issues are often shaped by religious ideas....

Here is the first panoptic history of the long struggle between the Christian West and Islam. In this dazzlingly written, acutely nuanced account, Andrew Wheatcroft tracks a deep fault line of animosity between civilizations. He begins with a stunning account of the Battle of Lepanto in 1571, then turns to the main zones of conflict: Spain, from which the descendants of the Moors were eventually expelled; the Middle East, where Crusaders and Muslims...

In verses 157 and 158 of Surah IV, the Qur'an tells the story of the crucifixion of Jesus very differently from the Christian tradition. In it, Jesus is crucified, "or so it appears". Might those who witnessed the scene have been victims of an illusion? Might someone else have been crucified in his place? Did Jesus really die on the cross?

According to Surah IV of the Qur'an, "the People of the Book"--In this context, the Jews, claim that they have put Jesus to death. Contrary to historical fact, they contend that they have crucified him. Why this implausible claim? Why this self-accusation? Why does the Qur'an polemicize so much against the Jews of Arabia and yet all the while appear to remain faithful to the biblical tradition?

In the Qur'an, Muhammad is depicted as being illiterate, as a pure messenger of the divine word revealed by the angel Gabriel. How then did the text take form? How was it transmitted orally, then fixed in writing? How can Muhammad be considered the author of the Qur'an, this first monumental work of Arab literature?

The Qur'an makes numerous references to the Hebrew Bible and Christian texts, especially the apocryphal gospels. Where did Muhammad glean this knowledge? Did he have one or several informers, as the Qur'an suggests? While the Islamic tradition insists that Islam came to be within a pagan context, is Jesus' presence in the Qur'an the trace of Judeo-Christian influences?

"This historically based account of the building of the Dome of the Rock reconstructs the paths of the actual individuals whose spiritual journeys revolved around the seventh-century lore of the Rock."--Jacket.

Written from a western Christian viewpoint, but with a detailed first-hand knowledge of Muslim life, Islam: Its Prophet, Peoples, Politics, and Power digs deep beneath the surface to reveal Islam as a rich, proud and powerful force in world affairs. Though Dr. Braswell's book is thorough and scholarly, his personal experiences and insights make it a practical travel guide as well.