Malise Ruthven

A poorly written, underwhelming, inconsequential and useless introduction to Islam, which frankly deserves better than 100 pages of academic frottage disguised as accessible to the casual reader. Contains a lot of useless factoids, relies heavily on secondary texts for critical analysis and context, and is overall a dry, dull read. There is an excellent PBS documentary, narrated by Ben Kingsley, which covers the origins of Islam and follows its history; I would recommend watching that instead.

Too much on non-christian fundamentalism. Otherwise good

A thoughtful discussion of the family resemblances between the forms of fundamentalism which have been increasingly dominating the world outside Western Europe and Australasia over the past four decades. Of particular significance is Ruthven's analysis of the links between fundamentalist religions and nationalism in practice despite their theoretical inconsistencies.