Just finished, Islam a short history by Karen Armstrong . It talks about with divine neutrality the evolution of Islam and Islam centric culture. Islam means "surrender" i.e. surrender to the will of God.
During the days of holy Ramadan in 610, holy Quraan was revealed to the Prophet in a cave on the summit of mount Hira, close to Mecca. Islam was born that day. 630 AD, Islam was firmly established in the Arabia. Prophet died in 632 AD in Mecca. The Prophet was followed by 4 Khalifas or Caliphs (meaning deputy) namely Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman ibn Affan and Ali. Last three Caliphs were assassinated. The assassinations of Uthmans and Ali and later murder of Imman Hussain at Karbala in 680 AD divided the Ummah (Muslim society) into Shiities and non-Shiities (later known as Sunnis).
Medieval period saw the rise of three Islamic superpowers the Mughals in India, the Safavids in Iran and Ottoman Turks in Turkey. Turks even captured Serbia by defeating Prince Lazar at Kosovo in 1389. They even reached at the gates of Vienna in 1530 under the reign of Suleiman the magnificent. Mehmed the 2nd captured Constantinople in 1453. Thus in 16th Century Ottoman Turks were the greatest power.
Advent of renaissance in Europe coincided with the decline of these three great empires and thus led to the colonization of India and middle east by the European superpowers. However it took another 100 years to dismantle Ottoman empire. The great Muslims states were defeated by the western states.
Muslim states are still in process of reconciliation. Overall this book is a good read to know real history of Islam than to follow blindly the media created stereotypes.
Highly Recommended (8/10)
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