Edward (Ed) Hotaling

"Timely, welcome, and eminently readable. Hotaling's expert study does not shy away from opinion and this... may be just why it succeeds so well... A fair and balanced picture of Islam."

"Ed Hotaling's book is profound and deeply enlightening about a religion-culture that is so important to millions of people around the world. It is a book all Americans should read--highlighting the good and the bad with no illusions."

Publishers Weekly excerpt:

"Hotaling offers a fine book that lives up to its title: it covers a variety of topics, focusing on Islamic history and politics, in an honest and fair fashion. The book is admirably succinct, addressing core beliefs of Islam, the prophecy and life of Muhammad (probably the strongest portion of the book), Muhammad’s wives and daughter Fatima, jihad, and more in a fewer than 200 pages, drawing on credible sources and exemplifying a skilled understanding of Islam and Muslims.

"His juxtaposition of the widely accepted Yusuf Ali translation of the Qur’an with the more political and extremist Saudi Arabian translation is rarely done, and shows how interpretation diverges greatly in the Islamic world. Anecdotes from his days as a correspondent and bureau chief are enjoyable.

"He even compares President Nixon’s directing Air Force One to avoid flying over the then-enemy airspace of Israel with Muhammad’s miraculous night journey from Mecca to Jerusalem. Hotaling concludes with a chapter that addresses several common "illusions" Americans have about Islam...

"Hotaling’s bold observations--for example, giving reasons why Muhammad would want to be an American if he were alive today--will engage the reader."

Booklist excerpt:

"Because Islamic studies have become so politicized, few books acknowledge the complexity of the contemporary Islamic world. Hotaling... manages to avoid academic infighting nicely in this balanced introduction to the complex, diverse responses to Muhammad’s seventeenth-century revelations. Examining such controversial subjects as Islam’s history of evangelism, jihad, and Islam’s relations with Christianity and Judaism, Hotaling mixes history with glimpses into how contemporary Muslims have interpreted their scripture and history.

"This is best illustrated by his compelling analysis of two English translations of the Qur’an, a moderate version by the Washington Islamic Center and a more radical, Wahabist translation by the Saudi government. The differences in translation expose the deep rift in contemporary Quranic interpretations among Muslims...

"Hotaling’s balanced, unusually approachable examination of Islamic faith and history examines many questions that matter most to lay readers in America."