The Best Islamic History eBooks of All Time
Discover the most influential islamic history ebooks, recommended by leaders, experts, and readers worldwide
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1
| 2020 | 400 Pages
A New York Times Notable Book of 2020.
“[A] sweeping and authoritative history" (The New York Times Book Review), Black Waveis an unprecedented and ambitious examination of how the modern Middle East unraveled and why it started with the pivotal year of 1979.
Kim Ghattas seamlessly weaves together history, geopolitics, and culture to deliver a gripping read of the largely unexplored story of the rivalry between between Saudi Arabia and Iran, born from the sparks of the 1979 Iranian revolution and fueled by American policy.
...moreWith vivid story-telling, extensive historical research and on-the-ground reporting, Ghattas dispels accepted truths about a region she calls home. She explores how Sunni Saudi Arabia and Shia Iran, once allies and twin pillars of US strategy in the region, became mortal enemies after 1979. She shows how they used and distorted religion in a competition that went well beyond geopolitics. Feeding intolerance, suppressing cultural expression, and encouraging sectarian violence from Egypt to Pakistan, the war for cultural supremacy led to Iran’s fatwa against author Salman Rushdie, the assassination of countless intellectuals, the birth of groups like Hezbollah in Lebanon, the September 11th terrorist attacks, and the rise of ISIS.
Ghattas introduces us to a riveting cast of characters whose lives were upended by the geopolitical drama over four decades: from the Pakistani television anchor who defied her country’s dictator, to the Egyptian novelist thrown in jail for indecent writings all the way to the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018. Black Wave is both an intimate and sweeping history of the region and will significantly alter perceptions of the Middle East.
(show less)Best for Readers interested in Middle Eastern history.
- #8 Best Seller in Saudi Arabia History on Amazon
- New York Times Notable Book of 2020
- Shortlisted for the Cundill History Prize
- A Kirkus Reviews Best Nonfiction Book of 2020
- A Financial Times Best Political Book of 2020
Vali Nasr - Professor Johns Hopkins-SAIS, Fr Sr Advisor, State Dept, books: Dispensable Nation, Shia Revival. RT not endorsement
A well-researched and highly readable primer on the rivalry between Shias and Sunnis shaping today’s Middle East. Kim Ghattas masterfully traces the origins of sectarianism in the explosive rise of Islamic fundamentalism in 1979 and the destructive Saudi-Iranian rivalry that followedBarham Salih - President of the Republic of Iraq
This is a truly insightful book, a must read! Thank you, Kim (source)Faysal Itani - Deputy Director at Center for Global Policy. Adjunct. Prof of Middle East politics at GW + Georgetown. Offroad motorcyclist. Parrot owner. faysalcgpolicy.org
'Black Wave' by KimGhattas is such an important and timely book. I'm glad it exists, and it should be required reading for anyone trying to understand how we (Islamic world/Middle east) got were we are. Big historical narratives and fascinating detail as well (source)Isabella Steger - deputy Asia bureau chief qz, focus mostly on Japan, Korea, Taiwan, China, and HK protests. formerly WSJ. the milk goes in last. isqz.com 日本語
i just read it it’s a great book (source)Adam Edelen - American. Kentuckian. Believer. Prefer tomorrow to yesterday. Entrepreneur, renewable energy developer.
I love when a book exceeds high expectations.KimGhattas ”Black Wave” is a book of the year.
Her writing is a compelling narrative, relentlessly clear-eyed in its analysis.
It recalls tomfriedman ”Beirut to Jerusalem” as a Middle East primer for the 21st century.
Bravo! (source)
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2
| 2021 | 487 Pages
Prior accounts have portrayed Islamic Spain either as a paradise of enlightened tolerance, or as the site where civilisations clashed. Award-winning historian Brian A. Catlos taps a wide array of original sources to paint a more complex picture, showing how Muslims, Christians, and Jews together built a sophisticated civilisation that transformed the Western world, even as they waged relentless war against each other and amongst themselves. Religion was often the language of conflict, but seldom its cause—a lesson we would do well to learn in our own time.
...moreKingdoms of Faith rewrites Spain’s Islamic past from the ground up, evoking the cultural splendour of al-Andalus and the many forces that shaped it.
(show less)Best for Historians and general readers interested in medieval history.
- New York Times Bestseller
- Rated Amazon Best Book of the Year
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⭐
| 2025 | 30-300 pages
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3
| 2014 | 352 Pages
Spanning a thousand years of history--and bringing the story to the present through ethnographic fieldwork in Senegal, Gambia, and Mauritania--Rudolph Ware documents the profound significance of Qur'an schools for West African Muslim communities. Such schools peacefully brought Islam to much of the region, becoming striking symbols of Muslim identity. Ware shows how in Senegambia the schools became powerful channels for African resistance during the eras of the slave trade and colonization.
...moreWhile illuminating the past, Ware also makes signal contributions to understanding contemporary Islam by demonstrating how the schools' epistemology of embodiment gives expression to classical Islamic frameworks of learning and knowledge.
Today, many Muslims and non-Muslims find West African methods of Qur'an schooling puzzling and controversial. In fascinating detail, Ware introduces these practices from the viewpoint of the practitioners, explicating their emphasis on educating the whole human being as if to remake it as a living replica of the Qur'an. From this perspective, the transference of knowledge in core texts and rituals is literally embodied in people, helping shape them--like the Prophet of Islam--into vital bearers of the word of God.
(show less)Best for Scholars and students of Islamic studies.
- New York Times Bestseller
- Rated Amazon Best Book of the Year
Recommended by Harvard Divinity Bulletin, Journal of Africana Religions, American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences and 1 other
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