About book Dari Puncak Bagdad: Sejarah Dunia Versi Islam (2009)
An extremely comprehensive and sweeping history of the Islamic world which is a lot to cover especially in a book of this length. As such, people will be inundated with lots of names and events at breakneck speed. If someone is not already vaguely familiar with Islamic history, it can be a bit overwhelming. With that being said, this book is a valuable insight into the Islamic version of history. In the West, history has been largely interpreted through a Eurocentric lens and having an Islamic lens is an important contribution. Ansary's overall thesis is that he believes the current conflict in the Middle East is not one between different religions and civilizations per se, but a conflict over historical interpretations of destiny--that each side (East and West) views themselves as the main driver of human destiny and as the centre of the world. I wasn't sure what to expect with this but what I got was smart, witty, serious and a little bit sarcastic. Loved it!The author's delivery is very relaxed and straight to the point. He give the reader just enough historic detail, which goes a long way to maintain reader interest.This book has really rounded my opinion of Islam. The author's portrayal, to me, seems congruent with what I've heard about Islam being fundamentally a religion of peace. I loved the last 10% of the book because it draws on all the history that's been covered to bring the Muslim mindset to the present day and explains the fighting, and the central tenet behind the fighting (Empirical individualism vs the Islamic collective)I found out that* Horde is a Turkish word meaning Army Camp* Ataturk was a great man in Turkish culture and turned his country around* The Young Turks is synonymous with activism and the voice of the youth* The Muslim Brotherhood grew out of an almost boyscout equivalent, later to become a political powerhouse* The division of the Middle East was laughably arbitrary, based on western business interests and exploiting the localsStunningly, a lot of the nations of the middle east, which seemed like they must be ancient dynasties, didn't exist a little over 100 years ago.5 Stars: Would read again, if you really wanted to, you could breeze through the first 3/4 as it's a lot of deep Islamic/Middle Eastern history, but the last part will give you fresh eyes when looking at how the middle east operates. Would read again.
Do You like book Dari Puncak Bagdad: Sejarah Dunia Versi Islam (2009)?
history of middle earth in different persective. it offered answers to some of my questions in life
—Clara
Amazing. Everyone should read it and it should be a must read in school too.
—fran
