Islamic Fundamentalism

KLIATT

The At Issue series provides a useful service in handily assembling in one place different perspectives on current issues, like the other Greenhaven series reviewed below, but the At Issue titles have a relatively narrow focus and the volumes are correspondingly shorter, with less editorial material. Each book starts with a three or four-page introduction that discusses the issue and explains why it’s controversial, followed by a dozen or so articles by journalists, scientists, government officials and others. For example, in Performance Enhancing Drugs the National Institute on Drug Abuse holds that “Performance-Enhancing Drugs Are Harmful to Health,” while newspaper columnist Glenn Dickey maintains, “Looking for an Edge is Part of Sports.” Law professor Matthew J. Mitten believes that “Athletic Governing Bodies Should Administer Drug Testing Programs,” while coach Ken Mannie of Michigan State University states that “Testing Inhibits the Development of Performance-Enhancing Drugs.” Each article begins with a paragraph summarizing the author’s argument, and there is an annotated list of organizations to contact at the back of the book. While some of these hot topics may quickly become outdated (e.g., Is the U.S. Ready for a Minority President?), the volumes provide a variety of carefully chosen contrasting opinions for class discussions and debates as well as individual research. Reviewer: Paula Rohrlick
March 2008 (Vol. 42, No.2)

School Library Journal

Gr 9 Up

After a brief introduction that discusses the various terms used to describe Islamic fundamentalists (such as "Islamists"), 12 articles from different points of view are presented. All of the essays were originally published in 2003 or later. The first briefly defines "Islamism" and "jihad," which provides context for the subsequent articles. A variety of topics is covered, including Islam and democracy, Islam and the United States, Islam and Christianity, and Muslims and Islamism. The two articles on the position of women in Islam feel misplaced in a book so weighted toward the more political aspects of the religion. Otherwise, the presentation is quite well balanced. Each article includes some fact and some opinion, leaving readers to make up their own minds about the perspectives expressed. This title will most likely be used by those working on reports, but may also appeal to students trying to shape their worldview.-Kristin Anderson, Columbus Metropolitan Library System, OH