Muhammad

Children's Literature

This is a thorough, heavy-duty biography of Muhammad that should be in any high school offering comparative religion or similar courses. Advanced middle school students would also be able to use the book for research. There are few illustrations; most are old Arabic miniatures reproduced in black and white, some of which will be offensive to some Muslims because they show Muhammad's face—pictures made before that became a forbidden act. The text is long and broken only by numerous boxes of additional information, often on interesting or important topics—slavery, the influence of Judaism and Christianity on Islam, the Muslim belief in Paradise, geographical notes about Mecca and Abyssinia. The book follows Muhammad's reasoning as he built an organized faith around the initial revelations he received from God—how he adapted pagan rituals involving the Kaaba in Mecca and tried to gain acceptance among Jews by having Muslims follow similar dietary laws. Marilyn Tower Oliver quotes liberally from very scholarly authors such as Karen Armstrong and Sir John Glubb and goes into great detail about individual conversions and battles as well as the origin of traditions like polygamy (an acceptable way to provide protection for women when too many men had been killed in battle). Only a truly devoted student is likely to read the book from cover to cover but it offers a wealth of background and information on the importance of Muhammad and the religion that he founded. "The Importance of" series includes more than fifty titles, ranging from such diverse individuals as Maya Angelou and Lucille Ball to Leonardo da Vinci, Adolf Hitler and Pablo Picasso. 2003, Lucent Books,
— Karen Leggett

School Library Journal

Gr 6-10-This balanced account of the life of the prophet solidly places his teachings in the context of the world in which he lived. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.