In the Shadow of the Sword: The Birth of Islam and the Rise of the Global Arab Empire Kindle Edition

A penetrating history that reads like a detective novel. I have been doing a study of Islam for my own interest, do to all the things that we see in our lives that are evidently the result of people claiming to be dedicated Islamic followers. This book was recommended to me by a friend that has been studying this subject for the 30 years he has lived and worked in the Middle East. He was right, it is a page turner. The author keeps our interest from page one to the end of the book by building a case for his conclusion based on the available historical facts. i have studied a lot of history but not so much about the late antiquity, and now i wish i had had the opportunity to read this book 20 years ago. It combines textual criticism, historical analysis, geographical analysis, archaeology, .and enough theology to walk the reader through the analysis of the time frame. i will not spill the beans on his tentative conclusion, but his conclusion does not matter so much as all the analysis that gets us there. This is not a book about Islam, it is a book about the time period and historical context in which Islam showed up on earth, and why.

I am reviewing the paperback edition.The index is substantial, the notes section is thorough, and the bibliography is outstanding. Terrific work on the editing and publication. I wish the publisher had included a few blank pages at the back for notetakers like me.Tom Holland establishes the evidence that Islam is a product of the ideas that were bubbling through the ancient middle east after the fall of the Roman and Persian empires. (58-59) The caliphate of the 7th century was the last of the ancient empires.The first portion of the book (roughly the first 300 pages, including the introduction) develops the history and philosophies at play in that area of the world at that time. This is fascinating and well-documented.Some interesting ideas developed in the second half of the book:- The Koran is the only documentation of Mohammad's life (341)- Some of the Koran is obviously filched from other major religions and philosophies. (341)- Only in Arabia of the 7th century did the ancient promiscuity of pagan and heretic cults endure. (355)- Mohammad intended to found a new empire (372). The Koran supports this - men were to abandon their tribe and home and flock to God's standard, and therby inherit the earth. (373-374)- Twin themes in the Koran can be traced to palestine: War in the name of God + Contempt for earthly pleasures. Conquering the world and scorning its seductions. These were big ideas in Post-Roman palestine. (382)- Pilgrimages to Holy Sites was also fundamental to Palestinian worship trends in 7th century Palestine (403)- The Saracens and Franks lived as squatters in the ruins of vanished empires (405)- The "religion of truth" was knitted together from Jewish, Christian, Samaritan, Zoroastrian, and Manichaen philosophies that were part of the cultures of the palestinian area (406)- Religion is submission. Religion is islam. (430)- Arab rule depended on the vanquished knowing their place. Economically, defeated peoples were enslaved and taxed. Conversions were not welcome because the economy of the new islamic empire depended on the infidel being enslaved/taxed.- Page 445 shows the Zoroastrian customs appropriated by Islam.- Islam grew out of Syria and Palestine, NOT Arabia or Mecca or the Fertile CRescent (384)Fascinating information about the "Constitution of Medina" on page 383. The principles were:1) Consciously build an empire2) forge a new "umma" people3) fight in the path of God4) a starring role for Jews as believersIncredibly valuable research in this book. I'm keeping it to re-read it

I'm 20% through the audio-book and im fighting the urge to throw my phone out the window. Not only has he not even touched on the subject of islam, let alone his thoughts on an alternative view on the origins of islam. The subjects he has been rambling on about, the Persians and the Romans, he hasn't even kept on a clear point about them, just seems to be filling up pages with overly verbose statements which don't seem to be drawing to a clear point. Very disappointed,i go through lots of audio-books since i commute alot and i never have the urge to write a comment.

Very good. This period of history is very interesting. I didn't know about the first great epidemic of Bubonic Plague that hit in 541 AD, the defining event of the time period which decimated both the Persian and late Roman empires and largely accounted for the success of the Arab conquest. The author is very informative about the development of Islam, how it was contrived after the fact to provide a framework for the developing Arab civilization. Incidentally, as Holland points out, this ex post facto rationalization is true of most, if not all, religions, not just Islam and is true of Judaism and Christianity as well. Lots of detail and explanation of the zeitgeist of that period. The reason for four instead of five stars is the author's somewhat elliptical writing style, hard to follow at times. Otherwise, highly recommended.

That this book is a sensationalist grab for unsuspecting readers' money is obvious. However some other aspects do require comment.Holland is an incredibly poor writer. The unending repetition of his idiotic pet phrases, "beyond the pale", "square the circle", will grate on anyone with an ear for quality prose. Gibbon he ain't.Despite the extensive bibliography he displays a total lack of knowledge and awareness of basic standard texts in the area he purports to write about. I suspect that some poor Indian PhD student has provided every single reference inserted post-facto into this garbage text and that Holland only read one or two books by Crone et. al. to start spouting off from. And by "books" I really mean some magazine article Holland read in a cafe one time.To give a concrete example of Holland's ignorance I cite Hugh Kennedy in his excellent "The Great Arab Conquests" who writes:"Looked at as a form of social memory, the distortions and legends that can seem at first sight an obstacle to understanding can be seen instead as reflecting the attitudes and values of this early Muslim society."Holland never gets past the "first sight" and falls head first into the trap of his astounding lack of genuine original ideas. Needless to say he is unable to develop the deep understanding and sensitivity of actual scholars such as Kennedy and remains thoroughly on the surface of this complex and exciting historical period.In short, do not be fooled by this jaded author's overwhelming, bitter irony, who pays people to make it look like he has an idea through a false structure of paid-for scholarship scafolding. This tripe has zero educational and historical value, don't believe the paid-for PR hype. Any other book on this historical period is more reliable and authentic than this throw-away, sneering pulp book.

This book took Holland twice as long to write (6 years) than his usual work because he assumed there would be plenty of accessible evidence and documentation to digest and work through, but no, very little existed, so he was searching for 'evidence' that did not exist. In many ways similar to the Jesus story, nothing seemed to be written about Muhammad and Mecca while he was alive, it all came decades after. The late Dr Patricia Crone has similar issues when she did similar research. Does raise many questions as history certainly was being recorded at the time, but nothing about this monumental event we are told occurred. A great read, and only criticism is that it could have been a tad shorter, and I would say that if anyone has problems getting past the first 100 pages, then read the last 100 pages first, it is well worth it,.

I got the sample on Kindle, which was mostly the very long introduction, and though I was put off by Holland’s pompous and extravagant style, it did grip me, because he seemed to be erecting the scaffolding for a careful and thorough exploration of the murky origins of Islam. “He does go on a bit,” I thought, “but never mind, this is interesting stuff.”But then the clouds of grandiloquence did not clear into any kind of lucid narrative, of the sort that thrilled in “Rubicon”. It seemed Holland had just fallen in love with his own voice, and couldn’t stop his compulsive, generalised fancifying of what people were thinking and feeling 1,600 years ago. Ornate and convoluted sentences notwithstanding, the tone was of cheap, florid historical fiction. He seemed to cluck with self-satisfaction at the sheer immensity of the paragraphs.I got a refund.

An excellent read, which attempts to describe in detail the regional history and prevailing culture at the time of Mohamed's existence in the Arabian Peninsular. The book tries to assess the arrival of Islam asking the awkward question: did the Arab Empire create Islam or did Islam create the Arab Empire?For me, the one let down in this book is that Tom Holland is very selective about his choice of examples from history and is extremely erratic in his selections from history. This is confusing for the reader and even encourages one to believe that he is simply picking examples that support his various arguments - true or not. Tom Holland knows well that there are many people keen to pick holes in his beliefs and therefore he should be alot clearer and more honest in his presentation.That said, I recommend this book for a different view on an extremely interesting and influential part of history which still has consequences on our lives today.

Excellent book looking at a very interesting and relevant subject. There is also a documentary that accompanies the book that can be watched for free online here: https://vimeo.com/79053193The origins of Islam, like any other question, should be open to investigation and debate like the origins of any other religion or idea, and Tom Holland makes a great contribution to the public awareness and research.