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"The Straight Path is a straightforward and accessible historical introduction to Islam, covering theology, politics, and law. Esposito begins with Muhammad and the Quran, basic Islamic dogma, and the creation of the Islamic community. He then sketches the history of the Islamic world in the medieval period, covering the Umayyads, the Abbasid Caliphate, the Crusades, and the later Islamic empires (Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal), as well as some of the divisions within Islam (the Sunni/Shia split, the Ismailis, the Druze) and something of the diversity of its mystical and legal traditions.

Esposito then looks in more detail at Islamic theology, law, and practice. Medieval theological conflicts centred on the relationship of faith to works, the status of grave sinners, and the relationship between the absolute power of God and human free will; a key figure was the tenth century synthesiser al-Ashari, whose followers became the dominant school of Sunni theology. The sources of......

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Approximate Pages: 3 (250 words per double-spaced page)

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