Book Description:
The most recent of the major religious prophets, Muhammad remains shrouded in mystery to much of the Western world. This biography explores Muhammad's roots and the impact the religion he founded has had on the world around us. A seventh-century Arabian tribesman, Muhammad received a vision in a cave and emerged to unite the Arab world with his revelation. The moral and ethical framework he established is still the guiding force for much of the Middle East. His visions and life are fully explored with an eye toward understanding the modern Arab world.
Summary: A B'Hai apologetic
Rating: 3

I don't know Ms. Kelen's background, but based on the way she compares Muhammed to Christ, Buddha and Zoroaster, I strongly suspect that she's a B'Hai. Muhammed is given a very lenient treatment in this book, and there is no academic exploration of the fallacies of the underlying assumptions of Islam and the pre-Islam Arabic beliefs. For example, no modern scholar places Abraham of Genesis anywhere near Mecca in his life. Of Muhammed's reversals of his revelations, for example his changing attitude towards Jews, there is no explanation. In regards to his pedophilia, polygamy and the massacre of 600 Jews who had formerly been neighbors and allies, she sympathetically defends these actions as understandable given the time and culture, and not to judge him harshly because of it. In spite of the generous attitude of the author towards the beliefs and actions of Muhammed, the book is rich in the political matrix of western Arabia of the time. It is weak in placing this culture within the larger framework of history. It's a good primer for familiarizing yourself with the basics about Muhammed, but a more serious work should then be consulted if you want a more in-depth, scholarly treatment.
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