Muhammad Prophet for Our Time by Karen Armstrong - Book Report/Review Example

Book Review: “Muhammad Prophet for Our Time: by Karen Armstrong Karen Armstrong’s “Muhammad: A prophet for our Time” is a biographical representation of Muhammad that shows how the majority of Muslims understand his life and the Islamic faith. The author paints Muhammad as a mystic and a wise political reformer who changed the world through the Islam religion (Armstrong 23). This enables the readers to understand and appreciate the true origins and spirituality of a faith that receives wrong impressions.

Armstrong also discards the misrepresentation Islam as cruel, fanatical and violent religion that preaches war. As a result, the author offers a balanced and comprehensive portrait, disclosing the man at the center of Islam by dismantling the mistaken beliefs (Armstrong 26). The historical demonstration of Muhammad’s life is related to the global disasters that people currently face across the world. The terrorism activities are always branded as religious because the terrorists profess the Muslim religion.

The book indicates that the terrorists misunderstand the Islamic faith by selectively misinterpreting the teachings of the Quran (Armstrong 70). However, the book does not respond to the false biographies by other authors that tend to support terrorism as a justified Islamic teaching. For instance, the 9/11 attacks painted Islam as a violent religion that encourages extremist activities. The notion of Jihad to involve war against other religions is not indicated in the Quran that Muhammad championed for during his life.

The book is instrumental in educating the world about the new era of Islamic activities by showing the true teachings of Muhammad (Armstrong 78). The stories in the book contain powerful messages that preach peace, inclusion and appreciation between Muslims and other religions. Work Cited Armstrong, Karen. Muhammad: A Prophet for Our Time. New York: HarperOne, 2007. Internet Resource.