In 2005, Reza Aslan, an Iranian-American Muslim writer with a doctoral degree in the sociology of religion, published No god but God: The Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam. The title comes from the core Islamic profession of monotheistic faith (the shahadah) and, as the subtitle promises, the book offers an accessible overview of that faith from its beginnings to the present. Aslan’s book, however, does more. He wrote the book in the context of massive concern about radical Muslim terrorists in America following the September 11 attacks. In this tense environment, Islamophobia grew quickly. No god but God: The Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam responds to that fear and misunderstanding by showing a diverse Islam compatible with liberal values. Aslan also writes for other Muslims to make a passionate plea for an “Islamic Reformation” in which ordinary Muslims will reclaim the right to interpret their faith and create a specifically Islamic form of liberalism. For the way Aslan addresses both these goals, reviews in multiple newspapers and journals (including Financial Times, Los Angeles Times, and The Guardian) recognized it as one of the most important books of the year.

This guide uses the 2005 hardcover edition from Random House.

Note on Dates and Abbreviations: Aslan uses the “Common Era” (CE) calendar system that is standard in world history. It is the same as the widely used AD system (from the Latin “in anno Domini” or “in the year of the Lord [Jesus Christ]”) but renamed to avoid being for specifically Christian cultures. The year 2024 AD and 2024 CE are the same.

Summary

In his Prologue, Aslan describes finding himself mediating a quarrel on a Moroccan train between a Muslim conductor and a young Christian evangelist couple. Each viewed the other with suspicion. From this story, Aslan paints a picture of two societies—the West and Islam—caught in a spiral of suspicion and misunderstanding following September 11 and the subsequent American invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq. This “clash of civilizations” mentality between Islam and the secular democratic West masks a long-standing “clash of monotheisms” between Islam and Christianity. Aslan argues, however, that conflict between different religions is senseless since religion isn’t based on objective truth. Moreover, Islam can be perfectly compatible with democracy and related values of human rights. Discovering this reality simply requires a willingness to learn about others and, for fellow Muslims, a realization that a difficult Islamic Reformation is ongoing, which will allow ordinary Muslims to apply the original principles of Islam in new and creative ways.

Aslan begins the body of his book by tracing the diversity of religious expression in the ancient Arabian Peninsula. Early monotheisms there would influence Islam. Islam began in the early seventh century when Muhammad, an Arab resident of Mecca, received a series of revelations that led him to challenge the social injustices inflicted by the elite Quraysh tribe on other Meccans. These revelations would eventually form the Quran, the holy scripture of Islam. Opposition from the Quraysh forced Muhammad and his first Companions to flee to Yathrib (later renamed Medina). There they created the first Muslim community (the Ummah) based on mutual aid and egalitarian ideas. Muhammad elevated the position of women. As his community grew and Medina submitted to his authority, Muhammad led his followers in raids on Meccan caravans to which the Quraysh responded with war. Muhammad emerged victorious and returned to Mecca, whose inhabitants welcomed him with open arms. While he did engage in warfare, he considered jihad (struggle for the faith) to be primarily spiritual, and, when a Muslim did fight, Muhammad advocated a defensive jihad that spared civilians.

After Muhammad’s death, the Muslim community rapidly came to dominate Arabia and went on to create a vast world empire. This success came with internal divisions, however. The Ummah disagreed about whether caliphs (successors to Muhammad’s leadership) should be drawn from the Quraysh tribe or from Muhammad’s own family, specifically his cousin and son-in-law Ali. This question led to civil war and the murder of Ali. Simultaneously, Muslims faced the problem of adapting their faith to radically new situations as they expanded. The majority party (the Sunni) who opposed Ali relied on the consensus of scholars (the Ulama) to find answers. Unfortunately, this idea of imposing an eternal consensus flew in the face of a reality of debate and division. Moreover, one of the main sources of religious knowledge came from traditions (hadith) about Muhammad that were easily forged and sometimes contradicted Muhammad’s message. Aslan argues that the fossilized continuation of their debates is one of the major obstacles that modern Muslims need to overcome.

In addition to the scholarly debates within the Sunni tradition, two other Islamic movements contributed to the religion’s developing diversity. Those who had supported Ali formed the Shi’a (“Party of Ali”) branch of Islam. Meditating on the martyrdom of Ali and his sons, this minority branch emphasizes the existence of injustice in the world and the need for individual and communal self-sacrifice to overcome it. They adopt a more flexible approach to interpreting tradition. Shi’a Muslims believe that the final divinely guided leader of Islam (Imam) has retreated into a hidden spiritual realm and will come back to restore God’s kingdom of justice as the Madhi. Sufis, in contrast, accept the exterior strictures of Sunni Islam but believe the heart of Islam can only be found in a direct interior experience of God. Through a program of self-denial, they seek to quash their ego and immerse themselves fully in God through an all-consuming love.

Following the Enlightenment and the Industrial Revolution, Western colonial powers began using their new economic and technological prowess to gain control of much of the Muslim world. They acted brutally even while professing to bring democratic or Christian civilization. Muslims developed a wide range of responses. Some rejected Western culture entirely. Others asserted the superiority of Islamic tradition but saw the need to embrace the new science and technology. Still other movements sought to find a way of creating a new Islamic modernity based on the old principles of social solidarity. The Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood began in this way as a social charitable organization, but later developed the political goal of creating an Islamic state after facing persecution by the new Egyptian military government. That government also adopted yet another possible response to modernity: secular nationalism. Finally, Iranians attempted to create a democratic Islamic Republic, but Western opposition gave Ayatollah Khomeini and the clerical establishment the opportunity to take over the government. Despite this rocky history, Aslan asserts that a liberal, democratic Islam not only can exist but is in the process of emerging as ordinary Muslims are undergoing an Islamic Reformation and regaining the authority to creatively interpret their faith.