Destiny Disrupted: A History Of The World Through Islamic Eyes (2009) - Plot & Excerpts
Very readable. Tamim Ansary has a gift for telling history in an extremely relatable, approachable way. He takes the reader through an outline of world history from the viewpoint of the Muslim world, hitting all the major leaders, ideas, movements, and events along the way. The narrative does a lot to contextualize present-day misunderstanding and hostility between the West and the Muslim world, as it is the technological advancements and ensuing imperialism of the West that "disrupts the destiny" that the Muslim world envisioned for itself.If you want to get a better understanding of Islam, of modern global conflicts, or if you want an account that will challenge your high school history education, this is the book for you. This fascinating book written by Afghan American author Tamim Ansary is as an attempt to share the narrative of world history through Islamic eyes. He became keenly aware of the need for this when he moved to the West and was expected to view his own history through Christian eyes. So much of the misery and suffering endured by our contemporaries today can be traced to the intersection of “out-of-sync narratives” as he puts it. Only through education and mutual understanding can we hope to advance in “the quest to build a universal human community situated within a single shared history”.The book is well written and connects the different threads of the narrative into as rich tapestry. This gives the reader better understanding of the background behind current events and traces the origin of many of the religious and political ideas that that shape the Islamic world of today. His account of the advent of nationalism, of the Ottoman Empire and of the aftermath of its demise is particularly lucid.
What do You think about Destiny Disrupted: A History Of The World Through Islamic Eyes (2009)?
Engaging to read, well written. Enlightening. I learned a lot from this book.
—amy1
A Fascinating look at the history of the world from a different viewpoint.
—ikitot
For me the earlier chapters were more interesting than the later ones.
—emo
History from a non-European different perspective.
—justme
