PositiveThe New York TImes Book ReviewCole’s book...is not just eruditely informative, but also ambitiously revisionist, with two unorthodox arguments he keenly advances throughout the book ... Some of Cole’s well-intentioned hypotheses, clearly aimed at challenging Islamophobia, may never be proved. But he is demonstrably right in concluding that Islamic orthodoxy deviated from its foundations by \'abrogating\' the peaceful and tolerant verses of the Quran, by reserving salvation only to Muslims, or by adopting some cruel practices like stoning. Beneath this thick layer of what became Islamic tradition, there is a more uplifting image of the Prophet Muhammad, waiting to be discovered not just by non-Muslims, but also many Muslims themselves.
Jack Miles
PositiveThe New York Times Book ReviewItis a highly readable, unbiasedly comparative and elegantly insightful study of the Quran ... Through...scriptural comparisons, Miles gets to the core of the Abrahamic matrix: The monotheism that the Jewish people developed over the centuries was inherited by Islam and was turned into a global creed ... In observing such nuances, Miles, a Christian, is as objective, fair and gracious as one can get.\
