People of the Book

Reviews / Votes

'A path-breaking work.' -- The Muslim World Book Review 'A historical meditation on the fascinating complexity of Christian belief systems in Arabia which would have been encountered by Muhammad. This is a valuable text on the ancient co-existence of faiths, which, while honouring each other, weren't afraid to draw lines in the sand about their differences.' -- Barnaby Rogerson, author of 'The Prophet Muhammad: A Biography' 'An important exploration of monotheism during Prophet Muhammad's lifetime in seventh-century multicultural Arabia, citing the many surprising crossovers between Islam, Judaism and Christianity which deserve to be better known.' -- Diana Darke, author of 'Stealing from the Saracens' and 'The Merchant of Syria' 'At the birth of Islam, there was a spirit of Abrahamic ecumenism--only a vague memory for some Muslims today, and totally unknown to most non-Muslims. Considine skilfully highlights that lost spirit, reminding us that religious freedom and pluralism were not alien to the world-changing mission of Prophet Muhammad.' -- Mustafa Akyol, Opinion Writer, 'The New York Times', and Senior Fellow, Cato Institute 'Based on impeccable scholarship, Considine makes the compelling case that the divine message received by Prophet Mohammad came amid real-life encounters. The interactions between Muslims and Christians bring a message of unconditional regard and gracious hospitality, as relevant now as it was then.' -- Reverend Dirk Ficca, Senior Advisor, A World of Neighbours, Church of Sweden 'In this highly accessible account of seventh-century Christian-Muslim relations, Considine takes us on a journey to the multi-ethnic, inter-faith Ummah of Prophet Muhammad, where freedom of religion existed for Christians and Jews. These historical lessons resonate today. A unique and timely work.' -- Josef Meri, Historian in Interfaith Relations in the Middle East, Hamad Bin Khalifa University