This is a book that I recommend to everyone who is interested in understanding the history of Shi'e split from Sunni faction(s) in Islam. The book, however, goes much beyond that, and provides insight to developments of Islam at Mohammed's time, and immediately after his death, as well as a detailed follow on to present day. It is written with a style that keeps the reader glued to the book, unlike most books in similar subjects.

There are two points that I have minor criticism: the book contains numerous Arabic (and Farsi) names, perhaps too many names are given in the book. This practice, even though it provides credibility for the content, makes the reading of the book difficult for even those who can read Farsi and Arabic.

The second point is this: a few of dates provided in the text (such as birth, death, start or completion of events, etc.) appear inaccurate, even if one accepts the information detailed on the same page where the dates are recorded.

All in all, an excellent book for both the novice, as well as informed individuals. This book can also be used as a reference source; it has nearly 100 pages of bibliography, index, etc.

This book is not to be missed. I was looking in an American bookstore for any treatment at all of Shi'i Islam, and was never expecting such an intellectual masterpiece as this one. The strong points of the book:

1. Above all else, this is an adventure story. The reader gets no dry survey of Shi'i tenets, but relives several familiar and unfamiliar moments in the history of Islam. First there is the stirring recap of the Prophet Muhammad and his battles. Then there is the death of the Prophet, and the pivotal decision to grant the caliphate to Abu Bakr-- at which point the book is very fair in considering several possible theories as to what Ali's reaction was to being bypassed. From there, we enter a phase of the book in which the various Shi'i imams live in greater or lesser conflict with the Sunni majority, with the obvious highlight being the death of Husayn and his companions at Karbala, which was extremely moving even to me, a non-Muslim. Momen calmly but powerfully dismisses the frequent cynical interpretation of Husayn's self-sacrifice, and he emerges as a true martyr from these pages. But perhaps the most haunting moment of the book (and of Twelver Shi'ism in general) is its brief discussion of the supposed disappearance of the 12th imam down a dark well.

2. Momen gives an unbelievably thorough overview of every branch and heresy of the Shi'i movement. He catalogs such subtle discrepancies in these movements that on several occasions I wasn't even sure of the exact difference between the two movements. Among these groups are some wonderfully bizarre sects, such as the Ravenists who seem to have believed that Gabriel mistakenly revealed the Qur'an to Muhammad instead of Ali-- I have rarely heard of a stranger religious sect than this one, and Momen brings it and others alive in the space of about a paragraph apiece.

3. After leaving the period of the imams themselves, Momen does a fine job moving on to the internal development and politics of the Shi'i faith. Here, we find ourselves largely in Iran, which Momen depicts quite brilliantly.

4. As other reviewers have pointed out, Moojan Momen is almost unbelievably objective. Indeed, after reading the book, I can still barely guess as to his personal views on many of the issues discussed in the book. I also read aloud to a Baha'i the passages on the Babi and Baha'i faiths, and this person told me that this was the most objective account he had ever heard of the Baha'i faith from a Muslim.

To summarize, I would say that this book gave me a guided tour of the inside of Shi'i Islam. Never have I viewed it as sympathetically as I do now. Few works of scholarship balance intellectual content with spiritual appeal the way this one does.

I have already recommended it to others.

I was surprised to find that I could not put this book down. I figured this would be a dry subject and picked it up because I wanted to have a better understanding of Shi'I Islam. Dr. Momen's book was very detailed yet the subject matter read like a story rather than a series of facts strewn together. The succession of the Imams and the tribulations entwined within that history were especially riveting. At the same time I always felt Dr. Momen was treating the subject fairly, giving a detailed and balanced account, especially in areas where the history is a source of controversy between the two branches of Islam.

The relationship between the Baha'i faith and Islam has not been an easy one. The former grew out of the latter (in the same way as Christianity did out of Judaism) and as a result Muslims have tended to regard Baha'is as sectaries or heretics. Non-Muslims have been much readier to recognise Baha'i as a religion in its own right.
Moojan Momen is a distinguisshed Baha'i scholar of Iranian background and in this book he sets out to try to brdige the gap, to expalin each rleigion to the other, and in particular to show to Muslims the respect that Baha'i accords their faith and Prophet.
The emphasis is on the common ground, what brings people together (or should do) rather than pushing them apart. And Momen - learned and sympathetic - does a good job.

This book is very well written and an excellent source for a clear examaniation of the Baha'i Faith and how it relates to Islam. The author has done a tremendous job in writing a book that gives an accurate and clear picture of what the Baha'i Faith is and shows many of the similarities and differences between these two religions. My only complaint is that there are not more books like this one dealing with Islam and the Baha'i Faith. Wonderful job Dr. Momen!

Selections from the Writings of E. G. Browne on the Babi and Baha'i Religions
by Edward Granville Browne, Moojan Momen (Editor)

This is book is describes the world of the famous Orientalist Edward Grandville Browne, an Englishman who lived in Iran during the early years of the Babi and Baha'i Faiths. The Bab, although known as the herald of Baha'u'llah, founder of the Baha'i Faith, was also a founder of a religion of his own. Although it did not last long, The Bab created a spiritual revolution in Iran but it was crushed by the Islamic Church-State of Iran at the time. The vast majority of the Bab's followers became Baha'is, or followers of Baha'u'llah, whom they believed was foretold by the Bab. The English writer E.G. Browne was a rare Western witness to many of these events and wrote Babi and Baha'i history --even translating some early manuscripts of these scriptures. The selection of E. G. Browne's writings are a good example of his understanding (and sometime misunderstanding) of events in Babi and Baha'i history. But there can be no doubt he was crucial to making these faiths known in the West. He even interviewed Baha'u'llah and Abdu'l Baha as many other well-known followers in and outside of Iran. This book is a treasury of his writings on Babi and Baha'i history, but it is not for the average reader. It requires some important background knowledge of Baha'i history, but still, it is worth the time if one takes the time to acquire it. E. G. Browne in this translates important early Babi and Baha'i manuscripts, Baha'i witnesses and other events. I strongly recommend this book to Middle Eastern history students and history buffs of all kinds, students of the Baha'i Faith, and those studying Shiah Muslim history, for this book even sheds light on that too. It is a book of enormous spiritual and historical signifigance for Baha'is, but others may find the historical material rich for research too. It is well worth your time if you explore it.

The Baha'i Faith A Short Introduction is a helpful guide to begin understanding the religion of God, but not the best introductory book out there. The focus is on the teachings, with only a bit about the history. Not only that, but certain teachings are emphasized and others are given less attention or comprehension. For example, I thought Momen did a good job on the nature of God as described by all the previous Divine Revelations, but should have gone into more depth on uniting the other concepts of the world religions, and how to understand them as a Baha'i. But overall he still did pretty all right. I would in now way shape or form discourage you to read this book, unless you were to only read one book on the Faith, and that you should read others. Even I myself have not read many, but from what I have seen Esslemont's work is written very well, enough to be the one I recommend. But I reckon Moojan Momen still atleast gets one thumbs up!!! ;>)

This is an excellent introductory book on the Baha'i faith. It is concise and well organized. It presents the Baha'i faith in context and looks at it from the individual, the family, the society, and global perspective. In addition, it covers the history, the laws and the principles of the Faith accurately and in a language that is easy and accessible. The tables and graphs, assist in highlighting the key facts and concepts. Overall it a great short introduction to a wealth of knowledge!

This book is exactly that, a short introduction. It's great for those who want to find out more about the Baha'i faith but do not know where to look first. For those taking religion or comparative religion classes this is a must-read. Once I began reading, I couldn't put it down, and now I can't seem to get it back from my friends!

A very useful introduction to the Baha'i Faith for Buddhists who come from a Theravada Buddhist background which represents what is probably the oldest and largest extant grouping of Buddhists generally found in a large area stretching from Sri Lanka to Burma, Thailand and into Southeast Asia.

The Baha'i scriptures acknowledge the divine station of Lord Buddha which means that everyone who becomes a Baha'i needs also to believe in the Buddha.

The ethical and moral teachings of the Baha'i Faith and Buddhism are very similar. During the course of thousands of years, the author states that there have been from time to time and in different parts of the world a small number of fully enlighted ones whose mission has been to guide humanity in its spiritual and social affairs. The author describes how Baha'is believe that Baha'u'llah is the fulfillment of the prophecies in Buddhist scripture, i.e. the Metteyya.

The same author has also written good introductory books about Islam and the Baha'i Faith and Hinduism and the Baha'i Faith.

At first glance it would seem hard to find two religious systems with less in common than Hinduism and the Baha'i Faith. Both are established "world religions" but that seems to be about all.

Hinduism is very old, has a huge following, and is concentrated in one part of the world, indeed is intimately associated with it ("Hindu" and "India" have the same root). Its rich tapestry includes elements of popular polytheism. Baha'i is only just over a century and a half old, with a much smaller following spread throughout the world, is very definitively of the "Abrahamic" tradition of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, and is sternly monotheistic.

And yet it is a basic Baha'i teaching that the world's religions have a common source, share a basic spiritual truth, and have more in common than what divides them. How, then to reconcile these two faiths?

Momen, a noted scholar of the Baha'i teachings, makes a brave attempt in this short book. It is aimed at the general reader and so lacks the weight that academics are looking for, but within that framework the result is interesting and challenging. And it is always good to read a book about different religions which is not going down the "I am right, you are wrong" route but rather says "Let's look and see whether we might both be right".

An well presented work comprised of three "fields of enquiry": Religious Experience and it's expression, conceptual aspects of religion, and religion in society. It's essentially a book which compares religions and philosophies, all while using themes from other areas of study as psycology and sociology.

It's a fairly large book, around 600 pages, but the simplistic style of authoring doesn't make it a chore as other comparitive religion books.