While interesting from a historical perspective, Armstrong seems so focused on presenting Muhammad as some sort of peaceful and idealized figure that she simply ignores or explains away with often confusing logic any deviation in his life from that ideal. Rather than address his complex life and try to understand how it shaped his message, Armstrong seemed to be so focused on portraying Islam in a positive religion of peace (and I don't disagree that is how it should be understood) in a post September 11th world, that I think she did a disservice to her point.

It was fascinating to read this book and "Mohammed: Founder of the world's most intolerant religion" together, as they are written from two completely different perspectives. Spencer portrays a Mohammed that has inspired generations of hate, intolerance, and violence, while Armstrong portrays somebody with the attributes of Jesus. I found them both biased, and I suspect the truth is somewhere in the middle of the two opinions, but it was refreshing to hear somebody who wasn't scared to death to be politically correct. At times it didn't seem possible that the two authors were talking about the same person. I think most of the difference was in what stories they told and what stories they didn't tell. Armstrong's book is filled with tales of Mohammed's compassion and how he treated his followers, while Spencer's book is concerned with stories of his battles, his punishments, and his vengeance. At times I thought Spencer was inflammatory and unfair, but there were many times that Armstrong glossed over or dismissed truly worrying episodes in Mohammed's life. Reading either one of these books individually I would give two stars, but reading them together makes the overall experience worthy of three.

I was always curious to read about the prophet from the perspective of a non-Muslim who wasn't dissing on Islam. Karen Armstrong is an author on comparative religion and has actually been on the online conference "Celebrate Mercy" talking about the prophet several times. The book has some amazing points, that we as Muslims haven't even thought about and she talks more about the history that the prophet was born into, to show how he has indeed brought positive change. The downside is that sometimes her writing can be a bit frustrating but that is to be expected. If you are open minded and willing to deal with the frustration I highly recommend this book.

Melihat bagaimana cara "Orang Barat" memahami sosok Nabi Muhammad SAW. Sangat objektif karena melalui riset pustaka yang cukup mendalam. Walaupun masih ada beberapa hal pendapat Karen Armstrong yang perlu di koreksi (membaca tulisan Pengantar-nya).

Seharusnya ada banyak "Karen Armstrong" di Indonesia. Yang mengkaji dan menelaah pemikiran para tokoh besar Islam. Agar umat muslim Indonesia makin cerdas dan cergas. Agar meminimalisir orang islam yang memiliki "fanatisme buta" terhadap ajaran Nabi Muhammad yang ternyata masih sangat relevan dengan kondisi masyarakat saat ini.

Gaya bahasa khas Karen Armstrong mampu membuat saya menyelesaikan buku ini dalam waktu dua hari saja.