"A history told with verve by a traveler, addressed to readers who may know little about the Middle East besides what they’ve seen on the TV news. To call this book 'timely' given recent events would be glib; as Rogerson shows, such history has been timely for centuries. We in the West ought to understand the Middle East better than we do. This book calls not for partisanship or simple conclusions, but imagination, empathy, and a willingness to learn. The House Divided is a rich and revealing book with which to start discovering the complexities and contemporary import of Middle Eastern history."
"A masterly engagement with the most delicate and important of subjects—filled with gentle empathy, learning and rare balance.
"A lucid, vivid and sweeping history of the divisions within Islam and their destructive impact on the contemporary Muslim world. Barnaby Rogerson takes you to the heart of the arguments and battles, revealing some stark truths. This is history as a living entity. A dazzling achievement.
"Barnaby Rogerson, a publisher, writer and lifelong traveler in the Islamic world, is an accomplished guide through this confusing terrain. There is much to admire here. Rogerson’s range, both historical and geographical, is impressive. A highly readable, lovingly researched, romantic and engaging history."
"A history told with verve by a traveler, addressed to readers who may know little about the Middle East besides what they’ve seen on the TV news. To call this book 'timely' given recent events would be glib; as Rogerson shows, such history has been timely for centuries. We in the West ought to understand the Middle East better than we do. This book calls not for partisanship or simple conclusions, but imagination, empathy, and a willingness to learn. The House Divided is a rich and revealing book with which to start discovering the complexities and contemporary import of Middle Eastern history."
"Rogerson knows that things are much more complex than Sunni versus Shia. But in its depiction of the multiple cats' cradles of tensions, The House Divided is jauntily readable and thought-provoking about a Middle East still in the middle of global crises, and still, as so often, misunderstood.
"This book is a tour de force. One of the best summary histories of Islam from its beginnings until today I have come across. Informative, engaging, and excitingly written, it is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the origins and development of a great world religion.
"Rogerson is a master storyteller, equally at home sketching the intimacies of the Prophet's household as he is illuminating geopolitical trends across the world of contemporary Islam.
2024-03-07
A wide-ranging study of the seeds of conflict in the Islamic world, planted centuries ago.
For a Westerner, Muslim politics can seem like a labyrinth of ancient grudges, unfathomable divisions, and autocratic rulers. Rogerson, a travel writer and publisher of Eland Books in the U.K. who has traveled widely in the Middle East, aims to provide a historical map for nonspecialists. “It is very hard for those of us who have been brought up in the West to conceive of the passionate engagement of the past with the present in the Islamic world,” he writes, tracing the Shia-Sunni division back to the period following the death of the Prophet Muhammad, which saw disputes over Koranic doctrine and violent conflicts over how subsequent leaders would be chosen. Rogerson does not take the view that theological arguments are responsible for all of the rancor among Muslims. Yes, they are a source of underlying tension, but there is a historic overlay of competition among Iran, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and other players. The author sees the 1979 revolution in Iran as a seismic event, reigniting old disputes as the country made clear its ambition to lead the Islamic world. Rogerson provides a country-by-country analysis and examines the role of external players, but his goal is to explain and clarify; he expressly does not choose sides. While some readers might not agree with this approach, the author does a solid, eloquent job of linking history to contemporary issues. One shortcoming of the book, however, is the lack of a concluding chapter to bring the narrative threads together. However, this is a minor flaw, and anyone who wants to understand the Middle East will find the book informative, timely, and accessible.
Rogerson’s firsthand experience provides an authenticity often missing from discussions of the Middle East and Islam.
