Islam : a very short introduction ([Abridged ed.])

Islam features widely in the news, often in its most militant versions, but few people in the non-Muslim world really understand the nature of Islam.

Malise Ruthven's Very Short Introduction contains essential insights into issues such as why Islam has such major divisions between movements such as the Shi'ites, the Sunnis and the Wahhabis, and the central importance of the Shar'ia (Islamic law) in Islamic life