'The Straight Path' John L. Esposito It can be a difficult task to convey large amounts of information, in this case aspects of the Islamic religion, in a meaningful and clear way. However, John's The Straight Path. L. Esposito does it very well. I approached this book with an open mind and at the same time already had some ideas about what I was looking for, considering the current material I read and discussed in class with Dr. Yusuf and the class. The knowledge was basic and covered topics such as the pillars of Islam, the articles of faith, and the direct origin of the Quran through the prophet Muhammad, as well as information about Muhammad himself and some of his companions. One of my habits when I read a book is that halfway through I go back and reread the Introduction (if it exists). The reason for this is to evaluate whether or not the overall tone and scope of the book is accurately described by the author's original setting, or thesis statements, for the book. It is here that the author describes the need for a universal and worldwide understanding of Islam, due to its status as the major world religion. For Westerners, he hopes to dispel much of the negative attention Muslims sometimes receive and hopes to educate them that they are more alike than different. The last sentence of the introduction summarizes all this and is particularly suggestive. “Therefore, understanding the world we live in requires knowledge of the right path of Islam as a prerequisite to appreciating our theologically interconnected and historically intertwined Judeo-Christian-Islamic heritage.” I believe the author has successfully maintained this tone throughout the book, and I agree with the assessment that knowledge in this area is necessary due to the large amount of Muslims in the world, which is most likely more than a billion people, or 1/6 of the planet's population, making it the second largest religion in the world. The first chapter started as I expected, closely describing the knowledge I already had. Early Arabia, before Muhammad is briefly described, then the focus shifts to Muhammad and carefully describes the events that led him to become a prophet of God. The author parallels the intention of the book with the intention of Gabriel including this verse: