I recommend it to anyone who wants to understand the history of Islam, the role of The Prophet, the current struggle within Islam — and how to avoid facile generalizations about this major religion.

If Mr. Aslan is so moved, I would appreciate his thoughts on the “Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week” sponsored by David Horowitz and others of his persuasion. As careful a commentator and scholar as Charles Haynes of the First Amendment Foundation has weighed in, finding the whole enterprise misguided at best (http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/commentary.aspx?id=19245).

I suspect Mr. Aslan would find it symptomatic of the ease with which some groups fall into the “cosmic war” trap — but I’d rather he speak for himself.