While there are many new books on Islam appearing in the marketplace, this book is unique in several ways. The author has years of experience with Islam, both from an academic as well as first hand experience, and he writes with an evangelical audience in mind. From the beginning, this book was designed as a comprehensive textbook for an introductory course to the study of Islam. This book also links Islam with pre-Islamic Arabia demonstrating how much of Islam comes from the earlier religions in Arabia. Understanding Islam contains twenty lesson and sixty seven thought provoking questions for discussion. This book seeks to explain Islam in three distinct ways: First through its early history, second through Islamic theology, and last, through the daily life and worldview of Muslims everywhere.