Select one of the cultural moments mentioned by Armstrong, such as the construction of the Taj Mahal or the dissemination of Rumi’s poetry. How does this cultural moment relate to the book’s theological and political themes, and what does it reveal about Islamic culture in that particular moment?

Although Armstrong makes reference to several important women in the history of Islam, the text is dominated by male figures. What historical figures might be included in a women’s history of Islam that are missing from Armstrong’s book?

Armstrong argues that “Muslims have fared better in the United States” than in Europe (198). Complete your own independent research about the experiences of Muslim Americans and Muslim Europeans in the present day; does Armstrong’s comparison hold true?

Tensions between Sunni and Shia Muslims have been an essential throughline for the entirety of Islamic history following the death of Muhammad. Does this factionalism contradict the foundational quranic concept of the ummah, and if so, does Armstrong offer any insights that help readers to make sense of that contradiction?

Consider the role of geography in the Armstrong’s narrative. How do the various landscapes of different Islamic cultures make their way into the text, and how does Armstrong understand them to have influenced history?

Having read Islam: A Short History, read the Quran (or some portion of it). Does Armstrong’s analysis of Muhammad’s teachings align with your reading of the text? What passages of the Quran stand out to you as being particularly relevant to Armstrong’s analysis, and why?

Islam: A Shorty History largely accepts the myth of a dichotomy between “western” and “eastern” cultures, categorizing Islamic cultures as “eastern” and therefore fundamentally juxtaposed with “western” cultures in Europe and the Americas. How might the existence of peripheral Islamic cultures in Eastern Europe, Southeast Asia, and sub-Saharan Africa complicate this notion of “East” and “West”?

Armstrong argues that Christianity differs from Islam because the teachings of Jesus fundamentally separate politics from religion. How do non-Muslim religious communities manage the relationship between politics and religion? Is a fully apolitical theology possible, or desirable?