Islam The Religion And The People by Bernard Lewis

A survey of the development of Islamic civilization. A nice introduction to the religion, though I would've appreciated if Lewis discussed the different sects in more detail. Scattered around the book are Islamic jokes

I found these facts noteworthy (primarily bc I didn't know most of them):

Paper and numbers came from Islamic societies.
Check, pajama, sugar are all Persian words.
There is a complex method that establishes which Hadith's are really from the Prophet.
"During the Middle Ages, the Muslim world developed a very elaborate system of banking and credit. By the 9th century CE, for example, a merchant could draw a check in Iraq and cash it in Morocco."
The West bulleted ahead of Islamic civilization for several reasons: Islamic societies didn't prize competition, so they didn't innovate. They didn't have wood to build boats. They didn't have corporations. They didn't have rainfall, but irrigated through rivers and were therefore subservient to those who controlled them. The political and economic consequences of discovering oil. The West discovered America.
"Generally speaking, however, Muslim toleration of unbelievers and misbelievers werefar better than anything available in Christendom until the rise of secularism in the 17th century."
The Persian language is called Parsi, but it pronounced Farsi bc Arabic doesn't have a sound for P.
"According to traditional teaching, the obligation to jihad will continue until all the world either adopts Islam or submits to Muslim rule."
According to Shari'a "Muslim fighters are commanded not to kill women, children, or the aged unless they attack first."
"The Islamic tradition is unequivocally against suicide."
The Muslim religious calender is strictly lunar, so the holy month of Ramadan falls out in every season.
Islamic Humor (concerning Hadith):
Two merchants, one Muslim and one Christian, men on board a ship and were chatting amicably. At a certain moment, the Christian merchant took a flask of wine out of his bag and said to his Muslim colleague: "I would ask you to join me in drinking some wine, but I know that it is forbidden by your religion, and I do not wish to offend you."
"How do you know that this is wine?" asked the Muslim merchant.
"I sent my slave to the market, and he bought it from a well-known Jewish merchant."
The Muslim merchant replied: "Sometimes we even reject traditions related on the authority of the companions of the Prophet. Do you expect me to believe a tradition related by a Christian, on the authority of his slave, on the authority of Jewish wine merchant? Give me that flask!"