Michael Cook, "A History of the Muslim World: From Its Origins to the Dawn of Modernity" (Princeton UP, 2024)

Jul 2, 2025

Michael Cook, Class of 1943 University Professor of Near Eastern Studies at Princeton University, unveils the intricate tapestry of Islamic history in his new book. He shares riveting insights on Muhammad’s unification of Arabia and the transformative emergence of the Caliphate. Cook dives into the evolving perceptions between Muslims and Europeans, shedding light on how historical events have shaped modern geopolitics. The discussion also includes the rich cultural transitions following the Abbasid Caliphate, emphasizing the ongoing complexities of identity and belief across the Muslim world.

Ask episode

AI Snips

Chapters

Books

Transcript

Episode notes

INSIGHT

Context of Islam's Rise

The rise of Islam occurred in a region divided between empires with state religions and tribal pagan Arabia.
Arabia's tribal and tolerant setting made it an ideal place for a new monotheistic religion to emerge.

INSIGHT

Monotheism's Impact on Arabia

Monotheism entered Arabia primarily through Jewish refugees and the influence of nearby Christian empires.
By Islam's rise, Arabia was primarily pagan but heavily influenced by monotheistic ideas.

INSIGHT

Muhammad's Unique State Model

Muhammad united fractious tribes through a religious leadership model avoiding traditional royal authority.
Ibn Khaldun saw this as a novel state formation in a stateless tribal society leveraging religious submission.

Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode

Get the app

A History of the Muslim World: From Its Origins to the Dawn of Modernit y (Princeton UP, 2024) by Michael A. Cook

This book describes and explains the major events, personalities, conflicts, and convergences that have shaped the history of the Muslim world. The body of the book takes readers from the origins of Islam to the eve of the nineteenth century, and an epilogue continues the story to the present day. Michael Cook thus provides a broad history of a civilization remarkable for both its unity and diversity.
After setting the scene in the Middle East of late antiquity, the book depicts the rise of Islam as one of the great black swan events of history. It continues with the spectacular rise of the Caliphate, an empire that by the time it broke up had nurtured the formation of a new civilization. It then goes on to cover the diverse histories of all the major regions of the Muslim world, providing a wide-ranging account of the key military, political, and cultural developments that accompanied the eastward and westward spread of Islam from the Middle East to the shores of the Atlantic and the Pacific.
At the same time, A History of the Muslim World contains numerous primary-source quotations that expose the reader to a variety of acutely insightful voices from the Muslim past.

Michael Cook is the Class of 1943 University Professor of Near Eastern Studies at Princeton University. His books include Ancient Religions, Modern Politics: The Islamic Case in Comparative Perspective (Princeton), A Brief History of the Human Race, and The Koran: A Very Short Introduction.

Morteza Hajizadeh is a Ph.D. graduate in English from the University of Auckland in New Zealand. His research interests are Cultural Studies; Critical Theory; Environmental History; Medieval (Intellectual) History; Gothic Studies; 18th and 19th Century British Literature.

YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/a48266/videos

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/critical-theory