Beyond Belief: Islamic Excursions Among the Converted Peoples

New Delhi, India: Viking Penguin India, 1998. First Indian edition. Hardcover. As New/as new. 8vo, 439 pages, brown cloth; small, green sticker on rear panel. Surprisingly Scarce in this edition, which was

Dust jacket price is 500 rupees. DJ blurbs by V. S. Pritchett, Elizabeth Hardwick, Michael Ratcliffe. "Printed by PUSP Print Services" on last page. A companion volume to his AMONG THE BELIEVERS: this is his observations on his travels in Indonesia, Iran, Pakistan, and Malaysia. "Beyond Belief is interesting and often perceptive, and offers real insights into the lives and experiences of these people. As narrative, it is an impressive achievement--but it is not only narrative. Despite Naipaul's surprising disclaimer that this is not "a book of opinion" or of "conclusions," it is very much both. Opinion and conclusion are reflected in the selection of stories and in their structure and tone; they are also evident in the editorial commentary scattered throughout. Naipaul repeatedly characterizes Islam as a fanatic, missionary religion dedicated to erasing the histories and native cultures of convert peoples. Although all missionary religions are to some extent guilty of this, Islam, in his view, is more single-minded and systematic in its effacement of the past - Choice Review".