Grieve, Paul

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Grieve, Paul

PERSONAL:

Education: Studied Islam in Paris and Cairo. Religion: Atheist.

ADDRESSES:

Home—London, England.

CAREER:

Writer. Managed a project in Florida for a Canadian construction firm.

WRITINGS:

Upon a Wheel of Fire (novel), Gollancz (London, England), 1999.

A Brief Guide to Islam: History, Faith, and Politics, Carroll & Graf (New York, NY), 2006.

SIDELIGHTS:

British writer Paul Grieve writes novels with heavily researched historical backgrounds. That research has only increased his fascination with the Middle East, and with the history and religions of the area. During his research, Grieve learned a great deal about Islam and its history and politics, resulting in A Brief Guide to Islam: History, Faith, and Politics. Grieve is swift to insist that he is a nonbeliever and not an expert on the religion, but his intent was to give those interested a handbook on Islam and how it relates to the international politics of the twenty-first century, while maintaining a Western perspective. In an interview with Marcia Z. Nelson for Publishers Weekly, Grieve explained his motivations for writing the book: "I was strongly attracted to the culture and story of Islam, although I am atheist. My professors in Cairo asked me to write articles explaining aspects of Islam using modern Western idiom, from the Arab—mostly Sunni—point of view. The attempts became a book." A reviewer for Publishers Weekly called Grieve's effort "a riveting book on Islam that decries and then corrects the widespread ignorance about the faith and its history." Jennifer Kuncken, writing for the Library Journal, found the book to be a good reference on Islam, offering "an understandable historical overview of the area and a description of the belief system and practices."