Lunde, Paul 1943-

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LUNDE, Paul 1943-

PERSONAL:

Born 1943, in CA.

ADDRESSES:

Agent—c/o Author Mail, Dorling Kindersley Limited, 80 Strand, London WC2R ORL, England.

CAREER:

Historian and Islamic scholar.

WRITINGS:

(With Justin Wintle) A Dictionary of Arabic and Islamic Proverbs, Routledge (Boston, MA), 1984.

(Translator and editor, with Caroline Stone) Masudi The Meadows of Gold, Kegan Paul (New York, NY), 1989.

(With others) Saudi ARAMCO and Its World: Arabia and the Middle East, revised edition, Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Dhahran, Saudi Arabia) 1995.

Islam: Faith, Culture, History, Dorling Kindersley (New York, NY), 2002.

Organized Crime: An Inside Guide to the World's Most Successful Industry, Dorling Kindersley (New York, NY), 2004.

Contributor to periodicals, including Saudi ARAMCO World.

SIDELIGHTS:

Paul Lunde was born in the United States and raised in Saudi Arabia. He has been a frequent contributor of articles on Islamic culture and history to periodicals that include Saudi ARAMCO World. His book Islam: Faith, Culture, History is a primer on the Islamic world that includes in-depth surveys of forty-four countries in which Islam is the dominant faith. He traces the history of Islam and its spread across Africa, Europe, Asia, and Latin America. Lunde documents that Muslims represent twenty percent of the world's population. While Muslims have contributed to the arts and science since the Middle Ages, in recent times the image of the Islam has been soiled as a result of the actions of a small number of terrorists. Lunde explains the fundamental beliefs of Islam and includes sections on the Koran, the prophet Muhammed, observances and practices, the Five Pillars of Islam, the Muslim calendar, and the origins of the Sunni-Shi'ite schism and reform. Middle East reviewer Fred Rhodes wrote that Islam "offers an enlightening introduction to this rich and fascinating faith." Approximately 300 illustrations and photographs of Islamic art, architecture, maps, and charts complement the text. "The result is a stunningly attractive volume," noted Kliatt reviewer Claire Rosser.