First paragraph: This is the second book of Professor Campanini that has been translated into English. His first book, The Qurʾan: The Basics (also published by Routledge, 2007) was very favourably reviewed and received. These translations into English are a very welcomed development for they make available the scholarship of Italian scholars which is not usually known in the Anglo-American sphere. Professor Campanini’s work joins now the work of his Italian compatriot Professor Roberto Tottoli which has been available in English for a while. Actually the current book under review grew out of the last chapter of his book The Qurʾan: The Basics.