BOOK: Een Tipje Van De Sluier - Joris Luyendijk

Title: Een Tipje Van De Sluier (A Tip Of The Veil)
Author: Joris Luyendijk
Genre: non fiction, sociology, religion, politics
Publisher: Podium, 2001
Pages: Paperback, 107
Language: Dutch
Rating: 7/10
Summary: A step by step explanation of Islam, its history, influence on culture and the different interpretations around the world. Joris Luyendijk (1971) studied politics and Arabic and lived in Cairo, Beiroet and Jerusalem. He's a journalist and writer.

Review
I've been a fan of Joris ever since he presented interview-series 'Zomergasten' on Dutch TV. He is very eloquent and knowledgable on the subject of Islam. I loved his boek "Een Goede Man Slaat Soms Zijn Vrouw" (A Good Husband Sometimes Beats His Wife) about his year at the university of Cairo in the 90s. That book is filled with conversations between him and fellow-students and shows the misunderstandings between his Western point of view and their way of thinking. I expected the same intriguing stories in this book. I was disappointed to find a serious lack of humour; when the tip of the veil is lifted it only reveals facts and figures about Islam.
That would have been interesting if there were any new insights, but due to events in the world since 2001, I already knew most of the history and information that are provided. If only I had known this book was more of a tourguide than a personal account, I would have passed on it and read his latest book "People Like Us". That is still on my list, but in the mean time I recommend A Good Husband Sometimes Beats His Wife. Even though that was written in 1998, it is still relevant today, because it doesn't focus on numbers but on people.