Gamal Abdelaziz,

Author and Historian



Upon reviewing the book “Prophets of God in History,” by Mr. Hesham Taher, I was intrigued by his brilliant pairing of what is deemed ‘historical’ and what is deemed ‘mythological or religious perspectives.’ The science of history has its own basics, foundations and methodologies to conform to, that the author heeded to unequivocally specify the values of “time” and “place” of events and their “actors,” as best as he possibly could. He identifies with these parameters utilizing the sequence of events and their repercussions on the laws controlling them. These are not essential in the study of mythologies or religions. In such cases, time and place are not as important as extracting the lessons and wisdom of virtuous behavior. Thus, history and mythology or religion partake different paths as they recount events. In fact, they have different objectives and consequently it is inappropriate to compare them from the perspective of purpose, or from the perspective of their correctness. However, this does not preclude the author from drawing inspiration of what myths and religion reveal of history and in expanding its horizon, provided they conform to science and logic. The contrary to that is untrue. It is impossible to affirm or describe a historical event from the content of myth or religion. The substance of this book is undoubtedly a refreshing adventure towards attempting to illuminate the horizon of our understanding of history, mythology and religion.