Reddit reviews Introducing Islam: A Graphic Guide

I can suggest some books that are really helpful in filling in the blanks.

For a basic overview of Islam's history and the reality of Islamic countries in the modern world I'd recommend "Introducing Islam."

For a seriously compelling look at the Sunni/Shia split and the conflict between the two sects I highly recommend "After the Prophet". Not only is this good history, it's a very well written.

And for a really excellent look at the misconceptions westerners have about Islam, and the ways in which those misconceptions are transmitted and perpetuated, you can't beat the works of Edward Said. He wrote three books on the subject that he considered a trilogy. They are:

Orientalism

The Question of Palestine

and

Covering Islam

Also, here's a documentary that is largely an interview with Said on the topic of Orientalism.

And a documentary called "Reel Bad Arabs" that examines the way the middle east is portrayed by western media.

Thanks much - this is exactly the sort of thing I was looking for and once I look at this on Amazon it leads me to a lot of other things. :-) I just read this (which is what made me realize how little I knew): http://www.amazon.com/Introducing-Islam-Graphic-Ziauddin-Sardar/dp/1848310846 It wasn't bad (woke me up a little) but was pretty comic-book cursory.

Reminds me of this book that mentioned it was when some clerics wanted to control interpretation of the holy text, that later gave rise to some other clerics that want to maintain their “rank” in a “hierarchy”. Is that true? A class struggle among faithful followers?

I don't know how basic you're looking for, but I'd recommend Introducing Islam: A Graphic Guide.. It's a nice primer on a variety of topics.