 | |
Seen a great site lately? Share it here |
 | | Find a favorite house of worship in your area or register your own! | 
| 
|
|
|
 |
Do you have an opinion? Make it count! Register your vote on today's most pressing issues of faith.
Go to Poll
|
| |
|
Whatever the occasion, receiving a loving message can be the nicest gift of all. Send a special card to someone you care about!
Send a Card
|
|
|
|
|
Books can be helpful and intimate companions as you travel the way of the spirit. Here's a place where you can glimpse some of the best new works available. We've also added a sprinkling of first-rate selections that have proved the test of time.
Master of the Jinn
by Irving Karchmar
BookSurge Publishing, 2004
Here is a tale set on the Path of the Heart, a beautifully written mystical adventure wherein a modern-day Sufi Master sends seven companions on a perilous quest for the greatest treasure of the ancient world - King Solomon's ring. The legendary seal ring is said to control the Jinn, those terrifying demons of living fire, and in seeking it the companions discover not only the truth of the Jinn, but also the path of Love and the infinite mercy of God. (Amazon) Buy This Book
Progressive Muslims
by Omid Safi
Oneworld Publications Ltd, 2003
Safi, a Colgate University professor, assembles a diverse set of essays by and about "progressive" Muslims. The essays vary in topic and in effectiveness, but generally seek to challenge the images of Islam held by both xenophobic Westerners and extremist Muslims. Safi's introduction, though showing insight into many problems today's Muslims face but rarely discuss publicly, is clunky, citing sources from Gandhi to Bob Dylan. Part I offers hard-hitting essays that are sure to be controversial in their discussion of what scholar Tazim Kassam claims is a "curtailment… of civil liberties such as freedom of inquiry and the expression of dissenting opinions" in the U.S. after September 11. There are also some triumphant essays. Scott Siraj al-Haqq Kugle superbly analyzes Islam's categorization of homosexuality as a sin in an essay that is long overdue and probably the only scholarly work of its kind. Gwendolyn Simmons's piece demands the establishment of feminism as Islamic in a touching essay-cum-memoir that connects her growth as a Muslim female to her experience as a young African-American during the Civil Rights era. The incomparable Amina Wadud offers an excellent article on racial tensions between immigrant and indigenous Muslims, while Marcia Hermansen pens the volume's bravest and most honest contribution, addressing the increasing conservatism of her American Muslim students-a topic previously not discussed outside the Muslim community. This collection is recommended for those who yearn for realistic information about Muslims, and for Muslims who are disgruntled with current Islamic leadership. (Publishers Weekly)
Buy This Book
|
|
|
Reading Lolita in Tehran
by Azar Nafisi
Random House, 2003
This book transcends categorization as memoir, literary criticism or social history, though it is superb as all three. Literature professor Nafisi returned to her native Iran after a long education abroad, remained there for some 18 years, and left in 1997 for the United States, where she now teaches at Johns Hopkins. Woven through her story are the books she has taught along the way, among them works by Nabokov, Fitzgerald, James and Austen. She casts each author in a new light, showing, for instance, how to interpret The Great Gatsby against the turbulence of the Iranian revolution and how her students see Daisy Miller as Iraqi bombs fall on Tehran Daisy is evil and deserves to die, one student blurts out. Lolita becomes a brilliant metaphor for life in the Islamic republic. The desperate truth of Lolita's story is… the confiscation of one individual's life by another, Nafisi writes. The parallel to women's lives is clear: we had become the figment of someone else's dreams. A stern ayatollah, a self-proclaimed philosopher-king, had come to rule our land…. And he now wanted to re-create us. Nafisi's Iran, with its omnipresent slogans, morality squads and one central character struggling to stay sane, recalls literary totalitarian worlds from George Orwell's 1984 to Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale. (Publishers Weekly)
Buy This Book
|
|
|
The Qur'an: A New Translation
by Thomas Cleary
Starlatch Press, 2004
This is a new and complete translation of the Qur'an-the Muslim scripture-by one of the premier translators of religious texts in the world. The meanings of this sacred text are rendered into the English language with subtle touches of poetry, allowing for the opportunity to fully understand the spirit and soul of the Qur'an. This direct and timely rendition is an essential source for the modern seeker. Buy This Book
After Jihad
by Noah Feldman
Farrar Straus & Giroux, 2003
Feldman is careful to distinguish his first book from some of the spate of recent works with the word "jihad" in the title, which contend that anti-Western, violent brands of Islam are growing in strength and bravado. Feldman argues, on the contrary, that September 11 and more recent sporadic attacks mark "the last, desperate gasp of a tendency to violence that has lost most of its popular support." Violent jihad, or struggle, he asserts, has lost its luster in the Muslim world except in cases of self-defense, and most Muslims find both Islamic ideals and democratic values appealing. The question then becomes, "Would democratically elected Islamic governments be good or bad for Western interests?" His answer is that we shouldn't fear the worst. Feldman, a professor at New York University's School of Law with a doctorate in Islamic thought from Oxford, notes that both Islam and democracy are based on human equality and are highly flexible, and disputes claims that they are incompatible. About a third of the book is taken up with overviews of Islam and democratic development in specific countries and regions, such as Iran and Indonesia; these chapters cover well-hashed territory, but make useful summaries for nonexperts. Diehard proponents of a separation between mosque and state may remain unconvinced that elected Islamic governments would support such liberal notions as women's rights or religious freedom. But the strength of Feldman's work lies in his consistent and simple reminder that the emergence of democracy in some countries will not necessarily bring about Islamist rule, and that suppressing it would itself be downright undemocratic. (Publishers Weekly)
Buy This Book
|
|
|
Muhammad: A Biography of the Prophet
by Karen Armstrong
HarperCollins Publishers, 2001
In a meticulous quest for the historical Muhammad, Armstrong first traces the West's long history of hostility toward Islam, which it has stigmatized as a "religion of the sword." This sympathetic, engrossing biography portrays Muhammad (ca. 570-632) as a passionate, complex, fallible human being--a charismatic leader possessed of political as well as spiritual gifts, and a prophet whose monotheistic vision intuitively answered the deepest longings of his people. Armstrong ( The Gospel According to Woman ) refutes the Western image of Muhammad as an impostor who used religion as a means to power, an attitude encapsulated in a psychotic dream episode in Salman Rushdie's The Satanic Verses. Denying that Islam preaches total intransigence, she finds in the Prophet's teachings a theology of peace and tolerance. The "holy war" urged by the Koran, in Armstrong's reading, alludes to each Muslim's duty to fight for a just, decent society. She draws significant parallels between the spiritual aspirations of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. (Publishers Weekly)
Buy This Book
|
|
|
Islam: A Mosaic, Not a Monolith
by Vartan Gregorian
The Brookings Institution Press, 2003
This book is brief, but its scope is ambitious: Gregorian surveys 1,400 years of Islamic history, including such key modern events as the 1978 Iranian revolution and the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Gregorian competently presses home the point that Islam is a tremendously diverse religion that has changed considerably throughout its history. (Publishers Weekly)
Buy This Book
The Life of the Prophet Muhammed
by Leila Azzam and Aisha Gouverneur
London: Islamic Texts Society, 1985
This is a clear, readable, and reverent book about the life of the Prophet Muhammed. Written principally for children, it is useful for anyone who wants an accessible introduction to the remarkable man who was the founder of Islam. It has been translated into a number of languages (including most recently Bosnian). Like all works published by the Islamic Texts Society, it is beautifully designed and handsomely printed.
Buy This Book
>> Go to Excerpt
Understanding Islam
by Frithjof Schuon
Bloomington, Ind.: World Wisdom Books, 1981
Frithjof Schuon is not exactly a household word, but this religious philosopher has gained the respect of some of the most influential religious thinkers and writers of our time, including Huston Smith. Schuon’s Understanding Islam is not always easy reading, but it does contain startling and profound insights into the Muslim tradition.
Buy This Book
The Knowing Heart
by Kabir Helminski
Boston: Shambhala, 1999
Sufism, the inner path of Islam, is classically a "way of the heart" which focuses on cultivating the love and warmth of the heart not as a sentimental exercise but as a means of attaining higher consciousness. Kabir Helminski, a celebrated Sufi teacher, explains this way of transformation. He also casts considerable light on Islam’s basic teachings.
Buy This Book
The Essential Rumi
Translated by Coleman Barks with John Moyne.
San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1995
Rumi was a Turkish spiritual master of the thirteenth century A.D. Curiously, he may also be the most widely read poet in America today. Coleman Barks’ lively and spirited versions are the chief reason. They are a superb expression of Rumi’s vivid and ecstatic voice. To take one example: "I am filled with you. / Skin, blood, bone, brain, and soul. / There’s no room for lack of trust, or trust. Nothing in this existence but that existence."
Buy This Book
>> Go to Excerpt
Atom from the Sun of Knowledge
by Lex Hixon Nur Al Jerrahi
Westport, Conn.: Pir Press, 1993
This comprehensive volume is an initiation into Sufism by a Western teacher of Islamic mysticism who saw in this ancient tradition a universal path to enlightenment. The first part of Atom from the Sun of Knowledge explores the spiritual secrets of many of the practices of Islam, as well as interpreting the rich spiritual wealth of Islam's sacred book, the Koran, and its supplementary resource, the Hadith, or sayings of the Prophet Muhammad. The second part of the book contains ecstatic modern Sufi poetry and spiritual discourses that illuminate the essential unity of all existence and the immense love that is the heart of all. (Amazon.com)
Buy This Book
>> Go to Excerpt
Doorkeeper of the Heart
by Charles Upton
Putney, Vt.: Threshold Books, 1988
Adaptations of prayers and sayings of Rabi'a.
Buy this Book
>> Go to Excerpt
The Essential Koran
Translated by Thomas Cleary
San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1993
This collection of readings from the Quran is designed to help non-Muslim Westerners approach this sacred book and savor something of its amazing power through a selection of chapters and verses encapsulating some of its central ideas and essential beauties. (Amazon.com)
Buy This Book
Islam at the Crossroads
by Paul Marshall, Roberta Green, Lela Gilbert
Baker Book House, 2002
Islam at the Crossroads traces how the vibrant history of Islam has been inspired by specific core beliefs, including jihad or holy war. Written in a popular and engaging style, it begins with a panoramic view of invasions and campaigns, including those of the Prophet Mohammad, and quickly moves to today's events. (Amazon.com)
Buy This Book
The Cross and the Crescent
by Phil Parshall
Gabriel Publishing, 2002
Clear and concise insight into the world of Islam. Considers how Muslims beliefs' affect their behaviour. Compares Muslim and Christian views on a number of issues. (Amazon.com)
Buy This Book
>> Go to Excerpt
I Heard God Laughing
by Daniel Ladinsky
Walnut Creek, Calif.: Sufism Reoriented, 1996
I Heard God Laughing introduces Hafiz, Persia's most beloved poet, with a fresh vibrant interpretation by the author. Hafiz describes the richness and beauty of the world when seen through the eyes of love and portrays all the stages and processes of spiritual unfolding that transform human love into divine love. (Alibris.com)
Buy This Book
Answering Islam
by Norman L. Geisler & Abdul Saleeb
Baker Book House, 2002
What are the fundamental beliefs of Islam and how can Christians respond to them? Answering Islam evaluates the claims of orthodox Islam and examines the evidence for the Christian counterclaim, preparing you with strong apologetic answers. This revised edition contains more resources and updated information throughout. (Amazon.com)
Buy This Book
The Islamic Year
by Noorah Al-Gailani Chris Smith, Helen Williams (Illustrator)
Hawthorn Press (Hawthorn House), 2003
Aimed at school-age children and their parents, it is loaded with activities, crafts, recipes and stories to help children understand the meaning behind holiday traditions. The authors discuss some variations in holiday celebrations by Muslims around the world. (Publishers Weekly)
Buy This Book
| |
| |
Home |
Contact Us |
About Us |
Site Map |
Membership |
Privacy
Press Inquiries |
Advertising and Sponsorship
|
|
|
