The Monks of Tibhirine: Faith, Love, and Terror in Algeria


John W. Kiser - 2002
    Two months later their severed heads were found in a tree; their bodies were never recovered.The village of Tibhirine had sprung up around the monastery because it was a holy place protected by the Virgin Mary, revered by Christians and Muslims alike. But napalm, helicopters, and gunfire had become regular accompaniments to the monastic routine as the violence engulfing Algeria drew closer to the isolated cloister high in the Atlas Mountains.

رؤية إسلامية ليأجوج و مأجوج في العالم الحديث


Imran N. Hosein - 2009
    للتحميلhttp://www.mediafire.com/download/49v...اوhttp://www.4shared.com/office/lLj_f_a...اوhttp://www.2shared.com/document/cuvH0...

Islamku Islam Anda Islam Kita: Agama Masyarakat Negara Demokrasi


Abdurrahman Wahid - 2006
    All aspects of human life related to Islam in Indonesia; collected articles of Abdurrahman Wahid, former Indonesian President.

Marxism and Other Western Fallacies : An Islamic Critique


Ali Shariati - 1980
    He warns that great case must be taken in this day of search and upheaval to examine the prevailing movements that promise solutions for humanity.Marxism, which holds special appeal for the world's oppressed peoples and those sensitive to their suffering because of its emphasis on justice, merits particularly close scrutiny. Shari'ati analyzes its roots in materialism, its relation to the Hegelian dialectric, its preoccupation with matters of production, the sources of its diametrical opposition to Islam, Marx's objection to religion, and other crucial aspects to Marxism.But his attention is not confined to Marxism alone. He discusses the established religions, bourgeois liberalism, and existentialism, beginning with their fundamental notions of man. He examines the characteristic refusal of the major freedom-seeking movements of the nineteenth and twentieth centures to accept any spiritual dimension in man. Throughout hs inquiry, Shari'ati offers comparisons with the ideology of Islam, drawing upon the principles and precepts contained in the Qur'an as well as cultural material from the history of Islamic society. Gradually and eloquently, he expounds his persoai view of Islam as the philosophy of human liberation.

How To Eat To Live: Book 1


Elijah Muhammad - 2011
    For example, Moses taught his people, when they were slaves in Eygpt, not to eat the unclean food of the Pharaoh. Daniel, too, resolved not to defile himself with the king's meat and drink. Having complete faith inAllah, he challenged those who ate the "king's rich food" to a test. After the ten-day testing period, Daniel and his followers were far healthier than were the followers of the king. The law given to Moses and followed by Daniel istoday being followed by Messenger Muhammad and his people. They, like Moses and Daniel, reject the swine, the prized dish of America. They, like,Moses and Daniel, enjoy excellent health and a pleasing appearance. If you want good health, follow Messenger Muhammad's rules as they are outlined in this book. Remember his teaching, which is supported by the scriptures:"A sound mind dwelleth in a sound body."Since the creation of the white race, man has fallen from spiritual and physical correctness. Adam ignored God's instructions of what to eat, eating everything that delighted the eyes and that was desired. To give life to the dead and to restore the proper life of his people, Allah has chosen Messenger Muhammad to teach and instruct us on physical well-being. As the Holy Qur'an says (21 :7): "And We sent not before thee any but men to whom we sent revelations; so ask the followers of the Reminder if you knownot. Nor did We give them bodies not eating food." Even more clear are the words to the followers of the Last Messenger-Prophet. The Ummi whom they find mentioned in the Torah and the Gospel. He enjoins them good and forbids them evil, and makes lawful to them the good things and prohibits for them impure things."Throughout scripture there are conflicts and confusion over which foods are proper and which are not. As in the past, the confusion can be resolved only by listening to the instructions of divine men. Only by following the teachings "OfMessenger Elijah Muhammad can we learn Allah's Will.Let us accept this good from the table of knowledge which Messenger Elijah Muhammad is offering. Let us not be like Judas who so often ate with Jesus and then left his table to betray him. We now have the opportunity of eatingwith a Divine man of God as the disciples ate with Jesus.Remember the teaching of Messenger Elijah Muhammad as related in the Holy Qur'an (2:168): "0 Men, eat the lawful and good things from what is in the earth, and follow not the footsteps of the devil. Surely he is an openenemy to you." If you follow this teaching and practice the rules set before you in HOW TO EAT TO LIVE, you can attain good health and a long life.John Ali, Former National SecretaryMuhammad Mosques of IslamThe Nation of Islam

Journey from the Land of No: A Girlhood Caught in Revolutionary Iran


Roya Hakakian - 2004
    . . Never had mayhem brought more peace. All our lives we had been taught the virtues of behaving, and now we were discovering the importance of misbehaving. Too much fear had tainted our days. Too many afternoons had passed in silence, listening to a fanatic’s diatribes. We were rebelling because we were not evil, we had not sinned, and we knew nothing of the apocalypse. . . . This was 1979, the year that showed us we could make our own destinies. We were rebelling because rebelling was all we could do to quell the rage in our teenage veins. Together as girls we found the courage we had been told was not in us.”In Journey from the Land of No Roya Hakakian recalls her childhood and adolescence in prerevolutionary Iran with candor and verve. The result is a beautifully written coming-of-age story about one deeply intelligent and perceptive girl’s attempt to ï¬?nd an authentic voice of her own at a time of cultural closing and repression. Remarkably, she manages to re-create a time and place dominated by religious fanaticism, violence, and fear with an open heart and often with great humor.Hakakian was twelve years old in 1979 when the revolution swept through Tehran. The daughter of an esteemed poet, she grew up in a household that hummed with intellectual life. Family gatherings were punctuated by witty, satirical exchanges and spontaneous recitations of poetry. But the Hakakians were also part of the very small Jewish population in Iran who witnessed the iron fist of the Islamic fundamentalists increasingly tightening its grip. It is with the innocent confusion of youth that Roya describes her discovery of a swastika—“a plus sign gone awry, a dark reptile with four hungry claws”—painted on the wall near her home. As a schoolgirl she watched as friends accused of reading blasphemous books were escorted from class by Islamic Society guards, never to return. Only much later did Roya learn that she was spared a similar fate because her teacher admired her writing.Hakakian relates in the most poignant, and at times painful, ways what life was like for women after the country fell into the hands of Islamic fundamentalists who had declared an insidious war against them, but we see it all through the eyes of a strong, youthful optimist who somehow came up in the world believing that she was different, knowing she was special. At her loneliest, Roya discovers the consolations of writing while sitting on the rooftop of her house late at night. There, “pen in hand, I led my own chorus of words, with a melody of my own making.” And she discovers the craft that would ultimately enable her to find her own voice and become her own person.A wonderfully evocative story, Journey from the Land of No reveals an Iran most readers have not encountered and marks the debut of a stunning new talent.

The New Religious Intolerance: Overcoming the Politics of Fear in an Anxious Age


Martha C. Nussbaum - 2012
    Nussbaum surveys such developments and identifies the fear behind these reactions. Drawing inspiration from philosophy, history, and literature, she suggests a route past this limiting response and toward a more equitable, imaginative, and free society.Fear, Nussbaum writes, is “more narcissistic than other emotions.” Legitimate anxieties become distorted and displaced, driving laws and policies biased against those different from us. Overcoming intolerance requires consistent application of universal principles of respect for conscience. Just as important, it requires greater understanding. Nussbaum challenges us to embrace freedom of religious observance for all, extending to others what we demand for ourselves. She encourages us to expand our capacity for empathetic imagination by cultivating our curiosity, seeking friendship across religious lines, and establishing a consistent ethic of decency and civility. With this greater understanding and respect, Nussbaum argues, we can rise above the politics of fear and toward a more open and inclusive future.

The Mystery of the Hanging Garden of Babylon: An Elusive World Wonder Traced


Stephanie Dalley - 2013
    Now offering a brilliant solution to a question that has challenged archeologists for centuries, The Mystery of the Hanging Garden of Babylon is an exciting story of detection as well as a lavishly illustrated & vividly written description of a little-known civilization. In this remarkable volume, Stephanie Dalley, a world expert on ancient Babylonian language, gathers in one place for the first time all the material on this enigmatic wonder. Tracing the history of the Garden, she describes how deciphering an ancient Assyrian text--& comparing it to sculpture in the British Museum--provided the clues that enabled her to pin down where the Garden was positioned (it was not the Babylon we know today) & to describe in detail what it may have looked like. The author also offers a groundbreaking description of the technology behind the Hanging Garden's water supply, highlighting a very early occurrence of the "water-raising screw." Thru her reconstruction of the Garden, Dalley is also able to follow its influence on later garden design. Unscrambling the many legends that have built up around the Garden, including questions about the roles played by Semiramis & Nebuchadnezzar, this intriguing volume shows why this Garden, with its remarkable innovations, deserves its place alongside the Pyramids & the Colossus of Rhodes as one of the most astonishing technical achievements of the ancient world.

Heirs to Forgotten Kingdoms: Journeys Into the Disappearing Religions of the Middle East


Gerard Russell - 2014
    These religions represent the last vestiges of the magnificent civilizations in ancient history: Persia, Babylon, Egypt in the time of the Pharaohs. Their followers have learned how to survive foreign attacks and the perils of assimilation. But today, with the Middle East in turmoil, they face greater challenges than ever before. In Heirs to Forgotten Kingdoms, former diplomat Gerard Russell ventures to the distant, nearly impassable regions where these mysterious religions still cling to survival. He lives alongside the Mandaeans and Ezidis of Iraq, the Zoroastrians of Iran, the Copts of Egypt, and others. He learns their histories, participates in their rituals, and comes to understand the threats to their communities. Historically a tolerant faith, Islam has, since the early 20th century, witnessed the rise of militant, extremist sects. This development, along with the rippling effects of Western invasion, now pose existential threats to these minority faiths. And as more and more of their youth flee to the West in search of greater freedoms and job prospects, these religions face the dire possibility of extinction. Drawing on his extensive travels and archival research, Russell provides an essential record of the past, present, and perilous future of these remarkable religions.

Nylon Road: A Graphic Memoir of Coming of Age in Iran


Parsua Bashi - 2009
    In the tradition of graphic memoirs such as Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis, comes the story of a young Iranian woman’s struggles with growing up under Shiite Law, her journey into adulthood, and the daughter whom she had to leave behind when she left Iran.

The Failure of Political Islam


Olivier Roy - 1992
    French political philosopher Roy demonstrates that the Islamism of today is a mix of populist politics and mixed economies of laissez-faire for the rich and subsidies for the poor, and argues that Islamic fundamentalists will never be able to reshape economics and politics in the name of Islamic un

Baghdad: City of Peace, City of Blood


Justin Marozzi - 2014
    It was here, in the time of the Caliphs, that the Thousand and One Nights were set. Yet it has also been a city of great hardships, beset by epidemics, famines, floods, and numerous foreign invasions which have brought terrible bloodhsed. This is the history of its storytellers and its tyrants, of its philosophers and conquerors.Here, in the first new history of Baghdad in nearly 80 years, Justin Marozzi brings to life the whole tumultuous history of what was once the greatest capital on earth.

The Conference of the Birds


Attar of Nishapur
    He recounts the perilous journey of the world’s birds to the faraway peaks of Mount Qaf in search of the mysterious Simorgh, their king. Attar’s beguiling anecdotes and humor intermingle the sublime with the mundane, the spiritual with the worldly, while his poem models the soul’s escape from the mind’s rational embrace.Sholeh Wolpé re-creates for modern readers the beauty and timeless wisdom of the original Persian, in contemporary English verse and poetic prose.

The Sufi Path Of Knowledge: Ibn Al ʻarabi's Metaphysics Of Imagination


William C. Chittick - 1989
    Born in Muslim Spain, he has become famous in the West as the greatest mystical thinker of Islamic civilization. He was a great philosopher, theologian, and poet.William Chittick takes a major step toward exposing the breadth and depth of Ibn al-'Arabi's vision. The book offers his view of spiritual perfection and explains his theology, ontology, epistemology, hermeneutics, and soteriology. The clear language, unencumbered by methodological jargon, makes it accessible to those familiar with other spiritual traditions, while its scholarly precision will appeal to specialists.Beginning with a survey of Ibn al-'Arabi's major teachings, the book gradually introduces the most important facets of his thought, devoting attention to definitions of his basic terminology. His teachings are illustrated with many translated passages introducing readers to fascinating byways of spiritual life that would not ordinarily be encountered in an account of a thinker's ideas. Ibn al-'Arabi is allowed to describe in detail the visionary world from which his knowledge derives and to express his teachings in his own words.More than 600 passages from his major work, al-Futuhat al-Makkivva, are translated here, practically for the first time. These alone provide twice the text of the Fusus al-hikam. The exhaustive indexes make the work an invaluable reference tool for research in Sufism and Islamic thought in general.

Islam Observed: Religious Development in Morocco and Indonesia


Clifford Geertz - 1968
    Geertz begins his argument by outlining the problem conceptually and providing an overview of the two countries. He then traces the evolution of their classical religious styles which, with disparate settings and unique histories, produced strikingly different spiritual climates. So in Morocco, the Islamic conception of life came to mean activism, moralism, and intense individuality, while in Indonesia the same concept emphasized aestheticism, inwardness, and the radical dissolution of personality. In order to assess the significance of these interesting developments, Mr. Geertz sets forth a series of theoretical observations concerning the social role of religion.