Islam
Among
the Believers: An Islamic Journey
by Vidiadhar Surajprasad Naipaul
Book Description: Naipaul's controversial account of his travels through
the Islamic world was hailed by The New Republic as "the most notable work
on contemporary Islam to have appeared in a very long time."
Paperback: 448 pages ; Dimensions (in inches): 1.04 x
8.03 x 5.22
Publisher: Vintage; Reissue edition (July 12, 1982)
ISBN: 0394711955
Allah
O Akbar : A Journey Through Militant Islam
by Abbas, Magnum (Photographer)
Allah O Akbar begins the call to prayer that resonates from minarets
in towns and villages from Sinkiang to Morocco, from Paris to Timbuktu.
No matter where in the world you are, the message is the same: "God is
Great." It is also the war cry of Islamic militants throughout the lands
of the faithful.
Abbas has travelled throughout the Islamic world for seven years to
take the photographs for this extraordinary book. Driven by a desire to
understand and expose the internal tensions within Muslim societies, he
highlights the conflict between a rising political movement looking for
inspiration in a mythical past and a desire for modernization. The quality
of immediacy in the work and the subtlety of its composition provide a
constant visual stimulus; the sequence of dramatic and often disturbing
images confirm Abbas's reputation as one of the few photographers who can
raise photojournalism to an art form.
The political influence Islam exerts on the world makes this book a
work of enormous importance. Many Islamic societies seem shrouded in religious
and cultural mystery, but through his words and images, Abbas provides
a penetrating insight into the secrets of these communities and their world.
Photographed and written as a personal account, the book speaks with all
the urgency of a diary, recording a journey in the lands of Allah.
After years of dedicated work, in 29 countries, spanning four continents,
Abbas has drawn a telling portrait, coloured by the turmoil and the tradition,
the militancy and the moderation to be found in Islam. The Publisher.
Publisher: Phaidon Press Inc.; (September 1994)
Beyond
Belief: Islamic Excursions Among the Converted Peoples
by V. S. Naipaul
(Paperback - December 1999)
The
Culture of Islam: Changing Aspects of Contemporary Muslim Life
by Lawrence Rosen
(Hardcover - January 2003)
The
Essential Rumi - reissue : New Expanded Edition
by Coleman Barks
No translator could do greater justice to the gorgeous simplicity of
Rumi's poetry than Coleman Barks has done here. These exquisite renderings
of the 13th-century Persian mystic's words into American free verse capture
all the "inner searching, the delicacy, and simple groundedness" that characterize
Rumi's poetry while remaining faithful to the images, tone, and spiritual
message of the originals. Barks's introductions to each of the 27 sections
(described as "playful palimpsests spread over Rumi's imagination," and
"meant to confuse scholars who would divide Rumi's poetry into the accepted
categories") are themselves wonderful achievements of a poetic imagination;
searching explanations of unfamiliar concepts and funny stories provide
colorful background and frame the selections as no dry historical exegesis
could.
While Barks's stamp on this collection is clear, it in no way interferes
with the poems themselves; Rumi's voice leaps off these pages with an ecstatic
energy that leaves readers breathless. There are poems of love, rage, sadness,
pleading, and longing; passionate outbursts about the torture of longing
for his beloved and the sweet pleasure that comes from their union; amusing
stories of sexual exploits or human weakness; and quiet truths about the
beauty and variety of human emotion. More than anything, Rumi makes plain
the unbridled joy that comes from living life fully, urging us always to
put aside our fears and take the risk to do so. As he says: "The way of
love is not / a subtle argument. / The door there is devastation. / Birds
make great sky-circles / of their freedom. / How do they learn it? / They
fall, and falling, / they're given wings." --Uma Kukathas - Amazon.com
Paperback from Harper SanFrancisco
Book Published: 14 February, 1997 |
| |
A
History of God: The 4,000-Year Quest of Judaism, Christianity and Islam
by Karen Armstrong
(Paperback - September 1994)
The
Holy Qur'an: Text, Translation & Commentary
by Abdullah Yusuf Ali (Editor)
(Hardcover)
Islam:
A Short History
by Karen Armstrong
(Hardcover - August 2000)
The
Koran (Penguin Classics)
by N. J. Dawood (Translator)
(Paperback)
The
Meaning of the Holy Qur'an
by Abdullah Yusuf Ali
(Hardcover)
Taliban: Militant Islam, Oil and Fundamentalism in Central Asia
by Ahmed Rashid
Listed under Taliban
Nine
Parts of Desire : The Hidden World of Islamic Women
by Geraldine Brooks
Paperback (January 1996)
Anchor Books; ISBN: 0385475772
Muhammad
: A Biography of the Prophet
by Karen Armstrong
(Paperback - October 1993)
Muhammad Ali: The Birth of a Legend, Miami, 1961-1964
by Flip Schulke, et al
Listed under Muhammad Ali
The
Muslim Discovery of Europe
by Bernard Lewis
(Paperback - October 2001)
Understanding
Islam : An Introduction to the Muslim World
by Thomas W. Lippman
(Paperback - December 1995)
Why
I Am Not a Muslim
by Ibn Warraq
(Hardcover - August 1995)
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