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The State We Are In :  Identity, Terror and the Law of Jihad.
Paperback - 159 pages -
The London terror outrage of July 7 has brought it home to us that the threat from suicide bombers does not simply come from foreigners who slip into the country, but from people who live and have grown up amongst us.
How and why British-born Muslims would want to blow themselves up is difficult to understand, though understand we must if we are to prevent these acts in the future.
The chapters in this book are written by evolving and renowned Muslim scholars in the field of Islamic studies : Hamza Yusuf, Muhammad Afifi al-Akiti, Gibril F Haddad, Yahya Birt, David Dakake, Suheil Laher, H.A.Hellyer & Aftab Ahmad Malik.
 £9.25 INCLUSIVE OF UK DELIVERY
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The Islam / West Debate
Paperback - 299 pgs -
 Documents from a global debate on terrorism, U.S. policy & the Middle East.
In 2002, sixty prominent American intellectuals released an open letter defending the use of military force against al-Qa'ida.
The letter sparked an impassioned international debate unlike any other, in which jihadists, journalists, liberal Muslims, and German pacifists engaged one another on the most pressing issues of our time terrorism, U.S. policy, and Islam-West relations.
A valuable resource for specialist and non-specialist alike, this volume chronicles that debate and includes contributions from both sides of the political spectrum in America and the Middle East-and even from al-Qa'ida.
£9.95 INCLUSIVE OF UK DELIVERY  |
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COVERING ISLAM :
How the Media and the Experts Determine How we See the Rest of the World.
Paperback - 224 pages by Edward W. Said
A penetrating look at the way in which experts, policy-makers and the media have dealt with the crisis in Iran, the Middle East, and the World Trade Centre bombing. With examples, Edward Said demonstrates that the government-business establishment has produced a portrait of Islam and Muslims based on ignorance, inaccuracy and prejudice.
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'Edward Said is a brilliant and unique amalgam of scholar, aesthete and political activist ... He challenges and stimulates our thinking in every area'
---Washington Post Book World
'Edward Said belongs to that small band of American intellectuals who talk sense (and write beautifully) about the outside world' ---Guardian
£7.99 PLUS POSTAGE |
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Defending the Transgressed by Censuring the Reckless Against the Killing of Civilians
Paperback - 94 Pages  Shaykh Muhammad Afifi al-Akiti's
Shaykh Muhammad Afifi al-Akiti's Fatwa entitled Defending the Transgressed by Censuring the Reckless Against the Killing of Civilians was written in response to the strife and troubles afflicting the Community of Muslims, and humanity at large, in our age, day in and day out. Stress and confusion have been created by Muslims who, intentionally or not, have misinterpreted the legal discussions on warfare in Islamic Law. They set them outside their proper contexts and abuse them, turning them into justifications for their hate-inspired crimes.
The key Islamic concepts and rules pertaining to the conduct of war and its jurisprudence, its arena and boundaries, and the subject of suicide bombings and the reckless targeting of civilians have probably never before been presented in English with such depth, clarity of thought, and breadth of scholarship in Muslim Law.
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Upon reading Shaykh Afifi's fatwa do not be surprised to find that you have probably never before seen such clarity of thought and expression together with breadth of knowledge of Islamic Law applied (by a non- native speaker) to define key Islamic concepts pertaining to the conduct of war and its jurisprudence, its arena and boundaries, suicide bombing, the reckless targeting of civilians, and more. Dr. Gibril Fouad Haddad
Our Price £3.95 INCLUSIVE OF UK DELIVERY |
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The Great War for Civilisation - The Conquest of the Middle East - Robert Fisk
Paperback - 1390 pages
If you read only one book all year, this should be it. The fruit of 30 years reporting from the Middle East, it is an epic in every sense of the word. At a time when the "news" about this region has become dominated by so much propaganda and spin, foreign correspondent Robert Fisk is an eloquent and passionate eyewitness to decades of the most horrifying scenes of violence and hate. One couldn't ask for a surer guide through these circles of Hell.
And that's not hyperbole. It's hard to imagine a book, certainly no work of non-fiction, with more blood running through its pages. Here are bodies torn apart by high-tech weaponry, innocent families blown to pieces, mutilated corpses, torture chambers - and all of it on an industrial scale. It seems at times as though we are walking through an alternate universe created by the Marquis de Sade. Fisk even stops to give the reader an occasional warning that what's about to come is not for anyone with a weak stomach. And still it comes, more bombed streets, mass graves, and hospital wards filled with the wretched human waste of war. "On television, it looked so clean," is how he begins one visit to a Baghdad emergency room. But this isn't television.
Perhaps the most amazing thing about The Great War for Civilisation is how Fisk avoids the obvious danger, especially in a book this long, of having the violence become monotonous, the carnage and brutality banal. Even recollected years after the fact, his reportage loses none of its immediacy. This is a book that is both hard to read and impossible to put down. It's a cliché, but Fisk gives the horror of war a human face, a context. He feels the ground shake under his feet from explosions and the heat on his face of burning oil fires, he smells the rotting corpses, he hears the flies buzzing about the wounded and the dead, but most of all he hears the voices of the victims and the survivors. He listens to what they have to say.
As a reporter covering events "on the ground" he is less interested in the players of the Great Game, or analyzing their strategies and motives. He observes the the consequences of power in action. And what a miserable tale it is to tell. From Russia's invasion of Afghanistan, through the great Iraq-Iran War, the Israeli occupation of Palestine and invasion of Lebanon, the slaughterhouse of Algeria's civil war, the two American-led Gulf Wars against Iraq, Fisk has been there covering it all. And not as an embedded or "hotel journalist" either, embracing "the new, cosy, damaging relationship between reporters and the military," but putting his life on the line in some very dangerous situations. It's a surprise this book even got written. At one point he is nearly killed by an angry mob in Afghanistan. Such are the hazards faced by someone holding to the heroic, if old-fashioned, ideal of the reporter as (quoting Hitchcock's foreign correspondent) "one of the little army of historians who are writing history from beside the cannon's mouth."
But despite everything he keeps going back. Because he loves the place (his makes his home in Beirut), and because "war is also a vicarious, painful, attractive, unique experience for a journalist." Danger is a drug, and violence is exciting. Though Fisk would probably not want to acknowledge it, there may be some response here to his astonishment at the horrors of the Middle East's great killing fields. "What primeval energy produces such sadism?" he asks at one point. Is it such a mystery? Sade, whose name is invoked, had one answer.
Is there a Big Picture? Through it all Fisk describes himself as trying "to make sense of what I have witnessed, to place it in a context that did not exist for me when I was trying to stay alive." He would like the kaleidoscope to stop turning, "to see the loose flakes of memory reflected in some final, irremediable pattern. So that is what it was about!"
But the kaleidoscope, which is history, is what it is all about. Fisk doesn't see history as repeating itself, or moving through a series of cycles, but he does see the tragedy of the Middle East as lying in the past, with "our ancestors' folly." If the story has a beginning it might go back to the First World War, the "Great War for Civilisation" that Fisk's father fought in. This is a history written by the West, whose consequences still trap the Middle East. "In the Middle East the people live their past history, again and again, every day." There is no escape for them.
"How to correct history, that's the thing." And it's the reason Fisk wrote this book. His journalism is both steeped in historical perspective and committed to the belief that journalists are historians. It is their job "to be the first impartial witnesses to history. If we have any reason for our existence, the least must be our ability to report history as it happens so that no one can say: 'We didn't know - no one told us.'"
In the current political climate, poisoned by the propaganda war against terrorism ("a word that has become a plague on our vocabulary," in Fisk's view), this isn't an easy job. In the apocalyptic struggle of us against them impartiality is not seen as a virtue. There are even some who have criticized Fisk for interviewing Osama bin Laden. But attempting to understand how the present situation came about is not to excuse any of the perpetrators of violence. The evil of terrorism doesn't exist in a vacuum, but is born of certain political conditions. Sweeping them under a rhetorical rug isn't going to make it go away.
Understanding. Witness. Compassion. The Great War for Civilisation embodies all of these in writing that shivers with conviction and intensity. More than just an outstanding work of journalism or history, it is one of the great books of our time.
(Almost 1400 pages)
Our Price £12.99 INCLUSIVE OF U.K DELIVERY |
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Man & The Universe : An Islamic Perspective by Mostafa al-Badawi
Paperback - 180 pages
Synopsis
It is now obvious that something has gone very wrong in the West, and that psychological and social alternatives have become pressing issues. In this timely book, Dr Mostafa al-Badawi reminds us that Islam has a historically verifiable track record for healing social chaos and individual tragedy. Sadly, the principles of Islam have all too often been suppressed by the deluge of educational materials, media and socio-economic strangulation from the West. Dr Badawi provides a powerful overview of Islamic metaphysics and unearths its spiritual, social and ethnic values as well as a diagnosis of modern man.
This is an important piece of writing about what we are and where we are.
Our Price £10.95 INCLUSIVE OF DELIVERY TO UK |
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SHATTERING THE MYTH : Islam beyond the Violence
Paperback - 237 pages by Bruce B. Lawrence
Islam is often portrayed, especially in Western media, as an alien, violent, hostile, and monolithic religion, whose adherents are intent upon battling nonbelievers throughout the world. Shattering the Myth demonstrates that these conceptions more accurately reflect the bias of Western reporters than they do the realities of contemporary Islam. Westerners are barraged by images of violence that usually originate from armed confrontations in one small corner of the world. Islam, Bruce Lawrence argues, is a complex, international religious system that cannot be reduced to stereotypes. As Lawrence demonstrates, Islam is a religion shaped as much by its own postulates and ethical demands as by the specific circumstances of Muslim people in the modern world.
The last two hundred years have brought many challenges for Muslims, from colonial subjugation through sporadic revivalism to elitist reform movements and, most recently, pervasive struggles with fundamentalism. During each period, Muslims have had to address internal tensions, as well as external threats. Today Muslims in the post-colonial era, only some of whom are Arab and living in the Middle East, are playing ever greater roles in economic changes, both regional and international. As the impact of these changes has become evident in societies around the globe, new leaders have come into public view. The most remarkable emerging presence is that of Muslim women. Lawrence argues that it is the experience of Muslim women in particular that calls for a more nuanced understanding of Islam today.
It is time, Lawrence believes, to replace inaccurate images of Islam with a recognition of the multifaceted character of this global religion and of its widely diverse adherents. Here he describes changes that are taking place throughout the world, particularly in Southeast Asia, enacted by governments and nongovernmental organizations alike. In a time of rapid international change, Lawrence suggests that it is time for our images of Islam to reflect more clearly the realities of Islam as it is lived. Shattering the Myth provides significant insights into the history of Islam and a greater understanding of the varied experiences of Muslims today.
"An informed interpretation of the contemporary Muslim experience . . . Lawrence's explanations for the particular states of affairs in Egypt, Iran, Pakistan, and Malaysia, among other cases, are compelling . . . [A] distinguished contribution."-- From the foreword by James Piscatori and Dale F. Eickelman
Reviews:
"Bruce Lawrence's excellent analysis of Islam today brings together socioeconomic, historical, political, and religious elements, and sets these against the backdrop of global capitalism and high technology . . . . Shattering the Myth is an extremely well argued, well developed and well documented book that serves as a basis for further studies of Islam and the images held about it."---Middle East Journal
"In this thought provoking and informative work, the author ... seeks to dispel the misconceptions and fears about Islam which are too often held by those with an incomplete understanding of what Islam is and what its followers believe and seek.... Anyone wishing to develop an accurate understanding of the subject should read this book." --- Virginia Quarterly Review
"In Shattering the Myth, Bruce Lawrence takes us beyond the headlines and CNN broadcasts and shows us an Islam that is not quite as neat and tidy as popularly presented."--Ethnic Conflict
"The book makes the commonsense yet often overlooked argument that Islam must be understood, in its variety, as a complex and developing religious system not separated from the everyday and global concerns of Muslims.... Insightful analysis." --- Religious Studies Review
"Shattering the Myth is an important book. . . . It is a brilliant example of applied religious studies."
--- History of Religions
"A timely contribution to an ongoing debate on the relationship between Islam and violence, a debate that has shed more heat than light. It cannot afford to be ignored by anyone interested in the relations between Muslims and people of other faiths." --- Islamic Studies
Our Price £12.95 INCLUSIVE OF UK DELIVERY |
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The Gujarat Genocide: A Case Study of Fundamental Cleansing 
Paperback - 176 pages by Garda Ghista
Synopsis : In February, 2002, Hindu extreme right-wing religious organisations, under the umbrella of the Sangh Parivar, organised and carried out a genocidal ethnic cleansing of Muslims in the state of Gujarat, in western India. Between 2,000 and 5,000 Muslims were slaughtered, and more than 150,000 rendered homeless and destitute. Human rights investigators, despite having earlier visited Kosovo and Afghanistan, were completely unprepared for the horrors they found in Gujarat. To date, the victims have seen no justice - particularly economic justice - and the perpetrators continue to boast of Gujarat as a laboratory of their plans for the rest of India. With the rise of Jewish and Islamic fundamentalism in the Middle East and Christian fundamentalism in the US, the Gujarat genocide looms large in a scenario of global fundamentalist wars. It is a story that reverberates in every corner of the globe where the wolves of religious fundamentalism howl at the gates of power. How are we to face this juggernaut of religious fascism, presently manifest in all major world religions? For all those who cherish human freedom from dogma and hatred, this book is not merely a case study in communalist cleansing, but a Neo-humanistic spark of liberation from the cycle of hatred.
Our Price £13.95 INCLUSIVE OF UK DELIVERY |
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SILENT NO MORE: Confronting America's False Images of Islam
Paperback - 323 pages by Congressman Paul Findley
Description from the publisher: In Silent No More Findley shares his personal impressions and experiences in dealing with American Muslims, their communities, and issues and events that figure prominently in their concerns and consciences. He narrates how he, like many Americans, harboured misinformation and stereotypes about Islam and its followers until middle age.
An unexpected journey to South Yemen to plead for the release of an imprisoned American, put him unwittingly on the trail of discovery of Islam and the Muslims for the last three decades. He examines the false images of Islam that linger in American minds; the impact of these stereotypes on U.S. national interests, particularly the well being of U.S. Muslims; what is being done to promote accurate understanding of Islam; the adequacy of these measures; and additional activities that are needed. Findley chronicles his long exploratory record of pioneering endeavors by Muslims and other activists who form the vanguard in a worthy, long-neglected cause. Being a keen political observer he documents the entry of American Muslims in mainstream American politics and the impact of their bloc voting in 2000 state and presidential elections.
Among Those Who Challenge Stereotypes: "Pictured on the front cover and on the insert placed inside this book are some of the remarkable American citizens I encountered during my journey through the world of Islam. They represent various vocations. Not all are Muslim, but each challenges in a significant way the stereotypes of Islam. They do so by example, word, or deed.
"They are typical of thousands of people who deserve recognition for advancing interfaith understanding. I wish I could meet-and list them all." Paul Findley
Paul Findley ---- What They say about him?
"First Class" Christian Science Monitor
"Resolutely fair-minded" Boston Globe
"Responsible" Library Journal
"Undeniably impressive" Jerusalem Post
THIS BOOK IS IN USED CONDITION, HENCE THE PRICE. IT IS IN GOOD CONDITION, NO INK MARKS, NO RIPS OR TEARS, BUT A MASSIVE SAVING OFF THE NEW PRICE.
Our Price £6.00 INCLUSIVE OF UK DELIVERY |
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