New Releases

Essential Writings Ismail Al Faruqi

Imtiyaz Yusuf, ed. (Foreword by Anwar Ibrahim) 2021. Pp. $15.00 Center for Islam in the Contemporary World, Shenandoah University, Winchester, Va.

Imtiyaz Yusuf’s collection is a tribute and insight into the scholarship and perspective of Ismail Al Faruqi, a trailblazer of what he called “Islamics” or “Islamic studies” in the modern age. He placed a special focus on studying Islam from the perspective of phenomenology, the history of religions and interreligious dialogue.

Al Faruqi was one of the major Muslim scholars and teachers of Islamic studies during the late-20th century. He established the program of Islamic studies section within Temple University’s Department of Religion. In 1986, this dedicated Palestinian American scholar and mentor to a generation of students both in the U.S. and overseas, many of whom he recruited and supported, and his wife were murdered in their home.

Yusuf’s compilation represents a great effort to preserve Al Faruqi’s thought for future generations.

Determined to Stay: Palestinian Youth Fight for Their Village

Jody Sokolower 2021. Pp. 230. PB. $20.00 One Branch Press, Northampton, Mass.

This is a moving story of Palestinian residents defending their village of Silwan, located just outside of the Old City of Jerusalem’s ancient walls.

As Silwani youth and community members share their lives with us, their village becomes an easily accessible way to understand the Palestinian peoples’ history and current reality.

Written with young people in mind, the richly illustrated text stresses connections between the lives of youth in the U.S. and Palestine: the criminalization of youth, forced relocations, the impact of colonialism on Indigenous communities, efforts to bury history and inspiring examples of resistance and resilience.

Human rights attorney Noura Erakat rightly says that this is a mustread book for all ages, one that fills a critical gap in the standard U.S. curricula.

The Flying Man, Aristotle, and the Philosophers of the Golden Age of Islam: Their Relevance Today

Akbar Ahmed 2021. Pp. 128. HB. $16.95 amana publications, Ellicott City, Md.

Akbar Ahmed, a professor and former diplomat, analyzes the legacies of some of Islam’s greatest medieval philosophers and examines the impact of the Islamic Golden Age’s achievements on the Jewish and Christian philosophical traditions. Citing Ibn Arabi, Ibn Rushd, Ibn Sina and al-Ghazali, he introduces readers to the deep philosophical and religious issues that preoccupied them — primarily reconciling divine revelation (as represented by Islam) and ancient Greek philosophy, which emphasized human rationality and logic.

In his remarks, Dr. Husein ef. Kavazović (grand mufti, the Islamic Community in Bosnia and Herzegovina) brilliantly places Ahmed’s mission, “You are making the world a much better place by bringing people together from a deep vantage point rather than just superficial agreements.”

This is a book that needs to be considered as the world seeks to build a better future after the Covid-19 pandemic.

Fiqh of Social Media: Timeless Islamic Principles for Navigating the Digital Age

Omar Usman 2020. Pp. 103. PB. $14.99 Independently Published

Social media and digital technologies have changed our lives, and there is no indication that things will slow down. For Muslims, Islam contains the perfect guidance for humanity to follow. This book focuses on how to implement that timeless advice in our unprecedented times.

Past scholars have written on the adab of speech and social interaction. Usman, a technology consultant, helps connect those guidelines with the modern world of social media by dealing with the tough questions of how it impacts our life.

Pluralism in Islamic Contexts: Ethics, Politics and Modern Challenges

Mohammed Hashas, ed. 2021. Pp. 261. HB. $89.00 Springer Nature Switzerland, Cham, Switzerland

This compilation of works by international scholars of Islamic philosophy, theology and politics examines various major questions: What is pluralism’s place in Islam’s founding texts? How have Sunnis and Shi’as interpreted sacred and prophetic texts throughout Islamic intellectual history? How does contemporary Islamic thought treat religious and political diversity in modern nation states and in societies in transition? How is pluralism dealt with in modern major and minor Islamic contexts? How does modern political Islam deal with pluralism in the public sphere? What are the major internal and external challenges to pluralism in Islamic contexts?

Case studies cover Egypt, Turkey, Indonesia and Thailand, along with internal references to other contexts.

The Orphans of Kashmir

Ammar Habib 2021. Pp. 295. PB. $14.99. Kindle: $4.99 Independently Published

This novel is a coming-of-age story set in the backdrop of the sufferings in Illegally Indian Occupied Jammu & Kashmir. In an over-politicized world, this work seeks to humanize the state’s Muslim Kashmiri inhabitants and to put more spotlight on the human rights injustices they have suffered at the hands of New Delhi. This book isn’t about the region’s politics and history, but about its people and humanity’s unbreakable spirit.

Boy, Everywhere

A. M. Dassu 2021. Pp. 400. HB. $19.95. Ebook. $9.99 Lee & Low Books, New York, N.Y.

This book, written for middle schoolers and based on the experiences of real Syrian refugees, chronicles their harrowing journey and struggle to settle in a new land. Forced to sell all their belongings and leave their friends and grandmother behind, Sami and his family travel to Turkey, where they end up in a smuggler’s den. From there, they manage to cross the treacherous Mediterranean and fly to England, only to be separated and detained in an immigration prison for the “crime” of seeking asylum. The transition from refugee to immigrant will be the greatest challenge that Sami has ever faced.

LALA Comics: The Hilarious Encounters of a Muslimah Learning Her Deen

Umm Sulayman 2021. Pp. 128. PB. $16.95 Tughra Books, Clifton, N.J.

Lala, like most Muslim children, goes through life with her family learning and trying her best to get closer to God. What’s different about her is that she gets into some quite peculiar, but hilarious, situations. Created for middle school children, this compilation of stories teaches and reminds its readers of simple Islamic teachings.

Granny, Where Does Allah Live?

Yasmin Kamal (illus. Citra Lani) 2021. (Ages 4‑8). Pp. 32. HB. $12.95 Tughra Books, Clifton, N.J.

The story of two inquisitive children on a journey wanting to understand Allah better and learning from the wisdom shared by their charming Granny along the way. ih