"Books explaining Islam to non-Muslims"

Schuhart

Tim Robbins wrote:

What Islam books have you read by the way, this one isn't bad,

A short history, Karen Armstrong:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Islam-Short-History-Universal/dp/1842125834/ref=pd_bbs_sr_6/026-5610430-1458047?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1176811880&sr=8-6

I'm seeking an indulgence (its my right as a Catholic Atheist) to go off point for a moment.

In all seriousness, I feel Malise Ruthven’s book Islam in the World or (for the time pressed seeker after knowledge) his Islam A Very Short Introduction are both what I would call good books written from a sympathetic Western academic perspective – i.e. good for someone who just wants to get their head around what the religion is about from as objective a standpoint as you are going to get.

I haven’t read anything by Karen Armstrong on Islam per se, but I thought an article she wrote on the Pope’s famous ‘Islam is evil speech’ was pure ****e. I honestly wondered if she’d actually read what he’d said, or if she just wanted the opportunity to criticise him for what she wished he’d said.

Asiaprod

Schuhart, sorry for moving your post, I want the thread to stay on topic.

Schuhart

No problem at all.

Zillah

You could at least pick a topic title that fits!

Dades

You're lucky Asia - I've seen them get cranky when their posts get moved...

Nature Boy

Schuhart wrote:

(its my right as a Catholic Atheist)

What's a catholic athiest? Is that like a commu-nazi or something??

Goodshape

Nature Boy wrote:

What's a catholic athiest? Is that like a commu-nazi or something??

Perhaps someone who was born and raised in (for example) Catholic Ireland before deciding it wasn't for them.

Just a guess though. You know, I could be wrong.

What do you think?

Schuhart

Nature Boy wrote:

What's a catholic athiest? Is that like a commu-nazi or something??

It’s a very, very old joke, retold here, for the sake of argument.

There is an old Irish joke, retold here by Richard Dawkins, about somebody in Northern Ireland who responded to a survey question about religious affiliation by declaring himself an atheist. ‘Would that be a Protestant atheist or a Catholic atheist?’ came the insistent reply. Faced with a similar inquiry, I would be obliged to declare myself a Catholic atheist. By this I mean that I am an atheist by conviction, but a Catholic by upbringing and tribal affiliation.

Dawkins, incidently, is very much a Protestant atheist - he pretty much says 'why can't all theists be decent chaps and join the Church of England'.

Asiaprod

Zillah wrote:

You could at least pick a topic title that fits!

Indeed, was under pressure at the time.

TheAtheist wrote:

You're lucky Asia - I've seen them get cranky when their posts get moved...

Believe me, I do feel lucky. I like nice people.

Schuhart, do you want me to change the title, if yes, what to.

Schuhart

Asiaprod wrote:

Schuhart, do you want me to change the title, if yes, what to.

I suppose a shorter title might look better - how about simply "Books explaining Islam to non-Muslims".

InFront

I feel like I've stumbled into the wrong forum:D
Well obviously there's The Qur'an. Abdullah Yusuf Ali version is available here:
http://islam.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://www.islam101.com/quran/quranYusuf/quranYusuf.html

And there is an excellent biography of the Prophet Muhammad by a Pakistani author called Maulana Muhammad Ali

Not sure about the first point about the Karen Armstrong book, I heard it has a lot of inaccuracies but then haven't read it.