en-US Tue, 16 Jun 2015 05:16:11 -0700 60 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg 81240 1821 Anonymous 1590080254 sara 5 4.57
author: Anonymous
name: sara
average rating: 4.57
book published:
rating: 5
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date added: 2015/06/16
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one of the best translations w/ tafseer out there as far as i know...
]]> 646941 191 عبد القادر الجيلاني 1882216016 sara 2 4.66 1166
author: عبد القادر الجيلاني
name: sara
average rating: 4.66
book published: 1166
rating: 2
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date added: 2015/02/04
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i wanted to love it. but i didnt. i dont know if it was lost in a poor translation. or if i wasnt in a mental state to receive the msg. i guess a lil of both.
]]> 475578 104 Abu Hamid al-Ghazali 8171512976 sara 1 horrilbe translation 2.00 1105
author: Abu Hamid al-Ghazali
name: sara
average rating: 2.00
book published: 1105
rating: 1
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date added: 2013/11/05
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review:
horrilbe translation
]]> 7882148
Drawing on a wide range of sources, from the Bible and Western mystics to the Vedas and the Bhagavad Gita, he probes human language and silence, adoration and alienation, to find the root of all our experience in God and its special character in Christian encounter with Jesus.

He concludes with reflections on the many places - such as love, joy, suffering, pardon, nature, silence, and even evil - where we meet God today.]]> 0 Raimon Panikkar sara 5 4.33 1998
author: Raimon Panikkar
name: sara
average rating: 4.33
book published: 1998
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2013/05/26
shelves:
review:
this should be required reading for all. especially those who self-identify as "religious" or those that struggle with religiosity...
]]> 740241 387 Julia T. Wood 0534572499 sara 5 4.00
author: Julia T. Wood
name: sara
average rating: 4.00
book published:
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2012/07/30
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review:
another one of the few textbooks i read cover to cover while at mason...very interesting stuff...
]]> 530485 عبد القادر الجيلاني 1882216237 sara 3 4.33 1992
author: عبد القادر الجيلاني
name: sara
average rating: 4.33
book published: 1992
rating: 3
read at: 2008/01/01
date added: 2012/07/24
shelves:
review:
some basic sufi teachings of Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jilani..i don't know if the "umph" is lost in translation..or am i being disappointed b/c i'm comparing it to ghazali and rumi...or am i missing knowledge that's a pre-req to such reading...probably a combination of all of the above.
]]> 1301957 Regardless of the stigma attached to prostitution, it has given birth for centuries to many well known performing artists. The book paints a more realistic picture of the phenomenon through the stories of the people living the musicians, the prostitutes, and their pimps, managers and
customers.]]> 355 Fouzia Saeed 0195794125 sara 3 good research...written from a completely feminist perspective..so don't completely agree w/ the author's theories...easy read, but redundant at parts...
~~
haha having gone through a women n gender studies program..i think i need to revise my review..as now i'm more comfortable w/ the term feminist..and i dont recall why i wrote that...reread the book? ]]> 3.67 2001
author: Fouzia Saeed
name: sara
average rating: 3.67
book published: 2001
rating: 3
read at: 2007/12/01
date added: 2012/06/17
shelves:
review:
decent book...dancing girls of lahore was better..
good research...written from a completely feminist perspective..so don't completely agree w/ the author's theories...easy read, but redundant at parts...
~~
haha having gone through a women n gender studies program..i think i need to revise my review..as now i'm more comfortable w/ the term feminist..and i dont recall why i wrote that...reread the book?
]]> 1238070
Frank and often wickedly comic, Chughtai's stories were the imaginative core of her life's work, drawn from memories of the sprawling Muslim household of her childhood. With her mastery of the spoken language, economy of form, and her fine eye for the details of the intricate and hidden world of women's experience, Chughtai captured the evolving conflicts of Muslim India. Her exploration of the myriad and subtle tyrannies of middle-class gentility, and, equally, of those unexpected moments of sexual liberation and spirit, is unrivalled in contemporary Urdu literature.]]> 225 Ismat Chughtai 8185107106 sara 5 having said that, it is a decent translation...and a rare one of such a work....the stories will seem shockingly ahead of their time to anyone not familiar w/ south asian culture or "feminists" from muslim cultures/lands...i wish more books like these were translated into english...]]> 4.11 1994
author: Ismat Chughtai
name: sara
average rating: 4.11
book published: 1994
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2011/07/31
shelves:
review:
i would give it 4 stars because i'm sure much is lost in translation, and these are far more interesting to read in Urdu if one has the capability...
having said that, it is a decent translation...and a rare one of such a work....the stories will seem shockingly ahead of their time to anyone not familiar w/ south asian culture or "feminists" from muslim cultures/lands...i wish more books like these were translated into english...
]]> 72434 193 Annemarie Schimmel 0826414443 sara 5 3.87 1995
author: Annemarie Schimmel
name: sara
average rating: 3.87
book published: 1995
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2011/07/31
shelves:
review:
i can see why critics say she's an islamic apologist...nonetheless, i loved it....as this is the last book Schimmel wrote, one can say that she cracks the door open for us as life's door closes on her...i think a more acute perception would be that Schimmel leaves the door open for us as she slips right through it onto the next world...this short book is an inspiration to enter a world of critical and theoretical thought...especially for anyone interested in islam, sufi poetry/philosophy, muslim cultures, esp south asian cultures, women/gender studies, etc.
]]> 740221 736 David G. Myers 0072488980 sara 5 4.25 1983
author: David G. Myers
name: sara
average rating: 4.25
book published: 1983
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2010/10/29
shelves:
review:
one of the few textbooks i actually read cover to cover..fell in love w/ social psych...
]]> 343211 The Tao of Islam is a rich and diverse anthology of Islamic teachings on the nature of the relationships between God and the world, the world and the human being, and the human being and God. Focusing on gender symbolism, Sachiko Murata shows that Muslim authors frequently analyze the divine reality and its connections with the cosmic and human domains with a view toward a complementarity or polarity of principles that is analogous to the Chinese idea of yin/yang.

Murata believes that the unity of Islamic thought is found, not so much in the ideas discussed, as in the types of relationships that are set up among realities. She pays particular attention to the views of various figures commonly known as "Sufis" and "philosophers," since they approach these topics with a flexibility and subtlety not found in other schools of thought. She translates several hundred pages, most for the first time, from more than thirty important Muslims including the Ikhwan al-Safa', Avicenna, and Ibn al-'Arabi.]]> 410 Sachiko Murata 0791409147 sara 0 to-read 4.28 1992
author: Sachiko Murata
name: sara
average rating: 4.28
book published: 1992
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2010/10/02
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 577490
Woman, Native, Other is located at the juncture of a number of different fields and disciplines, and it genuinely succeeds in pushing the boundaries of these disciplines further. It is one of the very few theoretical attempts to grapple with the writings of women of color." --Chandra Talpade Mohanty

The idea of Trinh T. Minh-ha is as powerful as her films... formidable... " --Village Voice

... its very forms invite the reader to participate in the effort to understand how language structures lived possibilities." --Artpaper

Highly recommended for anyone struggling to understand voices and experiences of those 'we' label 'other'." --Religious Studies Review]]> 173 Trinh T. Minh-ha 0253205034 sara 5 4.25 1989
author: Trinh T. Minh-ha
name: sara
average rating: 4.25
book published: 1989
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2010/10/02
shelves:
review:
read for feminist theory class...a great balance to all the other european/french theory u have to read
]]> 6406580 Excellent Book 336 Aaron Cohen 1416961178 sara 1 3.59 2009
author: Aaron Cohen
name: sara
average rating: 3.59
book published: 2009
rating: 1
read at:
date added: 2010/08/18
shelves:
review:
met the author in person n heard him speak at a UN NGO event so decided to read this...sorry, the book sux...E for effort maybe? but his narcissistic focus on himself rather than the victims, makes the book lame-O
]]> 27308
“A story about becoming human, being recognized, finally recognizing oneself��. It fills the reader with hope.�� �� The Washington Post Book World

In 1962, at age seventeen, Karen Armstrong entered a convent, eager to meet God. After seven brutally unhappy years as a nun, she left her order to pursue English literature at Oxford. But convent life had profoundly altered her, and coping with the outside world and her expiring faith proved to be excruciating. Her deep solitude and a terrifying illness–diagnosed only years later as epilepsy—marked her forever as an outsider. In her own mind she was a complete failure: as a nun, as an academic, and as a normal woman capable of intimacy. Her future seemed very much in question until she stumbled into comparative theology. What she found, in learning, thinking, and writing about other religions, was the ecstasy and transcendence she had never felt as a nun.]]> 306 Karen Armstrong 0385721277 sara 5 maybe b/c i could relate to her in so many different ways...
had never read another karen armstrong book in my life, and i pick up her memoir ..i think im in luff...]]> 3.92 2004
author: Karen Armstrong
name: sara
average rating: 3.92
book published: 2004
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2010/05/09
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review:
if i could give it 10 starts, i would...loved loved loved this book...
maybe b/c i could relate to her in so many different ways...
had never read another karen armstrong book in my life, and i pick up her memoir ..i think im in luff...
]]> 930
In "Memoirs of a Geisha," we enter a world where appearances are paramount; where a girl's virginity is auctioned to the highest bidder; where women are trained to beguile the most powerful men; and where love is scorned as illusion. It is a unique and triumphant work of fiction - at once romantic, erotic, suspenseful - and completely unforgettable.]]> 434 Arthur Golden 0739326228 sara 3 has some good parts, didn't love it]]> 4.07 1997
author: Arthur Golden
name: sara
average rating: 4.07
book published: 1997
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2010/05/09
shelves:
review:
i dont usually read fiction, but decided to give it a shot considering it's somewhat of a historical fiction...
has some good parts, didn't love it
]]> 6260997
With Pulitzer Prize winners Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn as our guides, we undertake an odyssey through Africa and Asia to meet the extraordinary women struggling there, among them a Cambodian teenager sold into sex slavery and an Ethiopian woman who suffered devastating injuries in childbirth. Drawing on the breadth of their combined reporting experience, Kristof and WuDunn depict our world with anger, sadness, clarity, and, ultimately, hope.

They show how a little help can transform the lives of women and girls abroad. That Cambodian girl eventually escaped from her brothel and, with assistance from an aid group, built a thriving retail business that supports her family. The Ethiopian woman had her injuries repaired and in time became a surgeon. A Zimbabwean mother of five, counseled to return to school, earned her doctorate and became an expert on AIDS.

Through these stories, Kristof and WuDunn help us see that the key to economic progress lies in unleashing women’s potential. They make clear how so many people have helped to do just that, and how we can each do our part. Throughout much of the world, the greatest unexploited economic resource is the female half of the population. Countries such as China have prospered precisely because they emancipated women and brought them into the formal economy. Unleashing that process globally is not only the right thing to do; it’s also the best strategy for fighting poverty.

Deeply felt, pragmatic, and inspirational, Half the Sky is essential reading for every global citizen.]]> 294 Nicholas D. Kristof 0307267148 sara 5 This book should be made required reading for all.]]> 4.28 2008
author: Nicholas D. Kristof
name: sara
average rating: 4.28
book published: 2008
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2010/04/04
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review:
Even if you dont agree with his narrative entirely, that doesn't discount the importance of the issues presented.
This book should be made required reading for all.
]]> 438600
In this fascinating volume, the first authoritative history of Indian food, Lizzie Collingham reveals that almost every well-known Indian dish is the product of a long history of invasion and the fusion of different food traditions. We see how, with the arrival of Portuguese explorers and the Mughal horde, the cooking styles and ingredients of central Asia, Persia, and Europe came to the subcontinent, where over the next four centuries they mixed with traditional Indian food to produce the popular cuisine that we know today. Portuguese spice merchants, for example, introduced vinegar marinades and the British contributed their passion for roast meat. When these new ingredients were mixed with native spices such as cardamom and black pepper, they gave birth to such popular dishes as biryani, jalfrezi, and vindaloo. In fact, vindaloo is an adaptation of the Portuguese dish "carne de vinho e alhos-"-the name "vindaloo" a garbled pronunciation of "vinho e alhos"--and even "curry" comes
from the Portuguese pronunciation of an Indian word. Finally, Collingham describes how Indian food has spread around the world, from the curry houses of London to the railway stands of Tokyo, where "karee raisu" (curry rice) is a favorite Japanese comfort food. We even visit Madras Mahal, the first Kosher Indian restaurant, in Manhattan.

Richly spiced with colorful anecdotes and curious historical facts, and attractively designed with 34 illustrations, 5 maps, and numerous recipes, Curry is vivid, entertaining, and delicious--a feast for food lovers everywhere.]]> 352 Lizzie Collingham 0195320018 sara 5 3.90 2005
author: Lizzie Collingham
name: sara
average rating: 3.90
book published: 2005
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2010/03/17
shelves:
review:
if u love south asian food and south asian history, u'll love this book
]]> 7015635 A definitive compendium of food wisdom

Eating doesn't have to be so complicated. In this age of ever-more elaborate diets and conflicting health advice, Food Rules brings a welcome simplicity to our daily decisions about food. Written with the clarity, concision and wit that has become bestselling author Michael Pollan's trademark, this indispensable handbook lays out a set of straightforward, memorable rules for eating wisely, one per page, accompanied by a concise explanation. It's an easy-to-use guide that draws from a variety of traditions, suggesting how different cultures through the ages have arrived at the same enduring wisdom about food. Whether at the supermarket or an all-you-can-eat buffet, this is the perfect guide for anyone who ever wondered, "What should I eat?"]]> 152 Michael Pollan 014311638X sara 4 3.99 2008
author: Michael Pollan
name: sara
average rating: 3.99
book published: 2008
rating: 4
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date added: 2010/03/17
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yes, they may be "rules u already knew", but it's a great reminder/reinforcer
]]> 94672
Princess Jahanara, the courageous daughter of the emperor and his wife, recounts their mesmerizing tale, while sharing her own parallel story of forbidden love with the celebrated architect of the Taj Mahal. Set during a time of unimaginable wealth and power, murderous sibling rivalries, and cruel despotism, this impressive novel sweeps you away to a historical Hindustan brimming with action and intrigue in an era when, alongside the brutalities of war and oppression, architecture and the art of love and passion reached a pinnacle of perfection.]]> 344 John Shors 0451218469 sara 2 4.02 2004
author: John Shors
name: sara
average rating: 4.02
book published: 2004
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 2010/03/17
shelves:
review:
it was like watching a bad movie. once i started, had to finish. still in the search of finding something as good as the 20th wife...
]]> 689794


Modernization in the nineteenth century brings in secular forces that marginalize religion in political and public life. In the Christian world, this simply furthers a process that had already begun. In the Middle East this gives rise to the tyrannical governments that continue to dominate. Bulliet argues that beginning in the 1950s American policymakers misread the Muslim world and, instead of focusing on the growing discontent against the unpopular governments, saw only a forum for liberal, democratic reforms within those governments. By fostering slogans like clash of civilizations and what went wrong, Americans to this day continue to misread the Muslim world and to miss the opportunity to focus on common ground for building lasting peace. This book offers a fresh perspective on U.S.-Muslim relations and provides the intellectual groundwork upon which to help build a peaceful and democratic future in the Muslim world.]]> 192 Richard W. Bulliet 0231127979 sara 4 3.89 2004
author: Richard W. Bulliet
name: sara
average rating: 3.89
book published: 2004
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2010/01/09
shelves:
review:
some really interesting concepts...the later chapters are more interesting than the earlier ones....not the easiest, but short read
]]> 286
The Prophet is a collection of poetic essays that are philosophical, spiritual, and, above all, inspirational. Gibran’s musings are divided into twenty-eight chapters covering such sprawling topics as love, marriage, children, giving, eating and drinking, work, joy and sorrow, housing, clothes, buying and selling, crime and punishment, laws, freedom, reason and passion, pain, self-knowledge, teaching, friendship, talking, time, good and evil, prayer, pleasure, beauty, religion, and death.

Each essay reveals deep insights into the impulses of the human heart and mind. The Chicago Post said of The Prophet : “Cadenced and vibrant with feeling, the words of Kahlil Gibran bring to one’s ears the majestic rhythm of Ecclesiastes . . . If there is a man or woman who can read this book without a quiet acceptance of a great man’s philosophy and a singing in the heart as of music born within, that man or woman is indeed dead to life and truth.��

With twelve full-page drawings by Gibran, this beautiful work makes an incredible gift for anyone seeking enlightenment and inspiration.]]> 128 Kahlil Gibran 0679440674 sara 2 4.09 1923
author: Kahlil Gibran
name: sara
average rating: 4.09
book published: 1923
rating: 2
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date added: 2009/12/16
shelves:
review:
has some good quotes...but the whole thing is a lil too much of a hippiebible for me...
]]> 223145 97 John Moyne 1570625298 sara 5 4.44 1983
author: John Moyne
name: sara
average rating: 4.44
book published: 1983
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2009/12/16
shelves:
review:
duno how legit this translation is...but as with much of rumi..its one of those books u can read over n over again...short and sweet...
]]> 279342 128 Jim Davis 0345412419 sara 0 4.18 1997
author: Jim Davis
name: sara
average rating: 4.18
book published: 1997
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2009/12/16
shelves:
review:
read it so long ago dont remember it enough to rate it haha
]]> 320866 160 Valérie Bérinstain 0810928566 sara 5 3.87 1998
author: Valérie Bérinstain
name: sara
average rating: 3.87
book published: 1998
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2009/12/16
shelves:
review:
excellent summary of mughal history...love this book...
]]> 450550 64 Idries Shah 090086057X sara 4 4.59 1977
author: Idries Shah
name: sara
average rating: 4.59
book published: 1977
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2009/12/16
shelves:
review:
didn't love it as much as "wisdom of the idiots"..but idries shah seems to be the man.
]]> 142847 204 Seyyed Hossein Nasr 1871031419 sara 3 4.22 1972
author: Seyyed Hossein Nasr
name: sara
average rating: 4.22
book published: 1972
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2009/12/16
shelves:
review:
as much as i love nasr..for some reason i had a slow time gettin through this book...
]]> 740273 Yet Aging with Grace is more than a groundbreaking health and science book. It is the inspiring human story of these remarkable women—ranging in age from 74 to 106—whose dedication to serving others may help all of us live longer and healthier lives.

Totally accessible, with fascinating portraits of the nuns and the scientists who study them, Aging with Grace also offers a wealth of practical

�� Why building linguistic ability in childhood may protect against Alzheimer’s
�� Which ordinary foods promote longevity and healthy brain function
�� Why preventing strokes and depression is key to avoiding Alzheimer’s
�� What role heredity plays, and why it’s never too late to start an exercise program
�� How attitude, faith, and community can add years to our lives

A prescription for hope, Aging with Grace shows that old age doesn’t have to mean an inevitable slide into illness and disability; rather it can be a time of promise and productivity, intellectual and spiritual vigor—a time of true grace.]]> 270 David Snowdon 0553380923 sara 5 4.09 2001
author: David Snowdon
name: sara
average rating: 4.09
book published: 2001
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2009/12/16
shelves:
review:
(as the title explains) a study done on nuns about aging...really good book...
]]> 80050 In A Leg to Stand On, it is Sacks himself who is the an encounter with a bull on a desolate mountain in Norway has left him with a severely damaged leg. But what should be a routine recuperation is actually the beginning of a strange medical journey when he finds that his leg uncannily no longer feels part of his body. Sacks's brilliant description of his crisis and eventual recovery is not only an illuminating examination of the experience of patienthood and the inner nature of illness and health but also a fascinating exploration of the physical basis of identity.]]> 224 Oliver Sacks 0684853957 sara 3 or for anyone whos either had a limb removed...or been hospitalized for long period of time...]]> 3.89 1984
author: Oliver Sacks
name: sara
average rating: 3.89
book published: 1984
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2009/12/16
shelves:
review:
an interesting read for psych majors...
or for anyone whos either had a limb removed...or been hospitalized for long period of time...
]]> 144925
Scrupulous and exhaustive in its fidelity to its sources, Muhammad: His Life Based on the Earliest Sources is presented in a narrative style that is easily comprehensible, yet authentic and inspiring in its use of language, reflecting both the simplicity and grandeur of the story it tells. This revised edition includes new sections detailing the prophet’s expanding influence and his spreading of the message of Islam into Syria and its neighboring states. It represents the final updates made to the text before the author’s death in 2005. The book has been published in 12 languages and has received numerous awards, including acknowledgment as best biography of the prophet in English at the National Seerate Conference in Islamabad.]]> 384 Martin Lings 1594771537 sara 4 either way...its really good in some parts...i love the stories of the Prophet's household...the war chapters r slow in the middle..and again tooo many details...and i dont like his writing style...
i wish there was a better seerah out there...i've heard the sealed nectar is even slower and drier...]]> 4.58 1983
author: Martin Lings
name: sara
average rating: 4.58
book published: 1983
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2009/12/16
shelves:
review:
good reference book....not a very good story book...one: it was too many detailed facts and characters to keep track of for me...two: i've heard there are issues about the accuracy of parts of this book...
either way...its really good in some parts...i love the stories of the Prophet's household...the war chapters r slow in the middle..and again tooo many details...and i dont like his writing style...
i wish there was a better seerah out there...i've heard the sealed nectar is even slower and drier...
]]> 58520 96 1929694172 sara 2 4.53 2002
author: الحبيب عبد الله بن علوي الحداد الحضرمي الشافعي
name: sara
average rating: 4.53
book published: 2002
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 2009/12/16
shelves:
review:
this one and the other al-haddad one (gift for seeker) ..both r kinda blah...too many blanket, over simplified statements...i duno if the translation is bad or if that subject matter is irrelevent...but mmmyeahhh....
]]> 73209 The Niche of Lights, written near the end of his illustrious career, advances the philosophically important idea that reason can serve as a connection between the devout and God. Al-Ghazali argues that abstracting God from the world, as he believed theologians did, was not sufficient for understanding. Exploring the boundary between philosophy and theology, The Niche of Lights seeks to understand the role of reality in the perception of the spiritual.

]]> 115 Abu Hamid al-Ghazali 0842523537 sara 5 4.51 1987
author: Abu Hamid al-Ghazali
name: sara
average rating: 4.51
book published: 1987
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2009/12/16
shelves:
review:
one of the most beautiful books i have ever read...Ghazali takes one verse of the quran and dives into its meaning...its absolutely magnificent...i hardly ever read a book twice, but this is one of those books, if u read it over and over again, each time you would learn something new...an excellent explanation of islamic spirituality/sufism...after reading this, for the first time ever, i understood the meaning of "nonexistance" in the sufi context...
]]> 307646 Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers
A great journalist takes readers places they've never been before, while a great writer makes them feel as though they're really there. Brown qualifies on both counts, as evidenced by her groundbreaking foray into the lives of the women of Heera Mandi, a red-light district in Lahore, Pakistan.

An academic researcher who has studied prostitution globally, Brown spent four years gathering materials for The Dancing Girls of Lahore, and informs readers that this red-light district dates from ancient times, when courtesans would vie for the hearts of sultans and emperors. The older women like to remember themselves as artists. "Their skills had nothing to do with sex -- except, perhaps, sometimes." But today Heera Mandi is a run-down, congested, dangerous ghetto where women are born into the profession with scant hope of escaping.

Brown's depiction of these "dancing girls" is as gripping as it is devastating. She describes the influence of the local drug trade and the filthy conditions in which the women live, and readers sense her struggle with her role as an observer when she desperately wishes to save one young girl from a dismal future. The Dancing Girls of Lahore is essential reading, because it forces its readers to see that regardless of how much women have achieved in many parts of the world, there's still much progress to be made.
(Fall 2005 Selection)]]> 320 Louise Brown 0060740426 sara 5 3.66 2005
author: Louise Brown
name: sara
average rating: 3.66
book published: 2005
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2009/12/16
shelves:
review:
excellent account of the sad lives of people who live in lahore's red light district...the vicious cycle of life that traps these people, everyone from prostitutes to transgender/transexuals that live there...minus the hollow point of view of the atheist author, it's a very educational and grasping read...
]]> 68016
In language that vividly evokes the lush summers of Cairo and the stark beauty of the Arabian desert, Leila Ahmed movingly recounts her Egyptian childhood growing up in a rich tradition of Islamic women and describes how she eventually came to terms with her identity as a feminist living in America. As a young woman in Cairo in the forties and fifties, Ahmed witnessed some of the major transformations of this century—the end of British colonialism, the rise of Arab nationalism, and the breakdown of Egypt's once multireligious society. As today's Egypt continues to undergo revolutionary change, Ahmed's inspirational story remains as poignant and relevant as ever.]]> 307 Leila Ahmed 0140291830 sara 2 3.87 1999
author: Leila Ahmed
name: sara
average rating: 3.87
book published: 1999
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 2009/11/15
shelves:
review:
read it for a book club...glad to have read it to get a unique perspective...but the author contradicts herself over and over...if this falls under "islam and feminism", it's quite pathetic...
]]> 139673 The Baburnama presents a vivid and extraordinarily detailed picture of life in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India during the late-fifteenth and early-sixteenth centuries. Babur’s honest and intimate chronicle is the first autobiography in Islamic literature, written at a time when there was no historical precedent for a personal narrative—now in a sparkling new translation by Islamic scholar Wheeler Thackston.

This Modern Library Paperback Classics edition includes notes, indices, maps, and illustrations.]]> 608 Zahir ud-Din Muhammad Babur 0375761373 sara 5 3.96 1531
author: Zahir ud-Din Muhammad Babur
name: sara
average rating: 3.96
book published: 1531
rating: 5
read at: 2009/10/03
date added: 2009/10/03
shelves: i-ll-finish-it-one-day-really-i-w
review:

]]> 349602
Drawing on his extensive scholarship in the study of secular and religious traditions as well as his understanding of social, political, and anthropological theory and research, Asad questions Western assumptions regarding death and killing. He scrutinizes the idea of a "clash of civilizations," the claim that "Islamic jihadism" is the essence of modern terror, and the arguments put forward by liberals to justify war in our time. He critically engages with a range of explanations of suicide terrorism, exploring many writers' preoccupation with the motives of perpetrators. In conclusion, Asad examines our emotional response to suicide (including suicide terrorism) and the horror it invokes.

On Suicide Bombing is an original and provocative analysis critiquing the work of intellectuals from both the left and the right. Though fighting evil is an old concept, it has found new and disturbing expressions in our contemporary "war on terror." For Asad, it is critical that we remain aware of the forces shaping the discourse surrounding this mode of violence, and by questioning our assumptions about morally good and morally evil ways of killing, he illuminates the fragile contradictions that are a part of our modern subjectivity.]]> 144 Talal Asad 0231141521 sara 4 4.00 2007
author: Talal Asad
name: sara
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2007
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2009/05/05
shelves:
review:
Not my kinda topic, but I read it for a book club thing. Not the easiest of reads, but you take away some key points. A must read for anyone speaks on behalf of this topic, or even anyone who has a strong opinion about it.
]]> 2527216 254 Asma Afsaruddin 1851684972 sara 5 Excellent. This should be required reading for muslims in the West today. Even if you don't agree with her conclusions 100%, the book is a great summary of the history of our early forbears (salaf al-salih). ]]> 3.71 2007
author: Asma Afsaruddin
name: sara
average rating: 3.71
book published: 2007
rating: 5
read at: 2009/04/15
date added: 2009/04/15
shelves:
review:
As Bruce Lawrence has called it: "Highly readable and aptly revisionist..."
Excellent. This should be required reading for muslims in the West today. Even if you don't agree with her conclusions 100%, the book is a great summary of the history of our early forbears (salaf al-salih).
]]> 52036 152 Hermann Hesse sara 5 4.07 1922
author: Hermann Hesse
name: sara
average rating: 4.07
book published: 1922
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2009/03/01
shelves:
review:
loved it..a must read...should be required reading for young adults...
]]> 631232
This powerful novel narrates the story of the Taj on two parallel levels. The first one tells the passionate love story of Shah Jahan and Arjumand. The second recounts the later years of Shah Jahan's reign, the building of the Taj Mahal and the bloody pursuit of the fabulous Peacock throne by his sons. Intertwined in the building is the story of Murthi, the Hindu master craftsman sent as a gift to the emperor to carve the famous marble jail around Arjumand's sarcophagus.

Murari has skilfully recreated the period against which the story is set, the sensual opulence of the palace, the grinding poverty of seventeenth century India, the vicissitudes of Shah Jahan's reign and the historical background of the conflict between men of different faiths.]]> 384 Timeri N. Murari 0143031163 sara 4 3.77 1985
author: Timeri N. Murari
name: sara
average rating: 3.77
book published: 1985
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2009/03/01
shelves:
review:
not as good as the 20th wife...but a fun historical fiction nonetheless...
]]> 817515 95 Mahatma Gandhi 1598422421 sara 5 4.22 2007
author: Mahatma Gandhi
name: sara
average rating: 4.22
book published: 2007
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2009/03/01
shelves:
review:
a beautiful collection of his famous quotes...a nice gift book...
]]> 739691 272 Seyyed Hossein Nasr 1933316381 sara 0 4.41 2007
author: Seyyed Hossein Nasr
name: sara
average rating: 4.41
book published: 2007
rating: 0
read at: 2009/03/01
date added: 2009/03/01
shelves: i-ll-finish-it-one-day-really-i-w
review:

]]> 33600
So begins this epic, mesmerizing first novel set in the underworld of contemporary Bombay. Shantaram is narrated by Lin, an escaped convict with a false passport who flees maximum security prison in Australia for the teeming streets of a city where he can disappear.

Accompanied by his guide and faithful friend, Prabaker, the two enter Bombay's hidden society of beggars and gangsters, prostitutes and holy men, soldiers and actors, and Indians and exiles from other countries, who seek in this remarkable place what they cannot find elsewhere.

As a hunted man without a home, family, or identity, Lin searches for love and meaning while running a clinic in one of the city's poorest slums, and serving his apprenticeship in the dark arts of the Bombay mafia. The search leads him to war, prison torture, murder, and a series of enigmatic and bloody betrayals. The keys to unlock the mysteries and intrigues that bind Lin are held by two people. The first is Khader Khan: mafia godfather, criminal-philosopher-saint, and mentor to Lin in the underworld of the Golden City. The second is Karla: elusive, dangerous, and beautiful, whose passions are driven by secrets that torment her and yet give her a terrible power.

Burning slums and five-star hotels, romantic love and prison agonies, criminal wars and Bollywood films, spiritual gurus and mujaheddin guerrillas—this huge novel has the world of human experience in its reach, and a passionate love for India at its heart. Based on the life of the author, it is by any measure the debut of an extraordinary voice in literature.]]> 936 Gregory David Roberts 192076920X sara 3 ]]> 4.27 2003
author: Gregory David Roberts
name: sara
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2003
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2009/01/02
shelves:
review:
I learned what a roman a clef novel is: "A roman à clef or roman à clé is a novel describing real life, behind a façade of fiction." A fast read, but 3 stars only b/c it's way too long. He really stretches it. It would have been better if it was shorter. A lot of good lines, but sometimes he just overkills with the analogies and trying too hard to be "deep".

]]> 855232
Prostitution, Trafficking, and Traumatic Stress extensively documents the violence that runs like a constant thread throughout all types of prostitution, including escort, brothel, trafficking, strip club, pornography, and street prostitution. Prostitutes are always subjected to verbal sexual harassment and often have a lengthy history of trauma, including childhood sexual abuse and emotional neglect, racism, economic discrimination, rape, and other physical and sexual violence.

International in scope, the book contains cutting-edge contributions from clinical experts in traumatic stress, from attorneys and advocates who work with trafficked women, adolescents, and children and also prostituted women and men. A number of chapters address the complexity of treating the psychological symptoms resulting from prostitution and trafficking. Others address the survivor’s need for social supports, substance abuse treatment, peer support, and culturally relevant services. To stay up-to-date on this powerful subject, visit the Traffick Jamming blog at

Prostitution, Trafficking, and Traumatic Stress From the editor's
Prostitution is to the community what incest is to the family.

Slavery, at its height, was normalized in the United States as unpleasant but inevitable, yet it is now considered to be an institution that violated human rights. Perhaps we will at some point in the future look back on prostitution/trafficking with a similar historical perspective. It is my hope that this book will assist the reader in understanding prostitution and trafficking and in how to help women and children escape it.]]> 384 Melissa Farley 0789023792 sara 5 critical reading for anyone interested in the topics of prostitution, international and domestic trafficking, modern day slavery, women's rights, etc. ]]> 4.21 2004
author: Melissa Farley
name: sara
average rating: 4.21
book published: 2004
rating: 5
read at: 2008/09/21
date added: 2008/09/21
shelves:
review:
collection of research papers ..all promoting the idea that legalizing prostitution is NOT a solution...most if not all written from a feminist perspective...very nicely done...it's as if a muslim wrote it. or should've written it.
critical reading for anyone interested in the topics of prostitution, international and domestic trafficking, modern day slavery, women's rights, etc.
]]> 9345 Following his #1 New York Times bestseller, Our Endangered Values, the former president, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, offers an assessment of what must be done to bring permanent peace to Israel with dignity and justice to Palestine.

President Carter, who was able to negotiate peace between Israel and Egypt, has remained deeply involved in Middle East affairs since leaving the White House. He has stayed in touch with the major players from all sides in the conflict and has made numerous trips to the Holy Land, most recently as an observer in the Palestinian elections of 2005 and 2006.

In this book, President Carter shares his intimate knowledge of the history of the Middle East and his personal experiences with the principal actors, and he addresses sensitive political issues many American officials avoid. Pulling no punches, Carter prescribes steps that must be taken for the two states to share the Holy Land without a system of apartheid or the constant fear of terrorism.

The general parameters of a long-term, two-state agreement are well known, the president writes. There will be no substantive and permanent peace for any peoples in this troubled region as long as Israel is violating key UN resolutions, official American policy, and the international “road map�� for peace by occupying Arab lands and oppressing the Palestinians. Except for mutually agreeable negotiated modifications, Israel’s official pre-1967 borders must be honored. As were all previous administrations since the founding of Israel, US government leaders must be in the forefront of achieving this long-delayed goal of a just agreement that both sides can honor.

Palestine Peace Not Apartheid is a challenging, provocative, and courageous book.]]> 288 Jimmy Carter 0743285026 sara 3
Reaffirms my belief that politics and politicians suck.]]> 3.92 2006
author: Jimmy Carter
name: sara
average rating: 3.92
book published: 2006
rating: 3
read at: 2008/07/30
date added: 2008/07/30
shelves:
review:
Almost unbiased, overall history in laymen's term.

Reaffirms my belief that politics and politicians suck.
]]> 206881 111 Hasan Shah 0811212564 sara 2 3.65 1993
author: Hasan Shah
name: sara
average rating: 3.65
book published: 1993
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 2008/06/20
shelves:
review:
I'm sure it was an amazing original book..but the horrid translation and translations from translations have just destroyed it.
]]> 21262 Rick Steves�� Spain 2007, travelers can experience the best of everything Spain has to offer, including tapas-hopping and cathedral visits �� economically and hassle-free. Completely revised and updated, Rick Steves�� Spain 2007 includes:

�� Opinionated coverage of both famous and lesser-known sights
�� Friendly places to eat and sleep
�� Suggested day plans
�� Walking tours and trip itineraries
�� Clear instructions for smooth travel anywhere by car, train, or foot

America’s #1 authority on travel to Europe, Rick’s time-tested recommendations for safe and enjoyable travel in Europe have been used by millions of Americans in search of their own unique European travel experience.]]> 560 Rick Steves 1566919436 sara 4 4.18 2004
author: Rick Steves
name: sara
average rating: 4.18
book published: 2004
rating: 4
read at: 2008/06/20
date added: 2008/06/20
shelves:
review:

]]> 183005 120 William C. Chittick 0941532887 sara 0 to-read 4.18 2005
author: William C. Chittick
name: sara
average rating: 4.18
book published: 2005
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2008/06/20
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 184305 244 Tariq Ali 0860916766 sara 2 he doesn't get the other 3 b/c he uses urdu words when talkin bout spanish/arab history!! the characters are more out of modern day lahore than historical spain...i wonder what else he has all wrong in there...i really don't think he's an authority on this type of writing...]]> 3.90 1992
author: Tariq Ali
name: sara
average rating: 3.90
book published: 1992
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 2008/03/20
shelves:
review:
tariq ali is a moron...he gets one star for writing an interesting fiction..and another for bringing a certain period of history to light that others ignore...
he doesn't get the other 3 b/c he uses urdu words when talkin bout spanish/arab history!! the characters are more out of modern day lahore than historical spain...i wonder what else he has all wrong in there...i really don't think he's an authority on this type of writing...
]]> 440777
Desperate to reverse his fortunes, Daru embarks on a career in crime, taking as his partner Murad Badshah, the notorious rickshaw driver, populist, and pirate.
When a long-planned heist goes awry, Daru finds himself on trial for a murder he may or may not have committed. The uncertainty of his fate mirrors that of Pakistan itself, hyped on the prospect of becoming a nuclear player even as corruption drains its political will.

Fast-paced and unexpected, Moth Smoke portrays a contemporary Pakistan as far more vivid and disturbing than the exoticized images of South Asia familiar to most of the West. This debut novel establishes Mohsin Hamid as a writer of substance and imagination.]]> 256 Mohsin Hamid 0312273231 sara 3 3.85 2000
author: Mohsin Hamid
name: sara
average rating: 3.85
book published: 2000
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2008/02/21
shelves:
review:
Although the story is a dark n gloomy fiction, it's not far from reality...hedonism, existentialism, etc...the current state of pakistan, esp upper class in pakistan....'could b the modern, pakistani version of "the stranger"..maybe..i duno....the reason it's getin 3 stars is b/c the author is lame...he tries so hard to make it intersting, and witty...yet, he's just not witty...he could have added some humor easily to this book...nothing...coulda been much better...alas.
]]> 1543796
During her lifelong service to the poorest of the poor, Mother Teresa became an icon of compassion to people of all religions; her extraordinary contributions to the care of the sick, the dying, and thousands of others nobody else was prepared to look after has been recognized and acclaimed throughout the world. Little is known, however, about her own spiritual heights or her struggles. This collection of her writing and reflections, almost all of which have never been made public before, sheds light on Mother Teresa's interior life in a way that reveals the depth and intensity of her holiness for the first time.

Compiled and presented by Fr. Brian Kolodiejchuk, M.C., who knew Mother Teresa for twenty years and is the postulator for her cause for sainthood and director of the Mother Teresa Center, MOTHER TERESA brings together letters she wrote to her spiritual advisors over decades. A moving chronicle of her spiritual journey—including moments, indeed years, of utter desolation—these letters reveal the secrets she shared only with her closest confidants. She emerges as a classic mystic whose inner life burned with the fire of charity and whose heart was tested and purified by an intense trial of faith, a true dark night of the soul.

Published to coincide with the tenth anniversary of her death, MOTHER TERESA is an intimate portrait of a woman whose life and work continue to be admired by millions of people.]]> 404 Brian Kolodiejchuk 0385520379 sara 2 4.13 2007
author: Brian Kolodiejchuk
name: sara
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2007
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 2008/02/10
shelves:
review:
the story of mother teresa told through her own writings and letters along w/ the authors commentary, etc...i guess i was looking more for the stories she experiences..the author lectures more on christianity, rather than her actual experiences in india (ie: ppl she met, stories of her struggles, etc.)...
]]> 27298
She came into the world in the year 1577, to the howling accompaniment of a ferocious winter storm. As the daughter of starving refugees fleeing violent persecution in Persia, her fateful birth in a roadside tent sparked a miraculous reversal of family fortune, culminating in her father's introduction to the court of Emperor Akbar. She is called Mehrunnisa, the Sun of Women. This is her story.

Growing up on the fringes of Emperor Akbar's opulent palace grounds, Mehrunnisa blossoms into a sapphire-eyed child blessed with a precocious intelligence, luminous beauty, and a powerful ambition far surpassing the bounds of her family's station. Mehrunnisa first encounters young Prince Salim on his wedding day. In that instant, even as a royal gala swirls around her in celebration of the future emperor's first marriage, Mehrunnisa foresees the path of her own destiny. One day, she decides with uncompromising surety, she too will become Salim's wife. She is all of eight years old -- and wholly unaware of the great price she and her family will pay for this dream.

Skillfully blending the textures of historical reality with the rich and sensuous imaginings of a timeless fairy tale, The Twentieth Wife sweeps readers up in the emotional pageant of Salim and Mehrunnisa's embattled love. First-time novelist Indu Sundaresan charts her heroine's enthralling journey across the years, from an ill-fated first marriage through motherhood and into a dangerous maze of power struggles and political machinations. Through it all, Mehrunnisa and Salim long with fiery intensity for the true, redemptive love they've never known -- and their mutual quest ultimately takes them, and the vast empire that hangs in the balance, to places they never dreamed possible.

Shot through with wonder and suspense, The Twentieth Wife is at once a fascinating portrait of one woman's convention-defying life behind the veil and a transporting saga of the astonishing potency of love.]]> 380 Indu Sundaresan sara 5 i couldn't put it down..indu sundaresan is an excellenT storyteller..loved it loved it..loved it.]]> 4.06 2002
author: Indu Sundaresan
name: sara
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2002
rating: 5
read at: 2008/01/01
date added: 2008/01/15
shelves:
review:
i cant recall the last time i read a novel novel...i usualy lean toward nonfictions..but this was a historical fiction...anyone interested in Mughal history..is gona lovE this..
i couldn't put it down..indu sundaresan is an excellenT storyteller..loved it loved it..loved it.
]]> 282594 192 Reza Shah-Kazemi 1933316268 sara 0 to-read 4.05 2006
author: Reza Shah-Kazemi
name: sara
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2006
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2007/12/14
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 315893 Iksir al-'arifin, or Elixir of the Gnostics, is unique among Sadra's writings in that it reworks and amplifies an earlier Persian work, the Jawidan-nama (Book of the Everlasting) by Afdal al-Din Kashani, or Baba Afdal.

The underlying theme of Sadra's amplification is emblematic of Muslim philosophy: the importance of self-knowledge in an individual's journey of "Origin and Return," the soul's origins with God and its eventual return to Him. Everything, Sadra says, is on such a path, gradually disengaging from the material world and returning to a transcendent essence—all leading to a final fruition in which everything in the universe returns to God and finds permanent happiness. Philosophy, Sadra argues, is the most direct means to self-knowledge—and thus the best tool for navigating this journey.]]> 192 Mulla Sadra 0934893705 sara 0 to-read 4.47
author: Mulla Sadra
name: sara
average rating: 4.47
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2007/12/14
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 49436 349 Greg Mortenson 0143038257 sara 4 3.66 2006
author: Greg Mortenson
name: sara
average rating: 3.66
book published: 2006
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2007/11/19
shelves:
review:
overall a good read; the main character is fascinating, excellent story, but the guy who wrote it i'm not so sure about...i dont like the whole "white american goes to save poor little mozlim children" tone...u can feel the condescending attitude seeping through a few times during the book...but again, an excellent story, one to take many lessons from...and mortenson is really a hero.
]]> 797385 ��
Acts of Faith is a remarkable account of growing up Muslim in America and coming to believe in religious pluralism, from one of the most prominent faith leaders in the United States. Eboo Patel’s story is a hopeful and moving testament to the power and passion of young people—and of the world-changing potential of an interfaith youth movement.


From the Trade Paperback edition.]]> 208 Eboo Patel 0807077267 sara 5 4.01 2007
author: Eboo Patel
name: sara
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2007
rating: 5
read at: 2007/10/01
date added: 2007/10/29
shelves:
review:
i think i'm in love w/ eboo patel. no seriously, before i ever started the book, i had a dream that i met him at some fundraising dinner, and we were sitting on the same table. loved the book. much of it felt like he was takin words out of my mouth. if we only had more muslims like him in this world...sigh...
]]> 1593813 Giving is an inspiring look at how each of us can change the world. First, it reveals the extraordinary and innovative efforts now being made by companies and organizations—and by individuals—to solve problems and save lives both “down the street and around the world.�� Then it urges us to seek out what each of us, “regardless of income, available time, age, and skills,�� can do to help, to give people a chance to live out their dreams.

Bill Clinton shares his own experiences and those of other givers, representing a global flood tide of nongovernmental, nonprofit activity. These remarkable stories demonstrate that gifts of time, skills, things, and ideas are as important and effective as contributions of money. From Bill and Melinda Gates to a six-year-old California girl named McKenzie Steiner, who organized and supervised drives to clean up the beach in her community, Clinton introduces us to both well-known and unknown heroes of giving. Among them:

Dr. Paul Farmer, who grew up living in the family bus in a trailer park, vowed to devote his life to giving high-quality medical care to the poor and has built innovative public health-care clinics first in Haiti and then in Rwanda;
a New York couple, in Africa for a wedding, who visited several schools in Zimbabwe and were appalled by the absence of textbooks and school supplies. They founded their own organization to gather and ship materials to thirty-five schools. After three years, the percentage of seventh-graders who pass reading tests increased from 5 percent to 60 percent;'
Oseola McCarty, who after seventy-five years of eking out a living by washing and ironing, gave $150,000 to the University of Southern Mississippi to endow a scholarship fund for African-American students;
Andre Agassi, who has created a college preparatory academy in the Las Vegas neighborhood with the city’s highest percentage of at-risk kids. “Tennis was a stepping-stone for me,�� says Agassi. “Changing a child’s life is what I always wanted to do��;
Heifer International, which gave twelve goats to a Ugandan village. Within a year, Beatrice Biira’s mother had earned enough money selling goat’s milk to pay Beatrice’s school fees and eventually to send all her children to school—and, as required, to pass on a baby goat to another family, thus multiplying the impact of the gift.

Clinton writes about men and women who traded in their corporate careers, and the fulfillment they now experience through giving. He writes about energy-efficient practices, about progressive companies going green, about promoting fair wages and decent working conditions around the world. He shows us how one of the most important ways of giving can be an effort to change, improve, or protect a government policy. He outlines what we as individuals can do, the steps we can take, how much we should consider giving, and why our giving is so important.

Bill Clinton’s own actions in his post-presidential years have had an enormous impact on the lives of millions. Through his foundation and his work in the aftermath of the Asian tsunami and Hurricane Katrina, he has become an international spokesperson and model for the power of giving.

“We all have the capacity to do great things,�� President Clinton says. “My hope is that the people and stories in this book will lift spirits, touch hearts, and demonstrate that citizen activism and service can be a powerful agent of change in the world.”]]> 256 Bill Clinton 0307266745 sara 4 3.45 2007
author: Bill Clinton
name: sara
average rating: 3.45
book published: 2007
rating: 4
read at: 2007/10/01
date added: 2007/10/23
shelves:
review:
if ur lookin for deep/"intellectual"/theoretical, this isn't for u....but if ur looking for motivation/inspiration in layman's terms, excellent book...a good reference book as well...
]]> 683900 347 Claude Addas 0946621454 sara 4 4.36 1989
author: Claude Addas
name: sara
average rating: 4.36
book published: 1989
rating: 4
read at: 2007/10/01
date added: 2007/10/19
shelves:
review:
i would give it 5 stars, but i think biographies are just not for me...having said that, excellent intro to/background of ibn arabi's life and writings...
]]> 79325 Islam and the Destiny of Man is a wide-ranging study of the Muslim religion from a unique point of view. The author, a former member of the British Diplomatic Service, was brought up as an agnostic and embraced Islam at an early age after writing a book (commissioned by T.S. Eliot) on Eastern religions and their influence upon Western thinkers. As a Muslim he has retained his adherence to the perennial philosophy which, he maintains, underlies the teachings of all the great religions.

The aim of this book is to explore what it means to be a Muslim, a member of a community which embraces a quarter of the world's population and to describe the forces which have shaped the hearts and the minds of Islamic people. After considering the historic confrontation between Islam and Christendom and analysing the difference between the three monotheistic faiths (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam), the author describes the two poles of Muslim belief in terms of 'Truth' and 'Mercy'--the unitarian truth which is the basis of the Muslim's faith and the mercy inherent in this truth. In the second part of the book he explains the significance of the Qur'an and tells the dramatic story of Muhammad's life and of the early Caliphate. Lastly, the author considers the Muslim view of man's destiny, the social structure of Islam, the role of art and mysticism and the inner meaning of Islamic teaching concerning the hereafter.

Throughout this book the author is concerned not with the religion of Islam in isolation, but with the very nature of religious faith, its spiritual and intellectual foundations, and the light it casts upon the mysteries and paradoxes of the human condition.]]> 256 Charles Le Gai Eaton 088706163X sara 4 4.41 1985
author: Charles Le Gai Eaton
name: sara
average rating: 4.41
book published: 1985
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2007/08/01
shelves:
review:
ok this probably deserves 5 stars...but it took me FOREVER to read...not an easy read by any means..atleast not for me...but very interesting..gets better n better..esp second half of book...esp his summary of the caliphates...n the chapter on art, environment and mysticism...amazing....the man is brilliant...can NOT rush through this book..read every sentence 3 times if u have to ..its worth it :)
]]> 623952
In this updated for 2008 new edition of "Agenda to Change Our Condition," Shaykh Hamza Yusuf chalks out a program for all Muslims who want to rectify their current state of apathy and heedlessness of Allah's commands. The book includes sections on Practical Steps to Change Our Condition, Its Definition and its Benefits, The Heart and its Treatment (by Qadi Abu Bakr ibn al-`Arabi), culminating with a series of exercises on how to attain taqwa.]]> 85 Hamza Yusuf sara 5 4.50 2007
author: Hamza Yusuf
name: sara
average rating: 4.50
book published: 2007
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2007/05/11
shelves:
review:
short and simple...sheikh hamza yousuf breaks down daily steps one can implement in order to change ourselves inside out...
]]> 467190 94 Kahlil Gibran 0806500417 sara 3 4.14 1962
author: Kahlil Gibran
name: sara
average rating: 4.14
book published: 1962
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2007/05/08
shelves:
review:

]]> 166800 448 Jalal ad-Din Muhammad ar-Rumi 0060604530 sara 0 although recently dr. nasr said said in a lecture that barks isn't one of the best translation....]]> 4.47 2001
author: Jalal ad-Din Muhammad ar-Rumi
name: sara
average rating: 4.47
book published: 2001
rating: 0
read at: 2007/12/14
date added: 2007/04/30
shelves: i-ll-finish-it-one-day-really-i-w
review:
got about half way through...taking my dandy time reading this one...u have to savor rumi...or its just not worth reading...
although recently dr. nasr said said in a lecture that barks isn't one of the best translation....
]]> 372822 408 Anella Khalid Arshed 082452134X sara 4 4.50 2004
author: Anella Khalid Arshed
name: sara
average rating: 4.50
book published: 2004
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2007/04/29
shelves:
review:
collection of ayahs, hadith and islamic poetry...good stuff...
]]> 254525
This volume won a British Book Design and Production Award in 1991.]]> 174 Abu Hamid al-Ghazali 0946621144 sara 4 4.53 1990
author: Abu Hamid al-Ghazali
name: sara
average rating: 4.53
book published: 1990
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2007/04/24
shelves:
review:
excellent collection of (as the title says) invocations and supplications (dhikr and dua) ...just wish the arabic was given as well...
]]> 181286 179 Idries Shah 0863040462 sara 5 4.23 1971
author: Idries Shah
name: sara
average rating: 4.23
book published: 1971
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2007/04/22
shelves:
review:
an excellent collection of sufi anecdotes...one of my all time favorite books! love this one...u can read em over and over again and always learn somethin new...
]]> 6900
Maybe, like Mitch, you lost track of this mentor as you made your way, and the insights faded. Wouldn't you like to see that person again, ask the bigger questions that still haunt you?

Mitch Albom had that second chance. He rediscovered Morrie in the last months of the older man's life. Knowing he was dying of ALS - or motor neurone disease - Mitch visited Morrie in his study every Tuesday, just as they used to back in college. Their rekindled relationship turned into one final 'class': lessons in how to live.]]> 210 Mitch Albom sara 4 good book..quick read... 4.19 1997
author: Mitch Albom
name: sara
average rating: 4.19
book published: 1997
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2007/04/19
shelves:
review:
good book..quick read...
]]> 58524 ]]> 85 1887752579 sara 3 4.64 2003
author: الحبيب عبد الله بن علوي الحداد الحضرمي الشافعي
name: sara
average rating: 4.64
book published: 2003
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2007/04/19
shelves:
review:
didn't find anything new/interesting/different....but good book...some parts get really good, but overall...its no ghazali (although he quotes ghazali)
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Back cover of The Alchemist]]> 167 Paulo Coelho 0060543884 sara 5 3.71 1988
author: Paulo Coelho
name: sara
average rating: 3.71
book published: 1988
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2007/04/19
shelves:
review:
love this book....if u dont have an ounce of imagination or if ur a super literalist, u probably wont like it...
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In The Heart of Islam one of the great intellectual figures in Islamic history offers a timely presentation of the core spiritual and social values of Islam: peace, compassion, social justice, and respect for the other. Seizing this unique moment in history to reflect on the essence of his tradition, Seyyed Hossein Nasr seeks to "open a spiritual and intellectual space for mutual understanding." Exploring Islamic values in scripture, traditional sources, and history, he also shows their clear counterparts in the Jewish and Christian traditions, revealing the common ground of the Abrahamic faiths.

Nasr challenges members of the world's civilizations to stop demonizing others while identifying themselves with pure goodness and to turn instead to a deeper understanding of those shared values that can solve the acute problems facing humanity today. "Muslims must ask themselves what went wrong within their own societies," he writes, "but the West must also pose the same question about itself . . . whether we are Muslims, Jews, Christians, or even secularists, whether we live in the Islamic world or in the West, we are in need of meaning in our lives, of ethical norms to guide our actions, of a vision that would allow us to live at peace with each other and with the rest of God's creation." Such help, he believes, lies at the heart of every religion and can lead the followers of the Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam) as well as other religious and spiritual traditions to a new future of mutual respect and common global purpose.

The Heart of Islam is a landmark presentation of enduring value that offers hope to humanity, and a compelling portrait of the beauty and appeal of the faith of 1.2 billion people.]]> 352 Seyyed Hossein Nasr 0060730641 sara 5 4.34 2002
author: Seyyed Hossein Nasr
name: sara
average rating: 4.34
book published: 2002
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2007/04/19
shelves:
review:
i heart dr. nasr...love this book...an excellent read for both muslims and nonmuslims alike...
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