Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Several Must-Read Books on Islam

1. Mark Gabriel, Islam and Terrorism, Islam and the Jews, Jesus and Mohammad. Gabriel was a professor of Islam history in Egypt before his amazing conversion. That man knows the Qur'an and Muslim history in depth. He write in clear, knowledgeable, and compelling prose.

2. Robert Spencer, The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam and the Crusades, The Religion of Peace: Why Christianity is and Islam is Not, The Truth About Mohammad: Founder of World's Most Intolerant Religion. Spencer documents his case and tells the truth, no matter how unpopular. Muslims have already called for his death.

3. Chatwat Moucarry, The Prophet and The Messiah. Written by Christian Arab who knows the Qur'an and its relationship to Christianity.

4. David Horowitz, Unholy Alliance. Explains why the left is incapable of understanding the Islamic threat and why it often sides with Islam against America.

13 comments:

Yossman said...

Thanks a lot for these titles.

Slightly off topic... but I'm also looking for an essential bibliography on philosophy. Something like the top 10. I already own 'Philosophical foundations for a Christian Worldview' (Moreland, Craig) and Copleston's 'History of Ph.'

Since I do not have access to an academic environment, I need a reliable source on this subject.

Thank you.

JL said...

Two more books:

Unveiling Islam by Ergun Mehmet Caner and Emir Fethi Caner - two brothers raised as Muslims converted to Christianity and wrote about the theological differences and why Christianity made more sense to them.

Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali - the autobiography of a Muslim woman that tells a tale rarely told about the abuse of women under Islam.

With all the reading, it does seem that Islam can be easily used to rally great populations to political and military aims. I'd like to explore why this was not always the case (between the Crusades and modern times) and if it's perversion of a benevolent religion or simply a malevolent religion perverting its followers.

Weekend Fisher said...

Re: Jarick

If you're unsure about Islam in itself, I think betwee the Qur'an and the Hadiths and the earliest bio of Mohammed (Sirat Rasul Allah, in English translation as The Life of Mohammed translated by Guillaume) -- that should clear up any question you have on that.

Take care & God bless
WF

Kevin Winters said...

"Muslims have already called for his death." You would think, given this statement, that if you asked a Muslim in the street who had read Sepencer's work they would say they want him dead, or if they met him on the street they'd kill him. Do you honestly think that Muslim is inherently such a violent religion or is this just bad wording? I would also be curious about your source for this tidbit.

Kevin Winters said...

yossman,

I would suggest Tarnas' _Passion of the Western Mind_ (at least before the last chapter). Though not on philosophy in general (at least not in an introductory sense), Taylor's _Sources of the Self_ is an excellent work. The _Cambridge Companion_ series tends to be quite good, as does the more popular _Very Short Introduction_ series. On logic I would suggest my old professor, K. Codell Carter's, _A First Course in Logic_ (though a bit expensive in its latest versions). Beyond that I can give some good suggestions specifically for Heideggerian and post-Heideggerian phenomenology.

Kevin Winters said...

I would suggest Daniel Peterson's _Muhammad, Prophet of God_ for a good introduction to the person and the religion.

Floyd Collins said...

Here's a thought - take it from the other side. If you wanted to compile a list of books to explain Western Christianity to a Muslim, what would you include?

Yossman said...

Kevin:

thank you.

Kevin Winters said...

Floyd,

I certainly wouldn't start with works that are inherently antagonistic to Christianity, and such (*if* I would include them at all) would be smaller in number than the other works. It's only in 'apologetics' where people are suggested to start with works that are explicitly written *against* a given system of thought or religion...and unfortunately that's where most people stop, in and out of apologetic circles (which is all too aparent in the 'best' Evangelical works; see my usual rant about Evangelical over-reliance on secondary sources and ignorance of primary sources).

Douglas Groothuis, Ph.D. said...

Just so you know, the Peterson book is written by a Mormon (although published by Eerdmans...)

I didn't say every Muslim wants Spencer dead. A Muslim web site has called for his death, according to the front cover of two of his books. It is common for Muslim worldwide to call for the death of their "enemies." It all goes back to Mohammad's approach. Spencer says he lives in "a secure, undisclosed location."

Books to explain Christianity to a Muslim.

1. Mark Gabriel, Jesus and Mohammad.
2. John Stott, Basic Christianity.
3. John Stott, Why I am a Christian.

Kevin Winters said...

Yes, it's true, and I guess, then, that Peterson's book is suspect because of his Mormon-ness? You really do buy into Martin's conspiracy theory of Mormons, don't you?

Then again, he's not just anyone on this issue. He is Daniel Peterson, PhD in Near Eastern Languages and Cultures from the University of California at Los Angeles. He's written over 1000 pages on Islamic studies during his academic career. And you just blow him off because of his religious status.

Anonymous said...

I recently attended a talk at CU Boulder given by two ex-terrorists who are now Christians. One of them, Walid Shoebat, has written a new book called "Why We Want to Kill You". Though I have not read this book, I was thoroughly impressed by his level of civility, dialogue, and by his arguments. It may be a good read.

Douglas Groothuis, Ph.D. said...

Kevin:

I hold to no conspiracy theory, although I reject Mormonism as unbiblical and illogical (where it departs from orthodoxy), as you know. Martin didn't hold any conspiracy theory either.

I simply wanted people to know that he would bring a Mormon perspective to the matter at hand. That book was reviewed in "The Christian Research Journal" recently.