The book addresses searching questions non-Muslims ask about issues of violence and sexism among some Muslims. Saleem contrasts between the Qur?an the Muslims holy book approved by prophet Muhammad, and Hadeeth Muhammad?s purported sayings compiled hundreds of years after his death. Ahmed suggests that Muhammad?s sayings may have been misinterpreted, taken out of context or some even fabricated. The Qur?an is also contrasted with the Jewish and Christian scriptures.

The 9/11 al-Qaeda attacks on the U.S. in 2001 shocked the world, not only because of their viciousness but also because of the disillusionment that "holy wars" are a phenomenon of the past. "Holy wars," rather, are a reality in today's world too, threatening global peace like never before. In this volume Christoffer Grundmann pleads for the cultivation of religious literacy and interreglious dialogue. First, he attempts to regain an adequate understanding of religion by showing the incompatibility of abstract concepts of religion with religions actually lived. So Grundmann suggests perceiving religion as the lived relationship toward an Ultimate. Given that interreligious dialogue is communication about diverse ways of relating to the Ultimate, the religiously embedded, primarily Jewish philosophy of encounter and dialogical thinking--with its personalistic nature--comes into focus here as uniquely suited for such communication. Even though interreligious encounter implies risk, Christians cannot but engage in it fearlessly, says Grundmann, because they trust that the risen Christ will reveal himself anew as the one he really is, wherever and whenever Christians take part in dialogue with people of other faiths.

From the writing of her first book, Beyond the Veil: Male-Female Dynamics in Modern Muslim Society in 1975, Mernissi has sought to reclaim the ideological discourse on women and sexuality from the stranglehold of patriarchy. She critically examines the classical corpus of religious-juristic texts, including the Hadith, and reinterprets them from a feminist perspective. In her view, the Muslim ideal of the silent, passive, obedient woman has nothing to do with the authentic message of Islam. Rather, it is a construction of the 'ulama', the male jurists-theologians who manipulated and distorted the religious texts in order to preserve the patriarchal system. Mernissi's work explores the relationship between sexual ideology, gender identity, sociopolitical organization, and the status of women in Islam; her special focus, however, is Moroccan society and culture. As a feminist, her work represents an attempt to undermine the ideological and political systems that silence and oppress Muslim women.

Beggars…Outcasts…Homeless Such were the forgotten, uneducated children in China when the Spirit of God fell upon their humble orphanage, the Adullam Home. The boys spent days in powerful meetings, praying and praising God. Under the anointing of the Holy Spirit, they prophesied, saw visions, and discovered: Angels…how they operate and protect us Unbelievers…and their fate Heavenly occupations…what our jobs will be Paradise…revealed through the eyes of children The throne of God…experiencing true worship Death…what happens when we die Demons…and their evil works This mighty outpouring was a fulfillment of God’s promise: “And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of My Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions.” Acts 2:17

This is a personal self-examination and Christian growth study that should challenge every true believer. Reading, studying, and understanding Beyond The Veil can be a life changing experience. If you believe you are alone in your shortcomings, then I challenge you to read this study. This book will open your eyes to the reality of your life in a comparative study with some of the mighty men of God. It is written in everyday Englishplain and unassuming, just facing the reality of lifes daily struggles. This book will help you to stop hiding from your past, your fears, and your shortcomings. Beyond the Veil will bring you face to face with your shortcomings and face to face with your God. It is my hope that you will forever change like Paul on the road to Damascus.

The Noble and Holy Order of the Knights of Labor was founded in 1869 as a secret fraternal order committed to the goal of uniting American labor. At its height in 1886, the Knights claimed the allegiance of perhaps a million workers. Despite a host of local studies by the new labor historians of the 1970s and 1980s, there has been no general study of the Knights since Norman Ware's 1929 book, and no one has ever attempted a comprehensive study of the culture of the organization. In Beyond Labor's Veil, Robert E. Weir presents a fascinating cultural portrait of the Knights across regions, covering the years 1869 to 1893. From the start, the Knights of Labor was an unusual organization, equal parts fraternal order and labor union. It was the only nineteenth-century labor organization to organize African Americans, women, and unskilled workers on an equal basis with white craftsmen. Weir goes beyond the rhetoric of public pronouncements and union politics to consider the real influence of the Knights--in communities and homes as well as in the workplace. Weir explores the many cultural expressions of the Knights--ritual, religion, poetry, music, literature, material objects, graphics, and leisure. Although the Knights barely survived into the twentieth century, Weir concludes that the creative cultural expressions of the Knights enabled it to do as well as it did in the face of powerful oppositional forces. What emerges in Beyond Labor's Veil is a rich, detailed description of the Knights as its members adapted to the confusion and contradiction of America's Gilded Age.

Does Islam as a religion oppress women? Is Islam against democracy? In this classic study, internationally renowned sociologist Fatema Mernissi argues that women's oppression is not due to Islam because this religion celebrates women's power. Women's oppression, she maintains, is due to political manipulation of religion by power-seeking, archaic Muslim male elites. Mernissi explains that early Muslim scholars portrayed women as aggressive hunters who forced men, reduced to weak hunted victims, to control women by imposing institutions such as veiling, which confined women to the private space. In her new introduction, she argues that women's aggressive invasion of the 500-plus Arab satellite channels in the twenty-first century, including as commanding show anchors, film and video stars, supports her theory that Islam as a religion celebrates female power.

The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences (AJISS) is an interdisciplinary journal that publishes a wide variety of scholarly research on all facets of Islam and the Muslim world: anthropology, economics, history, philosophy and metaphysics, politics, psychology, religious law, and traditional Islam. Submissions are subject to a blind peer review process.

This is the most accessible work in English on the greatest mystical poet of Islam, providing a survey of the basic Sufi and Islamic doctrines concerning God and the world, the role of man in the cosmos, the need for religion, man's ultimate becoming, the states and stations of the mystical ascent to God, and the means whereby literature employs symbols to express "unseen" realities. William Chittick translates into English for the first time certain aspects of Rumi's work. He selects and rearranges Rumi's poetry and prose in order to leave aside unnecessary complications characteristic of other English translations and to present Rumi's ideas in an orderly fashion, yet in his own words. Thorough, nontechnical introductions to each chapter, and selections that gradually present a greater variety of terms and images, make this work easily accessible to those interested in the spirituality of any tradition.

Holy Wars “is the most memorable book on the subject of church music I've ever read. . . Your work is exquisite! ” Frank Pooler Professor/Director Cal State Long Beach University Choir. Holy Wars is a comprehensive worship study written for every believer who seeks to live a life of true biblical worship within the cultural storm that we find ourselves today. It is an intimate book written for the benefit of promoting a personal relationship with Jesus Christ according to the guidance of God’s Word. When we think of “Holy Wars” one might picture terrorism. But there is a Holy War raging within the church itself that is proving to be of far more consequence than Islamic dread. Because this war is engaged within the worship life of the people of God, the outcome could seriously undermine Christian orthodoxy and the Christian way of life for generations to come. As the result of the efforts of Church Growth advocates, congregations throughout America are contending over different notions of worship. The decisions that Christians make in that regard will determine the shape and influence of the Church and the nature of our society over the next century. We can find answers within this ongoing battle once we have come to a full understanding of the nature of biblical worship. Many times manipulative entertainment schemes, attempts to conform to the world, watered-down theology, church politics, mediocre music and unbiblical worship forms drag the people of God away from their true calling. Holy Wars delves into each of these areas of church life to discern what is going wrong while offering specific biblical remedies.