Ramadhan is officially upon us! To get in the spirit of this holy month, I’d like to share Islam-related contents for the entirety of this month. It will mostly be pretty chill and applicable for Muslims and Non-Muslims alike.
So here we go!
How are you all this Ramadan? Are you still going strong with the fasting? Personally, it has been hell for me—in terms of work, but let’s not dwell on that. Moving on with the next part of this miniseries, today I’d like to share some books with an Islamic theme. They are not all written by Muslims—two of them are written by Non-Muslim historians—but they are, somehow, all written by women. I didn’t plan it, but lovely that it just works out that way, don’t you think? While I do try to be as diverse as possible, unfortunately my Islamic library isn’t limitless—especially since I’d shared some of them before—so do pardon me if a lot of them feel similar to one another. All these books are nonfiction, though, ranging from personal experiences as Muslims, history of the religion itself and one controversial book to intrigue you. As always, whichever faith you embrace, I hope you’d enjoy these books anyway.
Ramadhan is officially upon us! To get in the spirit of this holy month, I’d like to share Islam-related contents for the entirety of this month. It will mostly be pretty chill and applicable for Muslims and Non-Muslims alike. So here we go!
How are you all this Ramadan? Are you still going strong with the fasting? Personally, it has been hell for me—in terms of work, but let’s not dwell on that. Moving on with the next part of this miniseries, today I’d like to share some books with an Islamic theme. They are not all written by Muslims—two of them are written by Non-Muslim historians—but they are, somehow, all written by women. I didn’t plan it, but lovely that it just works out that way, don’t you think? While I do try to be as diverse as possible, unfortunately my Islamic library isn’t limitless—especially since I’d shared some of them before—so do pardon me if a lot of them feel similar to one another. All these books are nonfiction, though, ranging from personal experiences as Muslims, history of the religion itself and one controversial book to intrigue you. As always, whichever faith you embrace, I hope you’d enjoy these books anyway. Islam: A Short History
by Karen Armstrong
As a Muslim, I was never taught the history of Islam at school. In fact, I never really thought about the development and story of Islam much as history—mostly, more like a folklore. So I was intrigued when I saw this book in my Dad’s collection. The history of Islam? Told by a Non-Muslim, presumably white person no less? That’s got to be interesting. My expectation is that it would be more objective and facts-based.
Apparently, Armstrong writes a lot about history of religions—particularly Islam. This book first break downs the major events in the world of Islam chronologically, then she dives more into details of each event. She explores the changes Islam went through over time—how it turned from being a tribal identity, a sociopolitical guide and, eventually, personal spirituality.
Islam: A Short History
by Karen Armstrong
As a Muslim, I was never taught the history of Islam at school. In fact, I never really thought about the development and story of Islam much as history—mostly, more like a folklore. So I was intrigued when I saw this book in my Dad’s collection. The history of Islam? Told by a Non-Muslim, presumably white person no less? That’s got to be interesting. My expectation is that it would be more objective and facts-based.
Apparently, Armstrong writes a lot about history of religions—particularly Islam. This book first break downs the major events in the world of Islam chronologically, then she dives more into details of each event. She explores the changes Islam went through over time—how it turned from being a tribal identity, a sociopolitical guide and, eventually, personal spirituality.
It is very well written and correlates a lot with current events—including how Islamophobia came to be, breaking the myth that it all started with 9/11. And it’s nice to see a white woman calling out the West’s hypocrisy towards the Israel-Palestine conflict and exposing their bigotry and fascism for what they truly are. It deals largely in West and South Asia, though, so you won’t find a deep dive into the Islamic history in Malaysia and Indonesia, per se.
It’s Not About the Burqa
Edited by Mariam Khan
Here is one of those books that have been so hyped up for a while, I believe, since 2019. With a compelling title and a well-designed cover, this book turned heads all over the world—including mine. It is a collection of essays by various Muslim women who live in the UK—a lot of them pretty well-known and all of them highly accomplished. The essays cover a pretty diverse set of topics, including internal misogyny, mental health, spiritual struggle and sexuality. Some of them opened me up to facts I’d never known and experiences I wasn’t familiar with before. My personal favourite is the inclusion of Yassmin Abdel-Magied whose works I’ve read before and mentioned on a previous post.
Personally, though, I would have loved to see more East and Southeast Asian British Muslims included in such essays—I bet you they exist. When we talk about representations, unfortunately, this subgroup is often overlooked. That creates a pretty homogenous pattern of experiences that gets portrayed in mainstream media and culture. Showing this cultural diversity could be our key to distinguishing between what is Islam (divine) and what is culture (manmade).
That being said, I’d still recommend this book for anyone who wants to learn about the sociopolitical climate of Muslims in Britain.
It is very well written and correlates a lot with current events—including how Islamophobia came to be, breaking the myth that it all started with 9/11. And it’s nice to see a white woman calling out the West’s hypocrisy towards the Israel-Palestine conflict and exposing their bigotry and fascism for what they truly are. It deals largely in West and South Asia, though, so you won’t find a deep dive into the Islamic history in Malaysia and Indonesia, per se.
It’s Not About the Burqa
Edited by Mariam Khan
Here is one of those books that have been so hyped up for a while, I believe, since 2019. With a compelling title and a well-designed cover, this book turned heads all over the world—including mine. It is a collection of essays by various Muslim women who live in the UK—a lot of them pretty well-known and all of them highly accomplished. The essays cover a pretty diverse set of topics, including internal misogyny, mental health, spiritual struggle and sexuality. Some of them opened me up to facts I’d never known and experiences I wasn’t familiar with before. My personal favourite is the inclusion of Yassmin Abdel-Magied whose works I’ve read before and mentioned on a previous post.
Personally, though, I would have loved to see more East and Southeast Asian British Muslims included in such essays—I bet you they exist. When we talk about representations, unfortunately, this subgroup is often overlooked. That creates a pretty homogenous pattern of experiences that gets portrayed in mainstream media and culture. Showing this cultural diversity could be our key to distinguishing between what is Islam (divine) and what is culture (manmade).
That being said, I’d still recommend this book for anyone who wants to learn about the sociopolitical climate of Muslims in Britain.
The Things I Would Tell You
Edited by Sabrina Mahfouz
In truth, as a concept, this book is not too different from the one I just mentioned—except this one is mostly fictional. Instead of essays, British Muslim women explore the many facets of Islam through their literary and fictional works—comprising of numerous formats, including narration, lyrics (poetry) and drama (script). It feels much stronger to me, mainly because the authors get to write about experiences that aren’t strictly their own. It allows for the exploration of other cultures and viewpoints to portray this religion with a massive following.
Although culturally this book has also yet become a diverse work, in terms of experience and professional background of the authors, this book excels in including a wide range of contributors—from accomplished authors and activists, to amateur writers who are still in school. It really evens out the playing field for people of different mindsets to have their say.
The Things I Would Tell You
Edited by Sabrina Mahfouz
In truth, as a concept, this book is not too different from the one I just mentioned—except this one is mostly fictional. Instead of essays, British Muslim women explore the many facets of Islam through their literary and fictional works—comprising of numerous formats, including narration, lyrics (poetry) and drama (script). It feels much stronger to me, mainly because the authors get to write about experiences that aren’t strictly their own. It allows for the exploration of other cultures and viewpoints to portray this religion with a massive following.
Although culturally this book has also yet become a diverse work, in terms of experience and professional background of the authors, this book excels in including a wide range of contributors—from accomplished authors and activists, to amateur writers who are still in school. It really evens out the playing field for people of different mindsets to have their say.
The First Muslim
by Lesley Hazleton
Yet another book on Islam written by a Non-Muslim—this time the author takes on the life of The Prophet Muhammad. In Islam, he is known as a messenger of God and venerated as the only form of near perfection. But is he? Through this book, Hazleton explores the idea of Muhammad as an ordinary person with his own woes, insecurities, drawbacks and ambitions, but in a way that stays respectful to both Islam and the figure himself. She uncovers a lot of details of his life, which are omitted from the Qur’an and clerical texts—resulting in a humanising portrayal of The Prophet.
Hazleton’s approach is refreshing, if not daring, as it allows the readers to really try to get to know Muhammad in a way that could relate to them. By showing the flaws in the documented accounts and religious portrayals of him, she gives us a chance to truly see the man as a mere human being like the rest of us.
The First Muslim
by Lesley Hazleton
Yet another book on Islam written by a Non-Muslim—this time the author takes on the life of The Prophet Muhammad. In Islam, he is known as a messenger of God and venerated as the only form of near perfection. But is he? Through this book, Hazleton explores the idea of Muhammad as an ordinary person with his own woes, insecurities, drawbacks and ambitions, but in a way that stays respectful to both Islam and the figure himself. She uncovers a lot of details of his life, which are omitted from the Qur’an and clerical texts—resulting in a humanising portrayal of The Prophet.
Hazleton’s approach is refreshing, if not daring, as it allows the readers to really try to get to know Muhammad in a way that could relate to them. By showing the flaws in the documented accounts and religious portrayals of him, she gives us a chance to truly see the man as a mere human being like the rest of us.
The Trouble with Islam Today
by Irshad Manji
Saving the most controversial book for last, this one is written by a Uganda-born Canadian woman who questions everything that she knows about Islam. In contrast to everyone else on this list—who are either decidedly devoted or distant but respectful to the religion—Manji almost seems hostile towards it. A lot of the things she wrote stem from her own experiences with Islam—including her abusive father and overbearing community—so it is clear that her writing comes with inherent biases, but she raises very valid concerns about her faith. I cannot say I’d never questioned them myself—I have, in fact, many, many times over—which is why I picked this book up to begin with.
Manji explores many concerning aspects about her faith, such as mistreatment of women, hypocrisy surrounding the Israel-Palestine conflict, and even the double standards of the Qur’an and interpretations of the holy scriptures as well as the hadiths. This book dissects the age-old question: Where does religion end and culture begin? When a brother practices “honour killings” on his sister, is that Islam or the local culture? When a Muslim chooses intolerance towards other faiths, is that religion or their upbringing? There seems to be a fine line between the two and this is what Manji dives deep to find out.
Personally, I find that a lot of the problems she presents are irrelevant for me, as well as most of my friends. But we are the exceptions, not the rule. With this book, Manji is trying to lay everything out on the table in order to reform the mainstream umma. Yes, there are people like me and my friends who are more careful about what they believe in—but that’s not the mainstream. Which is exactly why Manji is asking for a reform.
Bonus Titles
Portrayed above are the additional titles that I’m intrigued by but haven’t been able to squeeze in before this post is scheduled to go live. Let me run through each of them real quick for you.
Muhammad: A Biography of the Prophet by Karen Armstrong
After reading Hazleton’s book, I thought I’d balance it out with a record by a different historian. In this one, Armstrong is more focused on restoring the good name of The Prophet in the eyes of the West. She looks at the life of Muhammad through its socio-political aspect, comparing his experiences with prophets and messiahs of Judaism and Christianity.
Al-Britannia, My Country by James Fergusson
Borrowed from my good friend Maya, this book explores the Muslim experience of living in Britain—you must see a pattern here. In this book, James Fergusson travels the lengths of Britain to get to know the various Muslim communities in his country. Although Islam is quickly growing in the UK, Muslims are still widely misunderstood, which is why this book seeks to understand them a little better.
Tuhan Ada di Hatimu by Husein Ja’far Al Hadar
Newly published and newly added to my TBR, this book is an Indonesian book written by a Qur’an philosophy and tafsir graduate in an attempt to create straighten out the misinterpretations of Islam—perpetrated both by Muslims and Non-Muslims alike. While disspelling the phenomenon of putting too much weight on sacred places and items, Al Hadar writes in a language that everyone can understand and relate to.
Any other Islam-related reading materials you’d like to recommend?
Please drop them in the comments down below!
The Trouble with Islam Today
by Irshad Manji
Saving the most controversial book for last, this one is written by a Uganda-born Canadian woman who questions everything that she knows about Islam. In contrast to everyone else on this list—who are either decidedly devoted or distant but respectful to the religion—Manji almost seems hostile towards it. A lot of the things she wrote stem from her own experiences with Islam—including her abusive father and overbearing community—so it is clear that her writing comes with inherent biases, but she raises very valid concerns about her faith. I cannot say I’d never questioned them myself—I have, in fact, many, many times over—which is why I picked this book up to begin with.
Manji explores many concerning aspects about her faith, such as mistreatment of women, hypocrisy surrounding the Israel-Palestine conflict, and even the double standards of the Qur’an and interpretations of the holy scriptures as well as the hadiths. This book dissects the age-old question: Where does religion end and culture begin? When a brother practices “honour killings” on his sister, is that Islam or the local culture? When a Muslim chooses intolerance towards other faiths, is that religion or their upbringing? There seems to be a fine line between the two and this is what Manji dives deep to find out.
Personally, I find that a lot of the problems she presents are irrelevant for me, as well as most of my friends. But we are the exceptions, not the rule. With this book, Manji is trying to lay everything out on the table in order to reform the mainstream umma. Yes, there are people like me and my friends who are more careful about what they believe in—but that’s not the mainstream. Which is exactly why Manji is asking for a reform.
Bonus Titles
Portrayed above are the additional titles that I’m intrigued by but haven’t been able to squeeze in before this post is scheduled to go live. Let me run through each of them real quick for you.
Muhammad: A Biography of the Prophet by Karen Armstrong
After reading Hazleton’s book, I thought I’d balance it out with a record by a different historian. In this one, Armstrong is more focused on restoring the good name of The Prophet in the eyes of the West. She looks at the life of Muhammad through its socio-political aspect, comparing his experiences with prophets and messiahs of Judaism and Christianity.
Al-Britannia, My Country by James Fergusson
Borrowed from my good friend Maya, this book explores the Muslim experience of living in Britain—you must see a pattern here. In this book, James Fergusson travels the lengths of Britain to get to know the various Muslim communities in his country. Although Islam is quickly growing in the UK, Muslims are still widely misunderstood, which is why this book seeks to understand them a little better.
Tuhan Ada di Hatimu by Husein Ja’far Al Hadar
Newly published and newly added to my TBR, this book is an Indonesian book written by a Qur’an philosophy and tafsir graduate in an attempt to create straighten out the misinterpretations of Islam—perpetrated both by Muslims and Non-Muslims alike. While disspelling the phenomenon of putting too much weight on sacred places and items, Al Hadar writes in a language that everyone can understand and relate to.
Any other Islam-related reading materials you’d like to recommend?
Please drop them in the comments down below!