Understanding Jihad
David Cook
California (paperback), 2005
PRs 995
Jihad is one of the most loaded and misunderstood terms in the news today. Contrary to popular understanding, the term does not mean “holy war”. Nor does it simply refer to the inner spiritual struggle. This book, judiciously balanced, accessibly written, and highly relevant to today’s events, unravels the tangled historical, intellectual, and political meanings of jihad. Looking closely at a range of sources from sacred Islamic texts to modern interpretations, Understanding Jihad opens a critically important perspective on the role of Islam in the contemporary world.
As David Cook traces the practical and theoretical meanings of jihad, he cites from scriptural, legal, and newly translated texts to give readers a taste of the often ambiguous information that is used to construct Islamic doctrine. He looks closely at the life and teaching of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and at the ramifications of the great Islamic conquests in 634 to 732 AD. He sheds light on legal developments relevant to fighting and warfare, and places the internal, spiritual jihad within the larger context of Islam. He describes some of the conflicts that occur in radical groups and shows how the more mainstream supporters of these groups have come to understand and justify violence. He has also included a special appendix of relevant documents including materials related to the September 11 attacks and published manifestoes issued by Osama bin Laden and Palestinian suicide-martyrs.
My Name is Radha: The Essential Manto
Translated by
Muhammad Umar Memon
Penguin Classics
(hardcover), 2015
PRs 1195
The prevalent trend of classifying Manto’s work into a) stories of Partition and b) stories of prostitutes, forcibly enlists the writer to perform a dramatic dressing-down of society. But neither Partition nor prostitution gave birth to the genius of Saadat Hasan Manto. They only furnished him with an occasion to reveal the truth of the human condition. My Name Is Radha is a path-breaking edition of stories, which delves deep into Manto’s creative world. In this singular collection, the focus rests on Manto the writer. It does not draft him into being Manto the commentator. Muhammad Umar Memon’s inspired selection of Manto’s best-known stories along with those less talked about, and his precise and elegant translation showcase an astonishing writer being true to his calling.
Sufi Cuisine
Nevin Halici
Saqi (paperback), 2005
PRs 2830
The eating and preparation of food is at the heart of Sufi religious practices and beliefs. In this fascinating book, Nevin Halici combines recipes inspired by the teachings of Sufism with the culinary history, origins, and rituals that make these dishes unique. With a foreword by renowned food writer Claudia Roden, Sufi Cuisine offers a truly inspiring array of dishes from a simple lentil soup and flatbread to exotic rose petal jam. Full of charming anecdotes, poetry from the great Sufi mystic, Rumi, and delightful recipes, Sufi Cuisine is a pleasure for the mind and the palate.
What people are saying
“A rare treat.”—Claudia Roden
“A true celebration of a beautiful community, and the rich culinary traditions that have helped to build it.”—Kirkus Reviews
A Strangeness in My Mind
Orhan Pamuk
Shambhala (paperback), 2011
PRs 1995
The Sufis are as diverse as the countries in which they’ve flourished—from Morocco to India to China—and as varied as their distinctive forms of art, music, poetry, and dance. They are said to represent the mystical heart of Islam, yet the term Sufism is notoriously difficult to define, as it means different things to different people both within and outside the tradition. With that fact in mind, Carl Ernst explores the broadest range of Sufi philosophies and practices to provide one of the most complete and comprehensive introductions to Sufism available in English. He traces the history of the movement from the earliest days of Islam to the present day, along the way examining its relationship to the larger world of Islam and its encounters with both fundamentalism and secularism in the modern world.
The Family
Mario Puzo
Arrow Books (paperback), 2001
PRs 695
Mario Puzo’s final masterwork. A sweeping epic saga of corruption, greed, treachery, and sin, The Family is the ultimate crowning achievement of the #1 New York Times bestselling novelist who gave the world The Godfather, arguably the greatest Mafia crime novel ever written. In The Family, Puzo—whom the Washington Post calls, “A serious American talent”—plunges reader into the colorful tumult of the Italian Renaissance, immersing them in the roiling intrigues and deadly affairs of the remarkable family whose name has always been synonymous with power, corruption, poison, and murder: the infamous Borgias.