Unveiling Islam: An Insider's Look at Muslim Life and Beliefs

Rating:
Summary: To Understand True Islam
Review:


Oh course anyone that leaves something, someone or anything would talk ill about it.

Islam shouldn't be under attack because someone wrote a book about his or her experience within the religion. It's not the religion fault for how they left more so the people who taught them. Who's culture weigh over the religion itself?

I've read and met people that either practice Islam or used to and what I gathered from them is that it all comes down to culture. If you're culture tells you women are below men and Islam says women should be treated like a precious Jewel, which one is easier for a man to follow? The culture.

True Islam isn't about hate and Jihad etc.

Jihad means to fight in the name of your Lord. You could have a jihad with yourself to do what is right. But since Sept. 11 America NEEDS to Point the finger to someone and Islam is the most popular religion in the World, why not point the finger at it.

Many Muslims were heart broken to witness Sept. 11 and our fears was that Hate would come upon our religion.

But if you want to really understand Islam then visit a Mosque.

You find out that not a lot of what the author wrote in the book is all facts. Like old saying "There's always two sides to a story."

True Islam isn't want you see on TV or hear on the radio. It's not someone's culture and is marked to be Islamic.
True Islam believes in God, all his Prophets, his Angels, and his books.

True Muslims don't hate anyone of different faiths.
True Muslims respect different Religions and know that in heaven there will be many people of different faiths.

Islam is a peaceful religion, but between the media and the extremists, Islam comes off as a backwards-in humane faith.

Bottom line Don't Blame a Religion for what people say or do. Blame the person.




Rating:
Summary: AMERICA WAKE UP - THIS IS ISLAM
Review: * MY OPINION: I'm an Indonesian who happens to be Christian, which is a minority back home - Indonesia has the world's largest Muslim population - and often persecuted though not as bad as Christians in e.g. Saudi Arabia. As I read the book, I can't thank the authors enough for giving light to the world about the real Islam. Maybe in the good 'ol US of A, where there is freedom of religion (thx to the Judeo-Christian influence), Islam is a peaceful religion. But can't you see how many more Christians are being persecuted in Sudan, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia etc, because non-Christians has to "SUBMIT" to the "PEACEFUL" religion? How odd that the effort of Drs Caner is blasted with condemnation. They're just writing about the real deal here, not about bigotry or racism.
* CONTENT: This book is ideal for those who just started learning about Islam. Some chapters start with real life example based on cultural differences between Muslim and Christian. Like in Ch. 4, Tony (a Christian) has a Muslim roomate Askar, and they shared about their religion. Tony found out that Askar knew some Bible stories, but Askar's version somehow came out "changed". My Muslim friends like to say they've read all the contents of the Bible, but actually they're just making a statement that the Quran is the final revelation from God and it's the most complete Book, and once you've read it, then you've read the whole Bible. Or about the Trinity, how Muslims believe that Christians worship 3 gods, and one of the Trinity is Mary. So you see, Christianity and Islam is NEVER the same. Drs Caner approach to Islam in this book is gentle, but firm in stating the fundamental difference between the two faiths. They're not bashing Islam as some review has overly stated. If I were to write a book on Islam based on how Islamic countries treated its non-Muslim minions, I wouldn't be as compassionate as Drs Caner...
* OTHER MUST READ: If you want to go deep, read Norman Geisler's "Answering Islam" - it's got all the works; and Bruce McDowell's "Muslims and Christians at the Table.." - good how-to book in befriending Muslims. Don't miss "Torn Veil" by Gulshan Esther, riveting account of a Pakistani woman conversion to follow Christ. This lady literally had to go through all the trials, from being disowned by her rich family to being thrown to jail, but she would not forsake Christ.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Book
Review: As a Christian and American, I wanted to understand the religion that brought such hatred for the US. Through this book I am able to understand why things are happening like they do and why Muslums feel the way they feel. I think if more people would read this book -- maybe they could change some of the steps they have taken.

Rating:
Summary: Great reference, a little preachy.
Review: Being an atheist with a thirst for knowledge of religions, and already knowing a great deal about islam, I picked up this book to check out what an insider felt about the religion. These guys have compiled a great quick read of some of the beliefs of islam. Obviously this book is biased, but the arguments are incredibly well supported. The book is kind of geared towards a christian who wants to witness to a muslim and that gives it an even more biased feel. If you don't believe what these guys are saying, I suggest you follow up on some of their references, especially those references that support the goodness of islam. The book is great, and I recommend it to anyone wanting to get a quick grasp of what the muslim beliefs are. You should also keep in mind that just as there are christians who never go to church and never read the bible and don't really understand their onwn religion, so are there muslims who do the same. Not all muslims believe in the causes for jihad, and they just want to be peaceful. The difference is these muslims are contradicting and being hypocritical to their professed belief system.

Rating:
Summary: Ann Coulter's favorite book on Islam
Review: Go to www.anncoulter.org...you'll find out that the Nazi femme fatale of the Republican party (who calls liberals traitors) is endorsing this book on her links page.

THAT should tell you how objective this book is in depicting Islam.

Don't but this book...rather contact various scholars in Islam near you, and ask them what they would recommend. Take their recommendations, and read them.

Rating:
Summary: More knowledge required
Review: i haven't read the book but only the reviews. Huge disparity in reviews. some love others hate it. the authors should get their facts straight. if u pick one line from Quran u can't get the full meaning. an example. in Quran there is a line "don't go near prayers, if your minds are fogged" (drunken or drowsy). if u read the first bit it stops u from praying but the whole sentence has to be taken into context. anyone who hasn't read the Quran will believe such distortions. so for all the readers, get a copy of proper translation of Quran and then read. you will be educated in Islam. Islam doesn't promote war or terrorism. the Prophet says not to hurt women, children and old people during war. not to destroy land for cultivation. if your enemy puts down his weapon not to hurt him. this is Islam. religion of peace. for women, Islam says there is heaven under your mother's feet. see !!! not father but mother. guys, read Quran to know the truth. also, Quran gives highest respect to Jesus and christianity.

Rating:
Summary: Voltaire, Bertrand Russell, Arius were INSIDERS too!!!
Review: Like the picture, you can both see as an old woman buried into her clothes or as a young pretty lady according to your preoccupation, books of this kind reveal some (qualitative) part of the truth which misrepresents the whole.And this seems to be Islam's and maybe all religions' destiny.

I wish readers and Christian supporters of this book could read Harun Yahya's Judaism and Masonry (which I believe you can reach on the web) in which pictures of Israil's cruelty to Palestinians (babies cut into halves , dead bodies with ears, noses, fingers chopped, pictures of political agreements and verses from the Old Testament at very appropriate moments)proved to me how you could introduce a subject without one word of lie as a devilish thing. Not lie but to reach the true truth requires more then a book like this elderly and responsible Moslems warned us.

French convert to Islam; Roger Garraudy suggests Christians to read Yeshu's book (6th book of Old Testament) and the ultimate violance in it (I would personally add Moses' massacre of his own people when he comes down from the mountain; Moslem turned Jews claim Moses was more violant then Muhammed to Jews; jews-for-Allah.org) and then one of the more peaceful parts in New Testament and claims it will shake the consciousness of an ordinary Christian.I would also remind that Israil or WASP's, when conquering America and acting as if the people live there are natural habitants used this part of Bible for self-justification.Is Yahweh and the father of trinity's three or Jesus are the same Gods?

When Edward Said's(an Arabic Christian) Orientalism showed that Orientalism was not a science at all but an arrogant/paranoid ideology built for justification of French/English colonization and when it was impossible to disagree, responsible elderly Moslems warned us not to forget very dear orientalists who did their best to clear Islam's image polluted by Christians for centuries (Mr Murad Hofmann(a German convert to Islam) says in his book "Islam:Alternative" that church authorities (Peter the Venerable in this particular case) very deliberately mistranslated the very core of Islam "there are no gods but only Allah(the God) and Muhammed is his messenger" as "there is no God besides Muhammed" with very deliberate intention so that Christian masses cannot hear the truth about Islam); Annemaria Schimmel, Marshall Hodgson, Charis Waddy, Esposito etc.

Since this old woman/young woman spiritualblindness can go up to Chateaubriand's disgusted, belittling look at Middle East without seeing anything precious(except his own very self;E.Said's book)to Leopold Weiss' (later Muhammed Esed)discovery of the ultimately consistent and clear relation with God and the world in the same place; good ole Christians do not be satisfied with this book.

Many high rank Christians who came to the same road division chose Islam.So in order not to see a qualitative part as the whole truth give a chance to;

Murad Hofmann who considers Christianity has already finished in text-study level and a matter of time before Christian masses be aware of this. Jesus was the subject of Christianity not the founder of it, he days

Ex-archpriest Viacheslav Polosin who said Christian code of belief was formed centuries after Christ and with many other alien factors besides Jesus. And that Christianity assimilated God at human; very alien to monotheist tradition but in complete conformity with pagan philosophy at early Christian era.

French Convert Roger Garaudy who could never surpass the ununderstandibility of God who complained for God leaving him while dying, in his 50 years of Christian life.

Any deeper reader of religion history can see that a just-fight with definite rules (the very well known archetype of this is prophet's son in law putting his sword down and giving up fighting when an infidel spat at his face; he said, previously he was fighting for God's governance of the world but when the enemy spat he got angry, so he feared that then the fight would be one for his personal anger not for God- please compare to what goes on in Iraq) is nothing new to Muhammed's stage of monotheism but Old Testament or Zarathustra's teaching or Bhagavad Gita includes very similar things if not the same. This is a fight against the primal terror of constructing concrete/abstract false gods which eventually makes some humans gods for the other humans and destroys the human soul. For this reason Islam is even strictly against a class of clerics or holy people. Cruelty caused by human made secondary gods is the ultimate crime as all monotheist prophets said. Islam is in order to leave human beings alone with God without any intermediaries. And this God is never to be confused with any worldly foundation, authority. Everything human made has a relative value compared to God's word, how glorious or precious ever it is. All Moslems agree jihad is an Islamic virtue but quite many very honestly disagree that September the 11th events are truly jihad. As bin laden himself said this was a revenge of what America/Israil did to his people in Lebanon. So who did bring hatred to Middle East before bin Laden brought it to America?

Do not ever be satisfied with this book for learning Islam. I believe truth seeking demands more then this.Much more.



Rating:
Summary: An Inspiring Look at Life in Islam by a Former Muslim
Review: The author is a wonderful speaker and has written equally as well in this book. He is fair and shoots straight from the hip regarding fundamental Islamic beliefs and creeds. He uses the very Koran to back up his writing, which gives this book credibility and makes it a powerful tool for Christians to understand where Muslims are coming from.

Rating:
Summary: An Inspiring Look at Life in Islam by a Former Muslim
Review: The author is a wonderful speaker and has written equally as well in this book. He is fair and shoots straight from the hip regarding fundamental Islamic beliefs and creeds. He uses the very Koran to back up his writing, which gives this book credibility and makes it a powerful tool for Christians to understand where Muslims are coming from.

Rating:
Summary: Disappointingly False
Review: The book cover is beautiful, but the interior is partially true and partially false. I checked out dozens of statements in the book with a local Muslim cleric. I also consulted the Qu'ran.

It appears that the Caner brothers have a distorted view of Islam, even though they were brought up in that faith. Their belief that there is no personal relationship with Allah is utterly false. It appears the paranoia they experienced as Muslims as to the afterlife has beckoned them to accept Evangelical Christianity with its absolute guarantee of eternal bliss. There is nothing wrong with becoming Evangelical. Many Muslims are becoming Christian, and vice versa. However, if it is based upon a false understanding, and hence a deep paranoia, of Islam, then the Caner brothers need to rediscover the religion of their father.

The entire content of the book is predicated on this bias. If the well-meaning Evangelical were to follow this book in his or her dealings with Muslims, the Evangelical will find the attempt at proselitizing far more difficult.

The dispersions on the Muslim prophet are very dangerous. The authors make Muhammad out to be a child molester. The author's denigration of the Qu'ran as anti-women is wrong. The Muslim women at the time of Muhammed enjoyed unparalleled rights and freedoms, compared to other peoples of that time.

I have found the Muslim community very open, hospitable, and honorable. They welcome non-Muslims, even those who stay in another faith. The Qu'ran requires Muslims to respect others, particularly "people of the book", that is, Jews and Christians. The Qu'ran says that there shall be no compulsion in religion. Consequently, the Caner brothers do not know their erstwhile religious heritage.

I found the section on minor branches of Islam interesting, particularly about Sikhs. Nevertheless, I checked even this portion of the book out with local Sikhs. I found great discrepancies between the Caner description and that presented by the adherents of that faith.

An interesting book, but the reader needs to verify what is said in the pages.