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Rating: 
Summary: Puts the fun back in fundamentalism...
Review: Contrary to much popular opinion of Islam as a monolithic giant, in its midst are the 'heretics' that put the fun back in religion. Considering that such figures as Jesus and Muhammad were considered 'heretics' in their day the title is actually a compliment.
I picked this book up in a second hand bookstore on a whim. I have revisited it several times and continue to do so often. At first it appeared dark, mysterious, foreign, pointless. But as I continued to explore it became more and more obvious that the light of the Divine makes its way through these pages and this Divine light I swear is grinning like the Cheshire cat in Alice in Wonderland.
Islam is diverse, vast, deep and this book explores some of those areas in the remote regions of both the physical and the spiritual world with style and wit and just a bit of a knowing smile. Well worth the adventure.
Rating:
Summary: Puts the adventure back in religion...
Review: Contrary to much popular opinion of Islam as a monolithic giant, in its midst are the 'heretics' that put the fun back in religion. Considering that such figures as Jesus and Muhammad were considered 'heretics' in their day the title is actually a compliment. I picked this book up in a second hand bookstore on a whim. I have revisited it several times and continue to do so often. At first it appeared dark, mysterious, foreign, pointless. But as I continued to explore it became more and more obvious that the light of the Divine makes its way through these pages and this Divine light I swear is grinning like the Cheshire cat in Alice in Wonderland. Islam is diverse, vast, deep and this book explores some of those areas in the remote regions of both the physical and the spiritual world with style and wit and just a bit of a knowing smile. Well worth the adventure.
Rating:
Summary: The Book Your Mullah Doesn't Want You to Read!
Review: If you thought that Islam was just a bunch of fellows in white thobes and headdresses running anround oppressing people, this fun and educational little book will help expand your horizons! Another truely excellent title put out by City Lights Books, author Peter Lamborn Wilson covers some of the more...colorful patches in the tapestry of Islam. This book deals with Muslim Thinkers who for one reason or 'tother, are generally considered heretics by many of the larger sects of Islam. We are privalleged to meet Ibn Arabi and the Noble Drew Ali, and delve into subjects such as Satanism in Islam, sexuality and authority in Sufism, and more. The volume includes poems and enjoyable illustrations, photos, and calligraphy throughout. As a note to anyone with a specific interest in African-American religious figures in U.S. history, the essay "Lost/Found Moorish Time Lines: In the Wilderness of North America", Wilson offers what may be the best essay to date in ANY publication, on the Noble Drew Ali and the Moorish Science Temple of America. Included is information about the relationship between the Moorish Science Temple, and Elijah Muhammed, who founded the Nation of Islam. Lots of NEW information in this essay alone, as with the others in this book...did you know about the connection between Islam, Masonry, Shriners, and Moorish Science? Wilson includes footnotes and references with his work, and there is a complete bibliography at the end of this volume. The tone of this book is scholarly, it is by no means a sordid "tell all" work. You won't find proselytizing or propaganda in this volume. If you're tired of the same old repetitive drivel from the same old droning finger-wagging sources, give this book a read. I suspect you will appreciate the time you spend while journeying through its pages.
Rating:
Summary: not enough books on the subject, this is a great one though.
Review: Peter L. Wilson is amazing. this book touches on a subject that few have taken up, a seemingly homogenous religion (Islam) and its many "heretical" traditions. also important information on "fringe" movements w/in the U.S., the whole Noble Drew Ali. this book made me happy to be alive.
Rating:
Summary: not enough books on the subject, this is a great one though.
Review: Peter L. Wilson is amazing. this book touches on a subject that few have taken up, a seemingly homogenous religion (Islam) and its many "heretical" traditions. also important information on "fringe" movements w/in the U.S., the whole Noble Drew Ali. this book made me happy to be alive.
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