"Crucial to the vitality of any religious community is its ability to attract and engage descendants and converts. By this measure, notwithstanding the proliferation of mosques and Islamic organizations, the Muslim community in America is not doing at all well." This rather sober assessment motivates Dr. Lang to address, in this book, the alienation from the Mosque of the great majority of America's homegrown Muslims. In Losing My Religion: A Call For Help, the author comes to terms with many of the queries put to him by Americans of Muslim parentage and converts to Islam since the publication of his book Even Angels Ask in 1977. Lang asserts that to effectively respond to the general malaise of American-born Muslims, the Islamic establishment in America needs to be willing to listen to the doubts and complaints of the disaffected. This entails engaging in open discussions on issues with which many in the Muslim community will be uncomfortable, but Lang avers that such open dialogue will be of more benefit to young American Muslims struggling with their faith than the covert and uniformed discussions that often take place or no discussion at all. For this reason, Lang feels it is important and beneficial "to be candid and objective and not evade controversy, for to inadequately state the case for or against a specific position, especially when it challenges convention, only serves to further alienate the skeptical." In addition to examining questions of theodicy, hadeeth authenticity, and moot practices within the American Muslim community, the author includes many testimonials and inquiries that make this book informative.

In Understanding Islam, Dr. Dirks offers a timely and factually correct alternative to understanding Islam. It is written for the Western, and primarily Christian reader. The primary focus of the book is on what is termed Sunni Islam, i.e., the Islam practiced by approximately 85-90% of the self-professed Muslims in the world. The book is unique in several respects. It treats Islam from its own point of view. It is written by a natural-born American for the Western reader, and thus may avoid some of the cultural overlay that accompanies some books on Islam written by other Muslim authors. The author is an American who has practiced Islam both while living in America and in the Middle East, thus offering a broader perspective than would have otherwise been possible. As a convert from Christianity to Islam, and as a former ordained minister within Christianity, the author does a very good job of expounding the commonalities and contrasts of Islam with Judaism and Christianity, while still avoiding the temptation to distort Islam by interpreting it from within a Judaeo-Christian perspective. The reader is introduced to Islam almost exclusively through the two primary sources of Islam, i.e., the Qur'an and the sunnah, which are the only completely authoritative sources on Islam.

Tariq Ramadan is very much a public figure, named one of Time Magazine's most important innovators of the twenty-first century. He is among the leading Islamic thinkers in the West, with a large following around the world. But he has also been a lightning rod for controversy. Indeed, in 2004, Ramadan was prevented from entering the U.S. by the Bush administration.

In What I Believe, Ramadan attempts to set the record straight, laying out the basic ideas he stands for in clear and accessible prose. He describes the book as a work of clarification, directed at ordinary citizens, politicians, journalists, and others who are curious (or skeptical) about his positions. Aware that  he is dealing with emotional issues, Ramadan tries to get past the barriers of prejudice and misunderstanding to speak directly, from the heart, to his Muslim and non-Muslim readers alike. In particular, he calls on Western Muslims to escape the mental, social, cultural, and religious ghettos they have created for themselves and become full partners in the democratic societies in which they live. At the same time, he calls for the rest of us to recognize our Muslim neighbors as citizens with rights and responsibilities the same as ours. His vision is of a future in which a shared and confident pluralism becomes a reality at last.

Reviews:

• "Tariq Ramadan, a prominent intellectual-activist in Europe and America, represents a new generation of Islamic reformers." --John L. Esposito, author of Unholy War and What Everyone Needs to Know about Islam
• "Tariq Ramadan is a Muslim Martin Luther."-- Paul Donnelly, The Washington Post
• "Ramadan's most important message--his advice to Muslims in the West to make the West their home--is one Americans should particularly welcome."-- Alan Wolfe, The Chronicle of Higher Education
• "Ramadan has started to pave out the road to reform and changes in the understanding of Islam in Muslim communities in the West."-- Le Monde Diplomatique
• "Deliberately brief, sensible and accessible.... What I Believe is not just a summary of Ramadan's own views but a primer on modern Western Muslim life."--Publishers Weekly starred review

For centuries the hostility between Christianity and Islam has been a barrier to any effort to develop better understanding between the two. It is a barrier which neither Islam, lacking a voice in the West, nor the West, secure in its own position, has been greatly concerned to penetrate. This book contains papers written by Muslim scholars to meet what is now recognized, at least on their part, as an urgent contemporary need to acquaint the Western reader with the true message of Islam, as understood by the Muslims themselves, and to put him in touch with important currents of thought in the Muslim world, It is hoped that this may establish a basis for initiating a meaningful and open-minded discussion on the contribution which Islam can make in solving the problems facing modern society.

- A Collection of Wise Sayings is one of the well-known compilations of Imam Shams Ad-Dm Ibn Qayyim Al-Jawziyyah, who is well known by the name Ibn Al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy upon him). This blessed book is not like others that simply contain sections, chapters and themes, but it consists of the elevated thoughts that Allah, Exalted be He, bestows upon some of His servants as He wills. So whenever any of these scattered pearls of wisdom occurred to the Imam, he would immediately record them. I am sure that he did not sit down and write this book in one or two weeks, but surely it was developed over a long period of time. Whenever something came to his mind, he would record it, and whenever he learnt a lesson or anything crucial in his life, he would illuminate the lines of his page with the ink of his pen.

Calling to Allaah is a very great honour which is not reached through ease, response and love of relaxation. It is not reached except through beneficial knowledge, righteous action, deep understanding and careful following of the way of the Prophets in calling to Allaah.

In this book Shaykh Rabee' ibn Haadee al-Madkhalee explains in detail the methodology of the Prophets in their call to Allaah. In it, he answers those questions which face every caller to the faith who wishes to follow the footsteps of the Prophets: What should his call begin with? What should he concentrate on? And what is the goal of his da'wah to Allaah? The author then compares the methods of the Prophets with the different methodologies employed by various contemporary da'wah groups and movements that have arisen in our time and highlights the stark contrasts between these new, innovated methodologies and the pure and perfect Prophetic way. This book is an important guide for all those active in the field of da'wah, giving them an insight into the methodology of da'wah which the Prophets employed and how it is a divine and precise methodology which leaves no room for personal opinions, experimentation or individual inclinations.

Path to Wisdom: A Guidance for Humanity focuses on the various aspects of human existence through the eyes of Muslim thinkers and writers of the past. It urges the reader to reflect upon their inner and outer existence and subsequently live a more aware and meaningful life, with a deeper consciousness of God, themselves and the world around them. It begins from the essence of human nature itself: "Reflection" and takes the reader on a journey through a range of human experiences, ending in "Death". It asks only that in the modern world of materialism and instant gratification, the reader chooses a more reflective and self-aware path. Through the range of Muslim thinkers used, the book seeks to establish that Islam is rich with wisdom that has often been acquired through intense study and soul-searching. Furthermore, it argues that the acquisition of such wisdom is within the reach of all of us via our own journeys through life, with a little help from our predecessors.