{"id":633,"date":"2010-08-12T16:01:00","date_gmt":"2010-08-12T16:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/elizaphanian.com\/?p=633"},"modified":"2019-11-22T16:43:50","modified_gmt":"2019-11-22T16:43:50","slug":"some-books-relating-to-the-war-against-the-khawarij","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/elizaphanian.com\/?p=633","title":{"rendered":"Some books relating to the war against the khawarij"},"content":{"rendered":"

I first started to become interested in Islam whilst at theological college, when I did a term’s course on it. That was then seasoned and enhanced whilst working in the East End, in a Muslim-majority area, particularly from taking sixth-form general studies lessons for the local youth. These are books that I have either read (linked through to a review where applicable) or that are on my bookshelf awaiting the right moment to be read. If I could only recommend one title for this area it would be the Habeck book, from whence comes my title<\/a>. My longest discussion of these issues can be found here<\/a>. <\/p>\n

The Koran, Penguin Classics<\/a> (not an easy read)
I also have a translation and commentary on the Koran by A. Yusuf Ali<\/a> brought back to me from Saudi Arabia by a friend.<\/p>\n

Muhammad, by Maxine Rodinson<\/a> Standard, ‘vintage’ biography of Muhammad.
The Truth about Muhammad, Robert Spencer<\/a> – up to date and very critical biography.<\/p>\n

Historical<\/i>
Islam, a short history, Karen Armstrong<\/a> Basic, standard work.
The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam (and the Crusades), Robert Spencer<\/a>. Robert Spencer giving his take (hostile).
Islam and the West, Norman Daniel<\/a> Haven’t read this one yet, but it seems mainstream.
The Decline of Eastern Christianity under Islam, Bat Ye’or<\/a> – another one still to be read, but highly regarded.
The legacy of Jihad, ed. Andrew Bostom<\/a> – another still to be read, academic, thorough.<\/p>\n

Some philosophical ones:<\/i>
Al Qaeda and what it means to be Modern, John Gray<\/a> – short, readable and very stimulating contrarian view.
The West and the Rest, Roger Scruton<\/a> – argues that the West is distinctive and worth defending.
The Crisis of Islam, Bernard Lewis<\/a> – one of the foremost commentators of Islam from a Western perspective. I need to read more of Lewis’ work.
The Rage and the Pride<\/a>, and, The Force of Reason<\/a>, Oriana Fallaci. Fallaci is a bit bonkers, but she makes many telling points and deserves to be read more widely. I haven’t read the second one yet.<\/p>\n

On Jihad and our present war<\/i>
Knowing the Enemy, Mary Habeck<\/a> – I have just finished this one, and I would highly recommend it as the first one to read on this area. Measured and clear-eyed.
Celsius 7\/7, Michael Gove<\/a> – quite good for a politician.
Londonistan, Melanie Phillips<\/a> – haven’t read beyond chapter one yet, but I can guess what to expect!
Militant Islam reaches America, Daniel Pipes<\/a> – one of the best books I’ve read; Pipes’ blog<\/a> is worth following.
While Europe Slept, Bruce Bawer<\/a> – stimulating and outlines what is at stake.<\/p>\n

Some terms that I think are worth understanding:
Dhimmitude<\/a>
Jizya<\/a>
The House of War<\/a> (dar al-Harb) and the House of Peace<\/a> (dar al-Islam)
Jahiliya<\/a>
Khawarij<\/a>
Taqiyya<\/a>
and of course
Jihad<\/a>, but see here<\/a><\/p>\n

I’ll try and keep this post up to date.
<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I first started to become interested in Islam whilst at theological college, when I did a term’s course on it. That was then seasoned and enhanced whilst working in the East End, in a Muslim-majority area, particularly from taking sixth-form … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[36,21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-633","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-islam","category-politics"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3npsc-ad","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/elizaphanian.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/633","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/elizaphanian.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/elizaphanian.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elizaphanian.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elizaphanian.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=633"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/elizaphanian.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/633\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6638,"href":"https:\/\/elizaphanian.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/633\/revisions\/6638"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/elizaphanian.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=633"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elizaphanian.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=633"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elizaphanian.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=633"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}