Book Review: Christians, Muslims and Jesus by Mona Siddiqui

Christians, Muslims, and Jesus by Mona Siddiqui

Stuart Kelly reviewed the book at Scotsman.com. Sameer Rahim reviewed it at The Telegraph.

I have not read the book.

Here is a recording of a lecture she gave at Edinburgh University in Scotland on March 11, 2013.

Interview with Scott Korb, author of Light without Fire

Light without Fire: The Making of America's First Muslim College by Scott Korb (Twitter) (Tumblr) (Facebook)

Religion Dispatches published an interview with Scott Korb. The interview mentions Ebadur Rahman, whose blog I recommend.

Updated May 17, 2013: Review

Dawud Walid Explains Why CAIR Urges Moratorium on Death Penalty in the United States

Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) has endorsed a national moratorium in the United States on the death penalty. You can listen to CAIR-Michigan's Executive Director Dawud Walid explain CAIR's position and discuss other matters related to the criminal justice system, which I've blogged about in the past.

Note: The audio file is embedded in 4shared.com. My recommendation is to create an account on the web site, but don't download and install on your computer its "download" assistant, which will embed itself in your browser and activate every time you try to download a file.

P.S. Act on this Amnesty International alert to prevent the execution of Abdullah al-Qahtani in Iraq.

Review: The Wall by William Sutcliffe

The Wall by William Sutcliffe

Pitched as a fable, his crossover novel is set in a city split in two by a vast wall. On one side live the privileged, the occupiers – and our hero Joshua. On the other live the desperate, the occupied, and when Joshua, hunting for his lost football, discovers a tunnel that leads under the wall, he sets in action a series of dreadful consequences. Without making it explicit, it soon becomes clear that this is the West Bank, that Joshua, 13, is Jewish, and that Leila, the girl who saves his life on the other side of the wall, is Palestinian.

Read more of Alison Flood's review of March 30, 2013 in The Guardian. 

I have not read the book.

Report: Women and the American Mosque

The Hartford Institute for Religious Research published a third report from the US Mosque Study 2011 (Adobe). This report is entitled Women and the American Mosque (Adobe). Its authors are Sarah Sayeed, Aisha Al-Adawiya and Ihsan Bagby. Women in Islam, Inc was also one of the authors.

Graphic Novel: Justice for Aafia

H/t to MuslimMatters.org for publishing Christopher Towne's graphic novel on Aafia Siddiqi's torture and imprisonment at the direction and involvement of the USA.

Review: Tripping with Allah: Islam, Drugs, and Writing by Michael Muhammad Knight

Richard Marcus reviewed Michael Muhammad Knight's Tripping with Allah: Islam, Drugs, and Writing. I have not read the book.

Muslim Public Affairs Council Report: Muslims and the Making of America

The Muslim Public Affairs Council has published Precious Rasheeda Muhammad's report Muslims and the Making of America. You can download the entire report for free.

Inaugural Issue of Islamophobia Studies Journal

The inaugural issue of Islamophobia Studies Journal is available for download (Adobe). The publisher is the University of California, Berkeley Center for Race & Gender.

This center is also sponsoring The Fourth Annual International Conference on the Study of Islamophobia, April 19-20, 2013. The entire proceedings are to be available online. You can follow the conference on Twitter.

Review: The Creation: An Appeal to Save Life on Earth by E.O. Wilson

The Creation: An Appeal to Save Life on Earth by Edward O. Wilson. I've reviewed other books by Professor Wilson.

This book is a Reader's Digest version of Professor Wilson's ideas as expressed in books like Future of Life and Social Conquest. It's meant to spread biophilia among the religious to get humanity in action to save biodiversity. Bill Moyers's 2006 show Is God Green? addresses some of this as well.

I thought that the most interesting part of the book was Wilson's explanation of biology as a discipline and how love of this branch of science could be inculcated in students, pages 103-61.

Erasing Memory: The Cultural Destruction of Iraq

FreeSpeech TV is broadcasting today Shocking and Awful, a series of programs describing how shocking and how awful the USA attack on Iraq was. One segment I've watched is Erasing Memory: The Cultural Destruction of Iraq.

Review: The Social Conquest of Earth by Edward O. Wilson

The Social Conquest of Earth by Edward O. Wilson. I've previously reviewed his books The Future of Life and Anthill.

The bulk of this book describes the process by which Homo sapiens' ancestors became eusocial and how that led to multilevel selection. When a species becomes eusocial, group selection becomes an important element in the species' evolution.

For criticism of the concept of group evolution, read blog entry 1 and blog entry 2 from Jerry Coyne, the author of Why Evolution is True, a book I have in my possession and intend to read and review. I heard Dr. Coyne give a lecture in a suburb of Augusta, GA on February 4, 2013.

Being an expert in insects, the typical example of eusociality, E.O. Wilson shifts back and forth between describing the development of eusociality in ants and eusociality in anthropods.

The important thing for me, and for most readers of this blog, is Professor Wilson's final chapters where he presents conclusions on how this understanding of humanity should impact our religious and moral beliefs and ethical practices.

Review: Anthill by E.O. Wilson

Anthill by E.O. Wilson. I've previously reviewed his book The Future of Life.


This fiction book presents themes Professor Wilson has emphasized in his nonfiction books. The most important theme is the necessity of creative synthesis of capitalism and environmental protection. The lead character, Raphael Cody, learns that a beloved southern Alabama old wood forest surrounding a lake will be threatened by Mobile's expansion. In fact, his blue-blood maternal uncle is among the business elite advocating this development. Raphael leaves the study of the biosphere to complete a law degree at Harvard. Upon graduation, he returns and works as the legal counsel for the developer who purchased the property and who has previously converted woodland and wetlands to suburban Mobile sprawl. As legal counsel, he is able to develop a proposal which to a large extent preserved the quality of the land while advancing his employer's bottom line.

Review: Minaret by Leila Aboulela

Professor Heather Abdelnur reviewed Minaret by Leila Aboulela.

As the movement goes from late teen’s mini-skirt wearing, callous, and shallow rich girl, to an increasingly religious and conservative working class woman, Aboulela could have made the transformation too fast, too unbelievable, or too cliche.  Instead, the reader believes the changes, comes to understand the transformation of character, and, while wishing for a happy ending that might not come, we do not pity Najwa nor exhault her.  ... read more ...

Dr. Abdelnur has reviewed other books.

Review: Love in a Headscarf by Shelina Z. Janmohamed

Professor Heather Abdelnur reviewed Love in a Headscarf by Shelina Z. Janmohamed.

What a fun, refreshing, and good-natured presentation of the process and problems facing Western-raised Muslim women on the market for marriage! ... read more ...

Dr. Abdelnur has reviewed other books.

Review: The Butterfly Mosque by G. Willow Wilson

Professor Heather Abdelnur reviewed The Butterfly Mosque by G. Willow Wilson. I have not yet read it.

After reading it, I’m almost angry.  How could I not have heard of Willow Wilson before?  How had I missed this book? ... read more ...

Ask Alison's Science Books for Everyone

Science educator and blogger Alison Monahan answers the question:

Would you put together a recommended reading list for a world citizen in 2013 to be in a good position to judge political and moral claims in the light of science today? 

Illuminated Verses: Poetries of the Islamic World

 Poets House and City Lore held Illuminated Verses: Poetries of the Islamic World in 2011. 

You can read essays written on the occasion of the conference (PDF).

iPad App: Care of Muslim Patients: A Practical Guide

Aasim I Padela at the University of Chicago reviewed the iPad and iPhone app Care of Muslim Patients: A Practical Guide in Volume 381, Issue 9865 of The Lancet.

The application in the Apple store is free, but it only provides a portion of the content. The full content is available for 9.99 USD.

Visual Art of Dr. Ezzat Abouleish

Dr. Faroque Ahmad Khan reviewed Dr. Ezzat Abouleish's books Islam in the Eyes of an Artist and Allah and the 99 Names of God. Both books are available from the author.

Dr. Ezzat is a pioneer of obstetric anesthesia.