An ambitious book that reaches too far.
A slim, energetic apologia for Islam.
Ghazi starts out by telling readers what his book is not; he writes that he intends “to reintroduce Islam, not defend it—because Islam defends itself.” Yet that’s primarily what his volume is: a defense of the faith against some of the charges most frequently brought against it. Among these are a number of familiar critiques—that Islam is anti-women and anti-science; that Islam doesn’t respect other faiths; that Islam is hopelessly fractured among fighting factions—which Ghazi addresses with varying levels of success. Ghazi’s is a kinder, gentler Islam than the one often portrayed in the Western press. It is a faith that honors women and provides for them. It is a culture that produced some of the great scientific minds of the medieval era. It is a tradition that reveres the holy men and women of other religions. And it is an ethic that condemns cruelty to animals. The greatest strength of Ghazi’s defense is its accessibility. He writes in unpretentious prose that welcomes readers in as he peppers his chapters with frequent, pertinent references to the Quran. His readings of Islam’s holiest text are neither simplistic nor arcane, and they are illuminating for both Muslims and non-Muslims alike. However, his arguments are often too broad, and his language frequently outstrips his evidence. For instance, in his discussion of Islam and gender, Ghazi writes: “Muslim men and women have the same rights and duties. Women in Islam have every right that men have.” Yet his own material undermines this claim; for instance, Muslim men have the right to take four spouses while women may take only one. Further, men may walk in public unveiled; women may not. Later, he writes, “there are Muslim scientists…behind almost every invention.” That Muslims contributed to many scientific advances doesn’t mean that they were behind “almost every” one of them. Finally, his suggestion that “there’s only one kind of Islam” is patently false, as millions of Sunnis, Shiites and Sufis would attest.
An ambitious book that reaches too far.Pub Date: Oct. 23, 2013
ISBN: 978-1483696317
Page Count: 132
Publisher: Xlibris
Review Posted Online: April 11, 2014
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
In this highly learned yet accessible book, Robinson offers believers fresh insight into a well-studied text.
A deeply thoughtful exploration of the first book of the Bible.
In this illuminating work of biblical analysis, Pulitzer Prize–winning novelist Robinson, whose Gilead series contains a variety of Christian themes, takes readers on a dedicated layperson’s journey through the Book of Genesis. The author meanders delightfully through the text, ruminating on one tale after another while searching for themes and mining for universal truths. Robinson approaches Genesis with a reverence and level of faith uncommon to modern mainstream writers, yet she’s also equipped with the appropriate tools for cogent criticism. Throughout this luminous exegesis, which will appeal to all practicing Christians, the author discusses overarching themes in Genesis. First is the benevolence of God. Robinson points out that “to say that God is the good creator of a good creation” sets the God of Genesis in opposition to the gods of other ancient creation stories, who range from indifferent to evil. This goodness carries through the entirety of Genesis, demonstrated through grace. “Grace tempers judgment,” writes the author, noting that despite well-deserved instances of wrath or punishment, God relents time after time. Another overarching theme is the interplay between God’s providence and humanity’s independence. Across the Book of Genesis, otherwise ordinary people make decisions that will affect the future in significant ways, yet events are consistently steered by God’s omnipotence. For instance, Joseph is sold into slavery by his brothers, and that action has reverberated throughout the history of all Jewish people. Robinson indirectly asks readers to consider where the line is between the actions of God and the actions of creation. “He chose to let us be,” she concludes, “to let time yield what it will—within the vast latitude granted by providence.”
In this highly learned yet accessible book, Robinson offers believers fresh insight into a well-studied text.Pub Date: March 12, 2024
ISBN: 9780374299408
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: Oct. 14, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2023
A very welcome instance of philosophy that can help readers live a good life.
A teacher and scholar of Buddhism offers a formally varied account of the available rewards of solitude.
“As Mother Ayahuasca takes me in her arms, I realize that last night I vomited up my attachment to Buddhism. In passing out, I died. In coming to, I was, so to speak, reborn. I no longer have to fight these battles, I repeat to myself. I am no longer a combatant in the dharma wars. It feels as if the course of my life has shifted onto another vector, like a train shunted off its familiar track onto a new trajectory.” Readers of Batchelor’s previous books (Secular Buddhism: Imagining the Dharma in an Uncertain World, 2017, etc.) will recognize in this passage the culmination of his decadeslong shift away from the religious commitments of Buddhism toward an ecumenical and homegrown philosophy of life. Writing in a variety of modes—memoir, history, collage, essay, biography, and meditation instruction—the author doesn’t argue for his approach to solitude as much as offer it for contemplation. Essentially, Batchelor implies that if you read what Buddha said here and what Montaigne said there, and if you consider something the author has noticed, and if you reflect on your own experience, you have the possibility to improve the quality of your life. For introspective readers, it’s easy to hear in this approach a direct response to Pascal’s claim that “all of humanity's problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone.” Batchelor wants to relieve us of this inability by offering his example of how to do just that. “Solitude is an art. Mental training is needed to refine and stabilize it,” he writes. “When you practice solitude, you dedicate yourself to the care of the soul.” Whatever a soul is, the author goes a long way toward soothing it.
A very welcome instance of philosophy that can help readers live a good life.Pub Date: Feb. 18, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-300-25093-0
Page Count: 200
Publisher: Yale Univ.
Review Posted Online: Nov. 24, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
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