American Muslims run the gamut from fanatical minister Louis Farrakhan to Mother Theresa-like AIDS activist Tarajee Abdurj-Rahim in this provocative study by New York Times journalist and practicing Muslim Steven Barboza. Interviewing dozens of Muslims, both black and white, male and female, famous and ordinary, Barboza shatters the stereotype of the ``nasty rag head'' who is often portrayed in the media as, at best, a lewd polygamist and, at worst, an AK-47-toting terrorist. Even the word ``jihad'' has been misconstrued: according to Barboza, it does not mean holy war but struggle or striving for peace. Some of the most moving stories are those of former drug-addicts and criminals who, like Malcolm X before them, are reborn in Allah, finding the hope and purpose that eluded them on the street. Also noteworthy are the portraits of Malcolm X's daughter, the writer and lecturer Attallah Shabazz; Muhammad Ali's daughter, rising rap star May May Ali; and Atlanta-based imam Jamil Abjullah Al-Amin, formerly H. Rap Brown. Muslim women, meanwhile, struggle to square feminist principles with old-world customs like the jihab, requiring that they cover themselves from head to toe. With its very clear reverence to Allah, this may not be an unbiased account of Islam; still, it's a good place to start in trying to understand the world's fastest growing religion.
Pub Date: Jan. 18, 1994
ISBN: 0-385-47011-8
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Doubleday
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 1993
BOOK REVIEW
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.
A compendium of charts, time lines, lists and illustrations to accompany study of the Bible.
This visually appealing resource provides a wide array of illustrative and textually concise references, beginning with three sets of charts covering the Bible as a whole, the Old Testament and the New Testament. These charts cover such topics as biblical weights and measures, feasts and holidays and the 12 disciples. Most of the charts use a variety of illustrative techniques to convey lessons and provide visual interest. A worthwhile example is “How We Got the Bible,” which provides a time line of translation history, comparisons of canons among faiths and portraits of important figures in biblical translation, such as Jerome and John Wycliffe. The book then presents a section of maps, followed by diagrams to conceptualize such structures as Noah’s Ark and Solomon’s Temple. Finally, a section on Christianity, cults and other religions describes key aspects of history and doctrine for certain Christian sects and other faith traditions. Overall, the authors take a traditionalist, conservative approach. For instance, they list Moses as the author of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) without making mention of claims to the contrary. When comparing various Christian sects and world religions, the emphasis is on doctrine and orthodox theology. Some chapters, however, may not completely align with the needs of Catholic and Orthodox churches. But the authors’ leanings are muted enough and do not detract from the work’s usefulness. As a resource, it’s well organized, inviting and visually stimulating. Even the most seasoned reader will learn something while browsing.
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005
ISBN: 978-1-5963-6022-8
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
This a book of earlier, philosophical essays concerned with the essential "absurdity" of life and the concept that- to overcome the strong tendency to suicide in every thoughtful man-one must accept life on its own terms with its values of revolt, liberty and passion. A dreary thesis- derived from and distorting the beliefs of the founders of existentialism, Jaspers, Heldegger and Kierkegaard, etc., the point of view seems peculiarly outmoded. It is based on the experience of war and the resistance, liberally laced with Andre Gide's excessive intellectualism. The younger existentialists such as Sartre and Camus, with their gift for the terse novel or intense drama, seem to have omitted from their philosophy all the deep religiosity which permeates the work of the great existentialist thinkers. This contributes to a basic lack of vitality in themselves, in these essays, and ten years after the war Camus seems unaware that the life force has healed old wounds... Largely for avant garde aesthetes and his special coterie.
Pub Date: Sept. 26, 1955
ISBN: 0679733736
Page Count: 228
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Sept. 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1955
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