A brief but thorough consideration of Muslim devotion.
A sober defense of a theologically moderate form of Islam.
Some critics see Islam—and, by extension, the whole of the Quran—as a symbol of unrepentant extremism and atavistic contempt for modernity. But Ali, in this debut, highlights how such interpretations are based on ignorance, political appropriation, and willful distortion. He says that his book’s “sole purpose” is “refuting false charges against Islam,” and he begins by taking on criticisms that former Muslims–turned-apostates have leveled in well-known publications. Against their charges, Ali contends that Islam is essentially a religion of peace and that the Quran commands its disciples to treat non-Muslims respectfully; he also impugns both the motives and the moral credibility of Islam’s detractors. The author presents a much more moderate and diverse understanding of Sharia, which is neither univocal—each school adheres to its own version—nor brutal, if properly based upon the Quran’s teachings. He also counters specific criticisms directed at the Prophet Muhammad and discusses the challenges of formulating a consensus on a religion that’s so ideologically splintered into warring camps. Ali devotes two chapters to articulating a sound exegesis of the Quran—one that fully considers the cultural and scriptural context of every sentence. The study culminates in biographical accounts of three imams who he says lived stellar lives that were faithful to Islamic teachings. The author is typically rigorous and scrupulously debunks a catalog of common misconceptions. For example, he provides compelling evidence that denigration of women, which some critics flippantly associate with Islam, is a cultural failing that isn’t encouraged by Muslim doctrine. Sometimes the author indulges in hyperbolic caricature himself; for example, he broadly accuses atheist thought of having “a complete lack of sensitivity and empathy.” However, more often than not, his scholarship is meticulous, and he ably defends Islamic theology. Overall, this is a timely book that’s both edifying and refreshingly temperate.
A brief but thorough consideration of Muslim devotion.Pub Date: Nov. 9, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-5245-1699-4
Page Count: 302
Publisher: Xlibris
Review Posted Online: April 24, 2017
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A timely, vividly realized reminder to slow down and harness the restorative wonders of serenity.
An exploration of the importance of clarity through calmness in an increasingly fast-paced world.
Austin-based speaker and strategist Holiday (Conspiracy: Peter Thiel, Hulk Hogan, Gawker, and the Anatomy of Intrigue, 2018, etc.) believes in downshifting one’s life and activities in order to fully grasp the wonder of stillness. He bolsters this theory with a wide array of perspectives—some based on ancient wisdom (one of the author’s specialties), others more modern—all with the intent to direct readers toward the essential importance of stillness and its “attainable path to enlightenment and excellence, greatness and happiness, performance as well as presence.” Readers will be encouraged by Holiday’s insistence that his methods are within anyone’s grasp. He acknowledges that this rare and coveted calm is already inside each of us, but it’s been worn down by the hustle of busy lives and distractions. Recognizing that this goal requires immense personal discipline, the author draws on the representational histories of John F. Kennedy, Buddha, Tiger Woods, Fred Rogers, Leonardo da Vinci, and many other creative thinkers and scholarly, scientific texts. These examples demonstrate how others have evolved past the noise of modern life and into the solitude of productive thought and cleansing tranquility. Holiday splits his accessible, empowering, and sporadically meandering narrative into a three-part “timeless trinity of mind, body, soul—the head, the heart, the human body.” He juxtaposes Stoic philosopher Seneca’s internal reflection and wisdom against Donald Trump’s egocentric existence, with much of his time spent “in his bathrobe, ranting about the news.” Holiday stresses that while contemporary life is filled with a dizzying variety of “competing priorities and beliefs,” the frenzy can be quelled and serenity maintained through a deliberative calming of the mind and body. The author shows how “stillness is what aims the arrow,” fostering focus, internal harmony, and the kind of holistic self-examination necessary for optimal contentment and mind-body centeredness. Throughout the narrative, he promotes that concept mindfully and convincingly.
A timely, vividly realized reminder to slow down and harness the restorative wonders of serenity.Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-525-53858-5
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Portfolio
Review Posted Online: July 20, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2019
A fine thematic introduction to gnosticism, concentrating on the texts discovered at Nag Hammadi (Upper Egypt) in 1945. Pagels teaches the history of religion at Barnard, and she has spent practically all of her young academic life working with the Nag Hammadi manuscripts in one way or another. She brings her considerable competence to bear on the subject without overwhelming the reader with scholarly minutiae. Pagels sees in gnosticism a "powerful alternative to. . . orthodox Christian tradition," an alternative she clearly finds attractive. Gnostics treated Christ's resurrection as a symbolic rather than a corporeal event. They rejected the authoritarian, bishop-dominated structure of the orthodox church. They looked beyond the masculine imagery of the patriarchal God to various concepts of a feminine or bisexual divinity. They avoided the excesses of the martyrdom cult and its apotheosis of the suffering Jesus. In surprisingly modern fashion, they cultivated a religion that stressed personal enlightenment over corporate belonging, insisting that "the psyche bears within itself the potential for liberation or destruction." These and other gnostic tenets were repressed by mainstream Christianity because, Pagels claims, they constituted a political threat to the hierarchy. In the calmer, freer atmosphere of contemporary Christianity, they can better be appreciated for their intrinsic richness. Pagels' advocacy of gnosticism is restrained and responsible—she admits, for example, that its elitist, intellectualist qualities made it ill-suited as a faith for the masses—but this partisanship, plus the absence of solid explanation of the movement's historical roots, may create a misleading picture of it as a sort of heroic prototype of liberal Protestantism. Otherwise a clear, reliable, richly documented guide.
Pub Date: Nov. 26, 1979
ISBN: 0394502787
Page Count: 229
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Nov. 2, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 1979
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
