Best Islamic Music

Music, according to Sufi teaching, is really a small expression of the overwhelming and perfect harmony of the whole universe—and that is the secret of its amazing power to move us. "Inayat Khan brought one of the strongest and sweetest lineages from India to the West: the music and open heart of Sufism as it blends with Persian poetry and Western intellect. Music, according to Sufi teaching, is really a small expression of the overwhelming and perfect harmony of the whole universe - and that is the secret of its amazing power to move us.

He finished medical school, met his soul mate, and watched his beloved funkytown of Lahore transform with the rest of Pakistan under the rule of Zia into a fundamentalist dictatorship: morality police arrested couples holding hands in public, Little House on the Prairie and Live Aid were banned from television broadcasts, and Kalashnikovs and rocket launchers proliferated on college campuses via the Afghani resistance to Soviet occupation in the north. He started a traveling guitar club that met in private Lahore spaces, mixing Urdu love poems with Casio synthesizers, tablas with Fender Stratocasters, and ragas with power chords, eventually joining his first pop band, Vital Signs. Ahmad is at his best describing the mishmash of 1960s American rock, '80s pop songs and Bollywood music that made up the repertoires of Pakistan's youth musicians in that same decade. In what is well-intentioned but ultimately clichéd and egocentric memoir, Ahmad describes his more recent years as a self-appointed musical ambassador for peace, standing up for Muslims on Bill Maher's TV show and playing a concert at the U.N. General Assembly Hall, while still finding time to show Mick Jagger the Pakistani nightlife. As a teenager living in a New York City suburb, he fell in love with rock, dreamed of playing guitar in a band, and though his parents looked down upon what they thought was a ridiculous fantasy, determined to wage “a rock and roll jihad.” He formed bands in both America and Pakistan, eventually transforming himself into a Pakistani national icon.

Well, you can start with Vincent van Gogh's Paintings.

Now Raheem Kassam, a courageous reporter and editor at Breitbart, takes us where few journalists have dared to tread—inside the No Go Zones, revealing areas that Western governments, including the United States, don't want to admit exist within their own borders. How in No Go Zones a blind eye is being turned to polygamy, female genital mutilation, sexual assault, segregation, and even honor killings Why Muslim ghettos in the West aren't the equivalent of Little Italy or Chinatown, but a serious cultural and political threat How the welfare state actually funds and supports a Muslim subculture of resentment How to identify extremist mosques A matter of numbers: how mass migration could transform Europe into a Muslim-dominated continent within our own lifetimes The alarming speed at which No Go Zones are coming to America Compelling in its reporting, shocking in its detail, Raheem Kassam's No Go Zones is one of the most frightening true stories you will read this year.

It is the supreme authority in Islam and the living source of all Islamic teaching; it is a sacred text and a book of guidance, that sets out the creed, rituals, ethics, and laws of the Islamic religion. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more. "Haleem has managed to transform the complex grammar and structure of the holy book into a form of modern English which reads easily and flows smoothly without taking liberties with the inviolable text.

Even as Muhammad lay dying, the battle over who would take control of the new Islamic nation had begun, beginning a succession crisis marked by power grabs, assassination, political intrigue, and passionate faith. Pitting the family of his favorite wife, the controversial Aisha, against supporters of his son-in-law, the philosopher-warrior Ali, the struggle would reach its breaking point fifty years later in Iraq, when soldiers of the first Sunni dynasty massacred seventy-two warriors led by Muhammad's grandson Hussein at Karbala. Balancing past and present, she shows how these seventh-century events are as alive in Middle Eastern hearts and minds today as though they had just happened, shaping modern headlines from Iran's Islamic Revolution to the civil war in Iraq. It began with a question asked after a particularly ghastly suicide bombing in Iraq: "How come Muhammad, the prophet of unity who spoke of one people and one God, left behind him this terrible, unending, bloody legacy of division between Sunni and Shia?" The subject was all the more irresistible to me personally since it brings together many of my deepest interests: the interplay of religion and politics, more intricately intertwined in the Middle East than anywhere else in the world; my own experience living in and reporting from the Middle East for Time magazine and other publications; my affinity for narrative nonfiction and for tracing the interplay of past and present; and my original training as a psychologist, which comes into play as I explore the story, the way it has endured, and how it is used today in politics, society, spiritual life, and, too often, war. I could almost imagine that if all this had only been better known in the West, American troops would never have been sent within a hundred miles of Iraqi holy cities like Najaf and Karbala, which figure in it so largely, and that we would never have tried to intervene in an argument fueled by such a volatile blend of emotion, religion, and politics. In the end, I will be happy if readers simply turn over the last page and breathe out the words I found myself saying again and again as my research deepened, and that seem to me an entirely appropriate response to a story of this power: "Oh my God..." --Lesley Hazleton.

Even as Muhammad lay dying, the battle over who would take control of the new Islamic nation had begun, beginning a succession crisis marked by power grabs, assassination, political intrigue, and passionate faith. Pitting the family of his favorite wife, the controversial Aisha, against supporters of his son-in-law, the philosopher-warrior Ali, the struggle would reach its breaking point fifty years later in Iraq, when soldiers of the first Sunni dynasty massacred seventy-two warriors led by Muhammad's grandson Hussein at Karbala. Balancing past and present, she shows how these seventh-century events are as alive in Middle Eastern hearts and minds today as though they had just happened, shaping modern headlines from Iran's Islamic Revolution to the civil war in Iraq. It began with a question asked after a particularly ghastly suicide bombing in Iraq: "How come Muhammad, the prophet of unity who spoke of one people and one God, left behind him this terrible, unending, bloody legacy of division between Sunni and Shia?" The subject was all the more irresistible to me personally since it brings together many of my deepest interests: the interplay of religion and politics, more intricately intertwined in the Middle East than anywhere else in the world; my own experience living in and reporting from the Middle East for Time magazine and other publications; my affinity for narrative nonfiction and for tracing the interplay of past and present; and my original training as a psychologist, which comes into play as I explore the story, the way it has endured, and how it is used today in politics, society, spiritual life, and, too often, war. I could almost imagine that if all this had only been better known in the West, American troops would never have been sent within a hundred miles of Iraqi holy cities like Najaf and Karbala, which figure in it so largely, and that we would never have tried to intervene in an argument fueled by such a volatile blend of emotion, religion, and politics. In the end, I will be happy if readers simply turn over the last page and breathe out the words I found myself saying again and again as my research deepened, and that seem to me an entirely appropriate response to a story of this power: "Oh my God..." --Lesley Hazleton.

Islam expert Robert Spencer reveals Islam's ongoing, unshakable quest for global conquest and why the West today faces the same threat as the Crusaders did--and what we can learn from their experience. "A much-needed antidote to the poisonous propaganda that compromises our current battle against jihadist murder." -- Ibn Warraq, author "A much-needed antidote to the poisonous propaganda that compromises our current battle against jihadist murder." Spencer reveals facts that you won't be taught in school and will never hear on the evening news, supplies a revealing list of "Books You Must Not Read" (as far as the PC left is concerned), and takes you on a fast-paced politically incorrect tour of Islamic teaching and Crusades history that will give you all the information you need to understand the true nature of the global conflict America faces today.

Written from the point of view of an American Muslim, the book addresses what readers in the Western world are most curious about, beginning with the basics of Islam and how Muslims practice their religion before easing into more complicated issues like jihad, Islamic fundamentalism, and the status of women in Islam. She combines scholarship with an engaging and accessible style and frank self-criticism that crystallizes the faith and commitment of a majority of mainstream Muslims in its unity and diversity.”. — John L. Esposito, University Professor and Professor of Islamic Studies at Georgetown University. Since the terrorist attacks of 9/11, the publishing world has generated a virtual flood of books on Islam and Muslims, and the vast majority of what has been published is no better than pseudo-intellectual drivel. This book easily ranks as one of the best three books published on the Islamic faith in the English language since the tragedy of 9/11. Indeed this book is a necessary read not just for those who are interested in learning about Islam, but even more so for those who believe that they have learned all there is to know about Islam." — Khaled Abou El Fadl, J.D., Ph.D., Professor of Immigration, Middle Eastern, and Islamic Law – UCLA School of Law, Author of The Great Theft: Wrestling Islam from the Extremists. Sumbul Ali-Karamali has written a lovely, lyrical and learned book about living Islam. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn more about Islam from someone who lives it". Sumbul mixes scholarly insight about Islam with a personal, well-considered perspective on being a mainstream American Muslim. Intended primarily for non-Muslims seeking to understand their Muslim neighbor, Muslims will also see much value in Ali-Karamali’s book." "The Muslim Next Door provides a timely, candid and sensitive insight into the experience of growing up Muslim in a post-9/11 America, along with a much-needed and impeccably researched explanation of the historical and cultural contexts of today’s Muslim world and the religion of Islam. Often the only Muslim her acquaintances knew, she had ample practice answering questions about Islam and Muslims. While working as a corporate lawyer, she was repeatedly asked to recommend books on Islam, so she decided to write a book that was both academically reliable and entertaining to read. She served as a teaching assistant in Islamic Law at SOAS and a research associate at the Centre of Islamic and Middle Eastern Law in London, and then she wrote The Muslim Next Door for everyone who ever asked - or wanted to ask - a question about Islam.

It is also the untold story of how she ran from her father’s threats to find refuge with strangers in Florida, only to face a controversial court case that reached national headlines. In the words of this young woman who has already been through so much, we are painted a picture of stark cultural contrast—that of slavery and liberty, duty and love, and bondage and freedom. As much as anything, this is a story about the first freedom upon which America was built—the freedom to believe and live one’s life according to those beliefs. Rifqa’s inspiring story reminds us why we must continue to stand for faith and freedom!”. —Tony Perkins, president of Family Research Council. “Rifqa Bary’s story unveils God as the Father to the fatherless whose pursuit of His children is fiercely beautiful. This story will give you not only insight into what it means for a Muslim to convert to Christianity and the heavy price associated with that, but also the importance of Christians breaking through the stereotypes and reaching out to Muslims in love.”. —Naghmeh Abedini, wife of imprisoned pastor Saeed Abedini. In my own experience as a child, I had hidden in a cocoon of despair and lived with the brutality of loneliness—I understand how she felt. She also cherishes long talks with loved ones over coffee and eating lots of chicken curry.

The Essential Rumi continues to be the bestselling of all Rumi books, and the definitive selection of his beautiful, mystical poetry. -- Huston Smith, author of "The World's Religions""In this.delightful treasury, Barks sparklingly demonstratesonce again why his free-form interpretations of [Rumi's] poetryhave been a major impetus for the current Rumi vogue."