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Theme Changer

 Topic: What book are you reading?

 (Read 147207 times)
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  • Re: What book are you reading?
     Reply #150 - November 25, 2010, 11:26 PM

    Islam and the Destiny of Man by Gai Eaton

    And

    *cringes*

    Emma by Jane Austin, for English Lit.

    I also just read the Cripple of Inishmaan; a humorous and yet rather melancholy play set in an island off the coast of Ireland. The end made me sad.  Cry
  • Re: What book are you reading?
     Reply #151 - November 26, 2010, 02:50 AM

    It's about his alter-ego Henry Chinaski and it's not really about anything in that sense, there is no really plot or narrative. He travels city to city, job to job, getting fired from every job, drinks a lot, bets on horses, argues and fights with his woman and tries to write sometimes. It's realistic fiction and is well-written but the negativity and bitterness can't be too much sometimes.

    Then you're probably not getting the point I guess.

    there is no really plot or narrative.

    Engrish

    I know someday you'll have a beautiful life, I know you'll be a star
    In somebody else's sky, but why, why, why
    Can't it be, can't it be mine

    https://twitter.com/AlharbiMoe
  • Re: What book are you reading?
     Reply #152 - November 26, 2010, 08:40 AM

    So you've read the book?

    Oh and I was having sex while writing that post. I do often that mind loses focueses.
  • Re: What book are you reading?
     Reply #153 - November 26, 2010, 08:46 AM

    Just finished reading Romeo and Juliet again and

    Inside the Kingdom

    So once again I'm left with the classic Irish man's dilemma, do I eat the potato or do I let it ferment so I can drink it later?
    My political philosophy below
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwGat4i8pJI&feature=g-vrec
    Just kidding, here are some true heros
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBTgvK6LQqA
  • Re: What book are you reading?
     Reply #154 - November 26, 2010, 12:10 PM


    Drug War Zone: Frontline Dispatches from the Streets of El Paso and Juarez by Howard Campbell

    Synopsis from Amazon:

    Thousands of people die in drug-related deaths every year in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, adjacent to El Paso, Texas. Juarez has become the most violent city in the Mexican drug war. Much of the cocaine, marijuana, and methamphetamine consumed in the United States is imported across the Mexican border, making El Paso/Juarez one of the major drug-trafficking venues in the world. In this anthropological study of drug trafficking and anti-drug law enforcement efforts on the U.S.-Mexico border, Howard Campbell uses an ethnographic perspective to chronicle the recent Mexican drug war, focusing especially on people and events in the El Paso/Juarez area. It is the first social science study of the violent drug war that is tearing Mexico apart. Based on deep access to the drug-smuggling world, this study presents the drug war through the eyes and lives of direct participants. Half of the book consists of oral histories from drug traffickers, and the other half from law enforcement officials. There is much journalistic coverage of the drug war, but very seldom are the lived experiences of traffickers and 'narcs' presented in such vivid detail. In addition to providing an up-close, personal view of the drug-trafficking world, Campbell explains and analyzes the functioning of drug cartels, the corruption that facilitates drug trafficking, the strategies of smugglers and anti-narcotics officials, and the perilous culture of drug trafficking that Campbell refers to as the 'Drug War Zone'.

    "we can smell traitors and country haters"


    God is Love.
    Love is Blind. Stevie Wonder is blind. Therefore, Stevie Wonder is God.

  • Re: What book are you reading?
     Reply #155 - November 26, 2010, 12:23 PM

    Those who can read should read this...


    http://cdn.agniveer.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/RangeelaRasul1.pdf


    Quote
    Ghazi Alam Deen., The Story is from the days of British rule in India

    The young man belonged to the city of Lahore. His father was a carpenter. When he was old enough to work, he started working along his father on his shop. He had a friend named Abdur Rasheed, who was called "Sheeda". Sheeda's father’s shop was in front of the Wazeer Khan Mosque. One day both the friends, Alam Deen and Sheeda were passing near the mosque Wazeer khan. There was a huge crowd near the mosque. People were shouting slogans against Raj Pal.

    Quote
    "We will sacrifice our lives but we will not let the demon Raj Pal live. He disgraced our beloved Prophet Muhammed (S.A.W) by publishing the book "Rangeela Rasool"*and the fire of revenge is burning in the heart of every Muslim." The speakers were shouting. These words ignited the fire of revenge in the hearts of the two friends. They were both impatient and restless now.


    Ghazi Alam Deen returned home, but his heart was restless. He asked his father:
    "Can anyone stay alive after insulting our beloved Prophet Muhammed S.A.W.?"
    The Father replied: "Son, the Muslims will not let him live."  "Will the one who kills the disgracer of Prophet S.A.W. be punished?" Alam Deen asked his father again.
    "Yes son! According to the law of the British the one who kills this man will be hanged" the father replied his son, but he was worried why his son was asking such questions.


    What happened actually was that a student of Swami Deyaanand, Krishan Prashaad Prataab wrote the book "Rangeela Rasool" by the Pen name of Champu Pati Lal. In this book he disgraced the Prophet Muhammed S.A.W. and attacked his character with heinous allegations. A wretched book publisher from Lahore, Raj Pal, took the  responsibility of publishing this book. In 1923, this book was published and released in book stores, and it obviously enraged the Muslims of India.

    The Indian Muslims started a movement which demanded the book to be banned, but the British government of India paid no attention to Muslim demands. When Alam Deen heard about the book near the Mosque Wazeer Khan, he said to himself: "O Alam Deen! Your enemy has disgraced your beloved Prophet Muhammed S.A.W. and you are sleeping in ignorance... Wake Up and do something quickly!" He was extremely restless now. The next morning he took his tools and went to his friend Sheeda.


    Alam Deen unveiled his intention to his friend, but he found that Sheeda was as restless as he was. Both the friends wanted to kill Raj Pal and they disputed. Both were eager, and each wanted to be the killer of the demon. They decided to draw and settle the matter between them. The draw went in favor of Alam Deen three times. Alam Deen was extremely happy and Sheeda congratulated him. Both of them then went to their work.

    Later, Alam Deen went back to his home to sleep, but something inside him would not let him sleep and he said to himself, "O Alam Deen! This is not the time to sleep. It is the time to Act, or someone else will take the reward before you and you will not get any reward from Allah!!!"

    Alam Deen went to see Sheeda for the last time. He said goodbye to his friend. He then took a Ghusl and wore his best clothes. He wore a perfume and asked his mother to cook sweet rice*. The father and son ate the food and prostrated before their God. They recited Quran and Alam Deen cried to his Lord... “O My Lord! Grant me success in this mission!!”. He asked his beloved and dear mother to pray for him as well.  He then went to bazaar and bought a dagger in one rupee. He hid the dagger in his pants and then headed to Raj Pal’s Shop. Raj Pal had not arrived yet. It was 6th September 1929. Raj Pal’s flight had arrived on the Lahore airport, but prior to this he wanted the police to provide security for him.


    As soon as Alam Deen saw Raj Pal entering his shop, he attacked him with the swiftness of a tiger. He stabbed the dagger in the chest of the wretched demon. The dagger went through his heart, and he fell dead on the ground. Ghazi Alam Deen went out of the shop and fell in Sajdah, and thanked the Lord of the worlds who granted him success. The employees of Raj Pal were shouting, "He killed him, go get him”. "I avenged my Prophet!!! I avenged my Prophet!!!" he shouted back with courage.
    During all this time the police had also arrived at the scene. They arrested Alam Deen. He went to trial and was declared guilty. He was given death penalty.

    The Muslims lodged an appeal against the court decision but the appeal was rejected. When Ghazi Alam Deen was told about this he fell in sajdah with happiness and said:"What can be better than this? I am going to be martyred and I am going to meet my Lord!"  At last, on 31st October 1929, the time arrived for Ghazi Alam Deen to meet his Lord. Ghazi Alam Deen spent the whole night in remembrance of his Lord, and tahajjud. He read Quran and prayed to his Lord to forgive him with His Mercy.


    The next morning before being hanged, he was asked his last wish, he only asked for time to pray two rakah salah. On getting the permission he prostrated before his Lord, and thanked Him. As he wrapped the rope around his neck he said: "O people! Be witness, I killed Raj Pal in defense of my Prophet Muhammed S.A.W, and today while reciting the kalimah* of my Lord I am sacrificing my life to my Him."The Authorities buried him without Janazah prayer, but with the intervention of leaders like Muhammed Iqbal and Mian Abdul Aziz the Muslims were able to get his body back. When the body was dug out of the grave, it was found to be the same as it was at the time of burial; even the shroud had not changed its color. It was 14th November 1929.


    The dead body of Alam Deen was in the grave from 31st October to 14th November but Allah Subhanuhu wa Ta'ala preserved it.  Muslims from the whole city and millions from adjoining areas attended his funeral. The Janazah Prayer was lead by the Imam of the Mosque Wazeer Khan, Imam Muhammed Shamsuddeen.


    Mawlana Zafar Ali Khan* said before the burial: "Ah only if I had attained this blessed status!"Muhammed Iqbal placed the body in the grave with tears in his eyes and said:
    "This young man left us, the educated men behind [in status]."



    Do not let silence become your legacy.. Question everything   
    I renounced my faith to become a kafir, 
    the beloved betrayed me and turned in to  a Muslim
     
  • Book suggestions
     Reply #156 - December 29, 2010, 06:50 AM

    I'm going to pretend I did an exhaustive search to see if we have this topic already and you are going to play along.

    Simple, you post books that you have read or are reading and provide a review.  Does not have to be about religion or lack thereof.


    Neil Gaiman - American God's

    It starts off slow and the ending is sort of predictable, but don't read it for the plot, necessarily.  The main character is your average Joe, not much depth in the character.  No, its the way he in which he tells the story that makes this book a delight to read, the stories that are found within the story, "Coming to America - 1778" is particularly well written and heart wrenching one. Not much of a review (sorry).

    As I was reading, I got a kick out of (um I kinda have a strange sense of humor) several lines that I made a mental note of. I forgot how bad my memory is, so I can only present one:

    "So, yeah, Jesus does pretty good over here. But I met a guy who said he saw him hitchhiking by the side of the road in Afghanistan and nobody was stopping to give him a ride.  You know? It all depends on where you are."







  • Re: Book suggestions
     Reply #157 - December 29, 2010, 06:55 AM

    http://www.councilofexmuslims.com/index.php?topic=13095.0

    "If intelligence is feminine... I would want that mine would, in a resolute movement, come to resemble an impious woman."
  • Re: Book suggestions
     Reply #158 - December 29, 2010, 06:59 AM



    aw dammit
  • Re: Book suggestions
     Reply #159 - January 01, 2011, 07:33 AM

    I looove Neil Gaiman! I think my favourite is Neverwhere. American God's spin off, Anansi Boys, is fun too. I also liked Good Omens, his collaboration with Terry Pratchett. Hilarious.  Afro

    "He hoped and prayed that there wasn't an afterlife. Then he realized there was a contradiction involved here and merely hoped that there wasn't an afterlife."
    ~ Douglas Adams
  • Re: Book suggestions
     Reply #160 - January 01, 2011, 07:35 AM

    Oh, I'd also recommend his graphic novel, The Sandman!

    "He hoped and prayed that there wasn't an afterlife. Then he realized there was a contradiction involved here and merely hoped that there wasn't an afterlife."
    ~ Douglas Adams
  • Re: What book are you reading?
     Reply #161 - January 01, 2011, 07:40 AM

    Currently reading:

    Fiction
    Storm Front by Jim Butcher, the first novel in The Dresden Files series.

    Wizardry!  dance

    Non-fiction
    Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex by Mary Roach

    Sex!  dance

    "He hoped and prayed that there wasn't an afterlife. Then he realized there was a contradiction involved here and merely hoped that there wasn't an afterlife."
    ~ Douglas Adams
  • Re: What book are you reading?
     Reply #162 - January 01, 2011, 10:10 AM

    hmm., this is good thread... I LOVE READING OoooooooooooooolD books ., the older is the better.,    I collected tons of 18 and 19th century books all the way to 1670... no time to read every page of every one of them but they are fascinating to go through /figure out., read the culture and mind set around the authors..

    So if you  guys know any of the Oooold book(subject is irrelevant ., If it is religion related i put bit more time in it) I would appreciate you guys dropping a word on it in this thread..

    with best regards
    yeezevee

    Do not let silence become your legacy.. Question everything   
    I renounced my faith to become a kafir, 
    the beloved betrayed me and turned in to  a Muslim
     
  • Re: What book are you reading?
     Reply #163 - January 01, 2011, 01:01 PM

    hmm., this is good thread... I LOVE READING OoooooooooooooolD books ., the older is the better.,    I collected tons of 18 and 19th century books all the way to 1670... no time to read every page of every one of them but they are fascinating to go through /figure out., read the culture and mind set around the authors..

    So if you  guys know any of the Oooold book(subject is irrelevant ., If it is religion related i put bit more time in it) I would appreciate you guys dropping a word on it in this thread..

    with best regards
    yeezevee

    Sounds like the Quran fits the bill perfectly

    My Book     news002       
    My Blog  pccoffee
  • Re: What book are you reading?
     Reply #164 - January 01, 2011, 01:12 PM

    hmm., this is good thread... I LOVE READING OoooooooooooooolD books ., the older is the better.,    I collected tons of 18 and 19th century books all the way to 1670... no time to read every page of every one of them but they are fascinating to go through /figure out., read the culture and mind set around the authors..


    You mean, books that are actually old like this?:



    Or books that were written a long time ago, like this?:

  • Re: What book are you reading?
     Reply #165 - January 01, 2011, 02:21 PM

    Sounds like the Quran fits the bill perfectly

    well quran or other religious scriptures are easy to get on web at that sacred text.com   http://www.sacred-texts.com/


    No not old looking books but old books written in 16th to 19th or early 20th century cut off date is 1920...  dear  Zebedee

    Anything after  1920 is outdated book for me..  i am glad to find on internet this link  http://www.forgottenbooks.org/index.php  ..

    Do not let silence become your legacy.. Question everything   
    I renounced my faith to become a kafir, 
    the beloved betrayed me and turned in to  a Muslim
     
  • Re: What book are you reading?
     Reply #166 - January 02, 2011, 07:24 AM

    just finished rereading "The Lies of Locke Lamora" (very good book) and read "Looking for Alaska" the other day (Nerdfighters FTW!!)


    so far in the closet (religion wise) that I can see narnia from here.

    QUIT YER BELLYACHIN'
  • Re: What book are you reading?
     Reply #167 - January 02, 2011, 11:05 AM

    Finished "The Transcendental Temptation" by Paul Kurtz. Now reading "Living Without Religion" same author.
  • Re: What book are you reading?
     Reply #168 - January 02, 2011, 02:25 PM

    Islam and the Destiny of Man by Gai Eaton


    My brother gave me that book yesterday! Well actually he wanted me to pass it on to someone. What's it like? I had a lot of respect for Gai Eaton.
  • Re: What book are you reading?
     Reply #169 - January 02, 2011, 03:55 PM

    My brother gave me that book yesterday! Well actually he wanted me to pass it on to someone. What's it like? I had a lot of respect for Gai Eaton.


    It's quite interesting, it's always interesting to see how these converts think, the reasons for the adoption of their faith, and their justification or lack thereof for doing so.

    I haven't read too much of it though, I got sidetracked with the voluminous reading I had to do for uni. But even so, I've read the part about his conversion to Islam, which is rather enlightening. From what I've read, it seems that he was disenchanted by Western philosophy, saying that it's essentially all a pile of conjecture and speculation (unlike the bold and lucid assertions of the Qur'an!). He lived and worked in Egypt, where he ran into some Sufis and seemed to develop a sympathetic view of Muslims and their religion.

    Of course, when people do that, they'll judge Islam by Muslims. They'll develop a favourable view of Islam just because they have a personal attachment to its people. It's bad for any evaluation of Islam, or of any faith, and I don't think he read the Qur'an before he converted, rather he was approached by some Sufi da'ees and they persuaded him to take Shahada.

    As for his positions on Islam and secularism and the like, he seems quite critical, or even opposed to, secularism and modern Western civilisation and its influence on Islamic nations. He criticises modern Muslims for their acceptance of 'occidental' norms. Now, there may be much to criticise in the West, but he does also seem to be in favour of a political form of Islam, and he does state that Islam encompasses all aspects of life, and that each aspect is inextricable from the other.

    At the same time, it's so strange that he criticises modern Muslim thinkers for adopting ideas that are foreign to Islam when he himself endorses heterodox/Mu'tazili/Sufi views of Islam and the Qur'an. He endorses Muhammad Asad's tafsir, which I think is very unusual for someone who claims to adhere to traditional and orthodox Islam.

    I do find the odd eyebrow-raising passage from time to time as well. E.g.:

    The rapidity with which Islam spread across the known world of the seventh to eighths centuries was strange enough, but stranger still is the fact that no rivers of blood flowed, no fields were enriched with the corpses of the vanquished. As warrios the Arabs might have been no better than others of their kind who had ravaged and slaughtered across the peopled lands but, unlike these others, they were on a leash. There were no massacres, no rapes, no cities burnt. These men feared God to a degree scarcely imaginable in our time and were in awe of His all-seeing presence... -- pp. 29-30

     Shocked
  • Re: What book are you reading?
     Reply #170 - January 02, 2011, 04:01 PM

    He lived and worked in Egypt, where he ran into some Sufis and seemed to develop a sympathetic view of Muslims and their religion.

    Of course, when people do that, they'll judge Islam by Muslims. They'll develop a favourable view of Islam just because they have a personal attachment to its people.


    So true!

    Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I don't think I'll bother then - there are many other books on my list to read. Smiley
  • Re: What book are you reading?
     Reply #171 - January 02, 2011, 04:07 PM

    About half way though

    Tears in the Darkness: The Story of the Bataan Death March and Its Aftermath

    Pretty amazing story of the limits of human endurance and the depravity and hopeful spirit that happens in life or death situations

    So once again I'm left with the classic Irish man's dilemma, do I eat the potato or do I let it ferment so I can drink it later?
    My political philosophy below
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwGat4i8pJI&feature=g-vrec
    Just kidding, here are some true heros
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBTgvK6LQqA
  • Re: What book are you reading?
     Reply #172 - January 02, 2011, 04:18 PM

    The rapidity with which Islam spread across the known world of the seventh to eighths centuries was strange enough, but stranger still is the fact that no rivers of blood flowed, no fields were enriched with the corpses of the vanquished. As warrios the Arabs might have been no better than others of their kind who had ravaged and slaughtered across the peopled lands but, unlike these others, they were on a leash. There were no massacres, no rapes, no cities burnt. These men feared God to a degree scarcely imaginable in our time and were in awe of His all-seeing presence... -- pp. 29-30



    See, as nice as they may be, the Gai Eton's of the world contribute to the hagiography and whitewashing of Islam, because they are so personally amenable, probably to a greater extent than others.

    "we can smell traitors and country haters"


    God is Love.
    Love is Blind. Stevie Wonder is blind. Therefore, Stevie Wonder is God.

  • Re: What book are you reading?
     Reply #173 - January 02, 2011, 04:30 PM

    So true!

    Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I don't think I'll bother then - there are many other books on my list to read. Smiley


    Well, it is quite interesting still. It gives an insight into the mind of the Western convert, a mind that has long eluded my understanding, hence my interest. It seems to incorporate a rather strange yet common trait in the human psyche that so many people possess; the ability to be entirely inconsistent and selective in what one believes. And how could that not be fascinating?

    At the same time, it seems that my search for an essentially level-headed Western convert to Islam must continue, although it may very well be the case that a notable level of cognitive dissonance is simply requisite to simultaneously believing in Western norms while still professing belief in an early medieval religion. In any event, it seems to be invariably the case that these converts are all, at least a little bit  wacko

    Take it away, Abdalqadir as-Sufi:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8saUJggjkc
  • Re: What book are you reading?
     Reply #174 - January 02, 2011, 04:37 PM

    See, as nice as they may be, the Gai Eton's of the world contribute to the hagiography and whitewashing of Islam, because they are so personally amenable, probably to a greater extent than others.



    Yes. I expected when I started reading that book to be informed of something I had missed; a nuance, a detail that would make Islam credible to a mind raised and educated in a modern, relatively civilised society. Alas, no such luck. Rather, I was merely confirmed in my suspicion that it is entirely foolish to take as credible any individual or their judgement simply on the basis of their ostensible credibility or respectability.
  • Re: What book are you reading?
     Reply #175 - January 02, 2011, 05:41 PM

    Well, it is quite interesting still. It gives an insight into the mind of the Western convert, a mind that has long eluded my understanding, hence my interest. It seems to incorporate a rather strange yet common trait in the human psyche that so many people possess; the ability to be entirely inconsistent and selective in what one believes. And how could that not be fascinating?

    At the same time, it seems that my search for an essentially level-headed Western convert to Islam must continue, although it may very well be the case that a notable level of cognitive dissonance is simply requisite to simultaneously believing in Western norms while still professing belief in an early medieval religion. In any event, it seems to be invariably the case that these converts are all, at least a little bit  wacko

    Take it away, Abdalqadir as-Sufi:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8saUJggjkc


    It has almost always been my experience that English (and other) converts I've met are rather odd, and in some ways dysfunctional people. (In fact the famous English eccentricity I think has meant that many such odd-balls have been attracted to Islam.)
  • Re: What book are you reading?
     Reply #176 - January 02, 2011, 07:21 PM

    Just Finished a book called Fugitive Pieces, by Anne Michaels...has become one of my new favorites! For anyone who likes novels written by poets...
  • Re: What book are you reading?
     Reply #177 - January 02, 2011, 07:41 PM

    It has almost always been my experience that English (and other) converts I've met are rather odd, and in some ways dysfunctional people. (In fact the famous English eccentricity I think has meant that many such odd-balls have been attracted to Islam.)


    I remember reading in your book/blog that there was an English convert that spoke to you in praise of the 9/11 attacks. I guess some people feel so in need of finding an identity that they'll associate themselves with any group or ideology, however bonkers the ideas may be.
  • Re: What book are you reading?
     Reply #178 - January 18, 2011, 06:07 PM

    Memoirs of a Fruitcake by Chris Evens!

    Fucking Epic! highly recommended, by King tut!

    I can totally relate to it! alot like my own life.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjsmd61p5eo  
  • Re: What book are you reading?
     Reply #179 - January 18, 2011, 06:18 PM

    Just finished From fatwa to jihad: The Salman Rushdie Affair.  I cannot recommened it too to little. A analysis of British multi culturalism, the hypocrisy of the fatwa, a defense of free speech.

    So once again I'm left with the classic Irish man's dilemma, do I eat the potato or do I let it ferment so I can drink it later?
    My political philosophy below
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwGat4i8pJI&feature=g-vrec
    Just kidding, here are some true heros
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBTgvK6LQqA
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