Guys heres my reading list. It would be nice to compare what we have read and share recommendations.
Enjoy!
Blimey. No light reading for you then.
What the Koran Really Says: Language, Text and Commentary - Ibn Warraq
Infidel - Ayaan Hirsi Ali
I am wary of Hirsi Ali, and not interested in ibn Warraq. I tend to think that those books aren't meant for me anyway - the ex-Muslim. I think they are meant for another audience.
Portable Atheist: Essential Readings for the Non-Believer - Christopher Hitchens
The God Delusion - Richard Dawkins
Letter to a Christian Nation - Sam Harris
Atheism: The Case Against God - George H. Smith
God the Failed Hypothesis: How Science Shows That God Does Not Exist - Victor J. Stenger
God is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything - Christopher Hitchens
I have read most of 'The God Delusion' and about half of 'God is Not Great'. I have the other books but haven't read them yet. I don't know if I will. I got them in a fit of enthusiasm and now I'm sort of getting over being an atheist, if you know what I mean. Plus my life keeps intruding!
Scattered Pictures: Reflections Of An American Muslim - Imam Zaid Shakir
Half of that book, maybe more, is available on his website if you really care what he says. Which I don't, LOL. But back when I did sort of care, I noticed that the book is basically a rehashing of essays he'd already posted online or in a magazine, so I just flipped through it at a friend's house.
Fiqh Al-imam: Key Proofs In Hanafi Fiqh - Abdur-Rahman Ibn Yusuf
Yuck. To be honest, I am glad I am through feeling obligated to read or purchase books like this, especially by people I find reprehensible, like this particular guy (why - because of his attitude towards women among other things).
Muhammad: His Life Based on the Earliest Sources - Martin Lings
I used to think this book was quite lovely and maybe it is if you approach it as you would Greek myths or any other 'faerie' tales.
Even Angels Ask: A Journey to Islam in America - Jeffrey Lang
Losing My Religion: A Call For Help - Jeffrey Lang
Struggling to Surrender: Some Impressions of an American Convert to Islam - Jeffrey Lang
That man has some serious problems with the deen and I hope that he soon sees his way out, if he hasn't already. I found his books depressing when I was a Muslim because I didn't like that he was pointing out all these horrible problems.
The Broken Chain - Aftab Ahmad Malik
I read it and can't remember anything about it. Big impression!
Al-Ghazali on the Remembrance of Death and the Afterlife - Abu Hamid Muhammad ibn Muhammad al- Ghazali
Al-Ghazali's Path to Sufism: His Deliverance from Error - Abu Hamid Muhammad al-Ghazali
Inner Dimensions of Islamic Worship - Abu Hamid Muhammad ibn Muhammad al- Ghazali
The hikmah! The haqq! The wonders of Islam contained within his frontal lobe! Actually, I have many of his works, some translated by our man Tim, but I always thought they were fairly boring. I felt obligated to keep these works out and praise them, even though they did nothing for me.
Purification of the Heart: Signs, Symptoms and Cures of the Spiritual Diseases of the Heart - Hamza Yusuf
A great Ramadan read.
For the most part, I don't want to read about Islam anymore. I am somewhat interested in the political side of things, but not too much. I have so much on my plate right now, the most I can muster is chick-lit and light memoirs. What I do wish is that there were books about people leaving Islam. I know ibn Warraq wrote one once, an anthology of essays or something, but I haven't seen it in years.
Topic: Reading List