In the summer of 1996, Yusha Evans went on a passage through the Bible and its four Gospel. He scrutinized more than five different religions in search of God and His message. In 1998, he reverted to Islam. He yearned for the truth in life which is to “Worship God alone as one, obey Him and His Messenger to go to Heaven,” of which he found through Islam.

"The Way of the Strangers is an intimate journey into the minds of the Islamic State's true believers. From the streets of Cairo to the mosques of London, Wood interviews supporters, recruiters, and sympathizers of the group...Wood speaks with non-Islamic State Muslim scholars and jihadists, and explores the group's idiosyncratic, coherent approach to Islam...Through character study and analysis, Wood provides a clear-eyed look at a movement that has inspired so many people to abandon or uproot their families.

A bold new conceptualization of Islam that reflects its contradictions and rich diversity What is Islam? How do we grasp a human and historical phenomenon characterized by such variety and contradiction? What is "Islamic" about Islamic philosophy or Islamic art? Should we speak of Islam or of islams? Should we distinguish the Islamic (the religious) from the Islamicate (the cultural)? Or should we abandon "Islamic" altogether as an analytical term? In What Is Islam?, Shahab Ahmed presents a bold new conceptualization of Islam that challenges dominant understandings grounded in the categories of "religion" and "culture" or those that privilege law and scripture. He argues that these modes of thinking obstruct us from understanding Islam, distorting it, diminishing it, and rendering it incoherent. What Is Islam? formulates a new conceptual language for analyzing Islam. It presents a new paradigm of how Muslims have historically understood divine revelation—one that enables us to understand how and why Muslims through history have embraced values such as exploration, ambiguity, aestheticization, polyvalence, and relativism, as well as practices such as figural art, music, and even wine drinking as Islamic. It also puts forward a new understanding of the historical constitution of Islamic law and its relationship to philosophical ethics and political theory. A book that is certain to provoke debate and significantly alter our understanding of Islam, What Is Islam? reveals how Muslims have historically conceived of and lived with Islam as norms and truths that are at once contradictory yet coherent.

`` Behold all that is around you on earth: things, plants, insects, animals, birds and fishes…. Don't you see that they have accurate systems governing and guiding their life? Behold all that is above you in space: sun, moon, planets, stars, clouds, wind…etc., are not they all functioning properly and accurately and rendering valuable services to our life on earth? Think of yourself, of your organs, of your numerous and efficient body systems, how they are cooperatively functioning to secure healthful life for you! 5. Who created all these fantastic things? Who established their accurate systems? Who is controlling this huge and complicated universe? 6. No one dared so far to claim creating, or being able to create, any single thing, even a hair!! The Creator and The Sustainer of all these creatures is One only; if there were more than one there would have been confusion in the heavens and the earth! That One is Allah (the Only true God). It is very logical, then, to acknowledge this fact, to know our Creator and Provider, to be grateful to Him and to submit ourselves and our life to His Wise and Merciful Guidance. Our Creator has endowed us with intellect to understand, and with freedom to choose the right path. Allah has showed us the right path through His Messengers sealed by Muhammad, and His Books completed by Al-Qur’an. In front of us there are two ways: One is leading to bliss in this life and in the Hereafter, that is Islam. The other is leading to misery and loss in this world, and to eternal punishment in the Hereafter. Choice is in our hands, what are we going to choose? May Allah guide us into the Right Path! Amen! `` Descriptor(s): ISLAMIC MISSIONARY | HOMILETICS | FAITH | WORSHIP | ISLAMIC INVOCATIONS | MORALS | MUSLIM WOMEN

A searing portrait of Muslim life in the West, this “profound and intimate” memoir captures one man’s struggle to forge an American Muslim identity (Washington Post) Haroon Moghul was thrust into the spotlight after 9/11, becoming an undergraduate leader at New York University’s Islamic Center forced into appearances everywhere: on TV, before interfaith audiences, in print. Moghul was becoming a prominent voice for American Muslims even as he struggled with his relationship to Islam. In high school he was barely a believer and entirely convinced he was going to hell. He sometimes drank. He didn’t pray regularly. All he wanted was a girlfriend. But as he discovered, it wasn’t so easy to leave religion behind. To be true to himself, he needed to forge a unique American Muslim identity that reflected his beliefs and personality. How to Be a Muslim reveals a young man coping with the crushing pressure of a world that fears Muslims, struggling with his faith and searching for intellectual forebears, and suffering the onset of bipolar disorder. This is the story of the second-generation immigrant, of what it’s like to lose yourself between cultures and how to pick up the pieces.

Experiences of American women choosing Islam.

"Muslims have always been part of the United States, but very little is known about how Muslim Americans practice their religion. How do they pray? What's it like to go on pilgrimage to Mecca? What rituals accompany the birth of a child, a wedding, or the death of a loved one? What holidays do Muslims celebrate and what charities do they support? How do they learn about the Qur'an? [This book] introduces readers to the way Islam is lived in the United States, offering ... portraits of Muslim American life passages, ethical actions, religious holidays, prayer, pilgrimage, and other religious activities"--Back cover.