<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<\/p>Last year, I did a lot of reading\u00a0(probably the most since I graduated from college) and I thought it would a good idea to share my top 5 books (for some reason, I like listing things in\u00a05\u00a0digit intervals:)).<\/p>\n
Some of these I have not fully completed reading yet, but have read enough of them to recommend them all:)!\u00a0 These are not in any particular order, but they are all very good in their own right.\u00a0 They all relate to Islam and Muslims in someway or the other, but most of them would also be of interest to Non-Muslim readers as well.\u00a0 So Pick them up at your local bookstore (or online) and enjoy your reading!<\/p>\n
1. CAIRO: A Graphic Novel by G. Willow Wilson<\/strong>.\u00a0 I use to read a lot of comic books when I was younger, so when I found out about this graphic novel written by\u00a0American-Muslim convert Willow Wilson, I quickly grabbed it from Amazon.com.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Willow, a journalist, spent some time in Cairo, so she is very familiar with life there.\u00a0 The story is very unique in that in intertwines reality with fantasy and has some politics and religion mixed in for good measure as well.\u00a0\u00a0The cast of characters in the story include a\u00a0a drug runner, a down-on-his-luck journalist, an American expatriate, a young activist, an Israeli soldier, and a genie (who is actually a Jinn) as they navigate the city\u2019s streets and spiritual underworld to find a stolen hooka sought by a wrathful gangster-magician. The novel is illustrated by Turkish artist M.K. Perker.\u00a0 I enjoyed the story as well as the artwork very much, and my only complaint is that it ended too soon!\u00a0 This may have something to do with the graphic novel format, as Willow also has an award winning comic book series called \u201cAIR\u201d (which I still need to get my hands on)!\u00a0 In any case, CAIRO is definitely worth picking up\u00a0and would make\u00a0a good gift for both youth and adult comic book readers!\u00a0 Note: Seattle based Willow has recently\u00a0completed her first book,\u00a0\u201cButterfly Mosque,\u201d and will be doing a book tour with a stop in the Bay Area in the Summer (June\/July 2010), InshaAllah.<\/p>\n 2. Master of the Jinn: A Sufi Novel by Irving Karchmar.\u00a0<\/strong> Author Irving Karchmar, a darvishof the Nimatullahi Sufi Order since 1992, has masterfully written an engaging story which\u00a0combines real Sufi traditions with a fantasy\u00a0adventure along the lines of \u201cThe Lord of the Rings\u201d and \u201cIndiana Jones\u201d!\u00a0\u00a0The story involves a great Sufi Master, his\u00a0darvishs\u00a0and\u00a0their anthropologist friends who are in search of\u00a0King Solomon\u2019s ring \u2013 which\u00a0gave him the power\u00a0over the Jinn (smokeless spirits of fire).\u00a0 The story can definitely be made into a movie, which I believe a script\u00a0for is in the works, as it\u00a0has many interesting characters, a great story and a good message \u2013 The path of Love and the infinite mercy of God is all that we need to overcome\u00a0the difficulties in our lives.\u00a0 The book is very popular across the world and has been translated into many languages including Indonesian, Turkish, German, Russian and Spanish.\u00a0 One aspect of the book which I personally like\u00a0is the mention of many\u00a0Islamic and Sufi terminology which\u00a0are also translated and explained during the story, which shows how\u00a0the author is trying to educate his readers and explain the beauty of Islam through a fictional story.\u00a0<\/p>\n 3. The Accepted Whispers by Mawlana Ashraf Ali Thanawi.<\/strong> This is a collection of 200 du\u2019as (supplications to God) from the Qur\u2019an and the Hadith complied by the great Islamic scholar Mawlana Ashraf Ali Thanawi. This great book is well known in the Indian sub-continent as \u201cMunajat-e-Maqbul\u201d and has been translated into the English language by Khalid Baig.\u00a0 It contains du\u2019as\u00a0one should recite every day of the week.\u00a0 It also gives the history and explanation of\u00a0each du\u2019a.\u00a0 This is the type of book that one does not \u201cfinish\u201d reading, but one in which you keep by your bedside and try to read a du\u2019a or two every night so as to spiritually benefit you and your family.\u00a0 Which is something I\u2019m trying to do.<\/p>\n 4. Al\u2019 America:\u00a0 Travels through America\u2019s Arab and Islamic Roots by Jonathan Curiel.\u00a0 <\/strong>This is the perfect book to give to your Non-Muslim friends and neighbors, especially those who believe that Islam and Muslims have not influenced American society in a positive way. Even for those people who are educated and are familiar with many of the contributions to American food, culture, art, music and Architecture that the Arab and Muslim people have made since the beginning of the country would be surprised to read about the many examples that one would never think of.\u00a0 For example: the ice cream cone was invented by\u00a0Abe Doumar,\u00a0a Syrian Immigrant, during the St. Louis World\u2019s Fair.\u00a0 Most people are aware that Jazz and Blues music was heavily influenced by\u00a0Islamic culture and music from Africa, but most people are unaware that one of the most popular bands of the 60\u2019s, \u201cthe Doors\u201d, were influenced by Arab and MiddleEastern music as well.\u00a0 In terms of Architecture, there are many buildings both from the past as well as the present that were influenced by Islamic Architecture.\u00a0 Most of the San Jose Missions in the Southwestern United States are direct copies of famous Moorish (Islamic) buildings in Spain such as the Cordoba Mosque and the Alhambra Palace in Granada.\u00a0 One of the most famous buildings in American History \u2013 \u201cThe Alamo\u201d, is also a Spanish Mission which has direct Islamic Architectural elements such as the rectangular overhang that frames the entire doorway or an \u201cAlfiz\u201d in Arabic.\u00a0 The Alamo also contained geometric frescoes (which were painted over by the military) which featured floral patterns and pomegranates.\u00a0 There are many examples listed in Curiel\u2019s educational book, ranging from the obvious (English words derived from Arabic such as \u201ccoffee\u201d, \u201calgebra\u201d\u00a0and \u201cgiraffe\u201d) to the less familiar (such as the \u201cIranistan\u201d \u2013 a Taj Mahal like home built by P.T. Barnum).\u00a0 The one complaint I have about the book is that there are no pictures included alongside the many examples and detailed descriptions listed in it.\u00a0 I have attended two presentations made by Jonathan Curiel in the Bay Area in which he presented a detailed slideshow which included not only pictures but also some songs and music which give another dimension to the words he writes in his book.\u00a0 Jonathan stated that his publisher did not include any pictures in the book to save on costs,\u00a0but I hope that eventually another printing in the near future will have some images\u00a0 such as the ones he has shown on his\u00a0 website<\/a>.\u00a0 Note: Jonathan Curiel will be speaking at the \u201cIslam and Authors\u201d series in April 2010 at the Islamic Cultural Center in Northern California (ICCNC<\/a>).\u00a0 If you are in the Bay Area, I highly recommend people to attend his presentation as it is a\u00a0great eye opener for both Non-Muslims as well as Muslims in the United States!<\/p>\n 5. Reel Bad Arabs: How Hollywood Vilifes a People by Jack G. Shaheen.<\/strong> This book is a culmination of over 30 years of study by Dr. Jack Shaheen, a former CBS News consultant, on how Arabs and Muslims have been depicted in U.S.\u00a0Feature Films.\u00a0 I first came across Dr.\u00a0Shaheen\u2019s work about 15 years ago when my father gave me his book \u201cThe TV Arab\u201d which\u00a0showed how some of the most popular TV shows over the past 30 years (the book was first published in 1984) depicted Arabs and Muslims in a negative and stereotypical light.\u00a0 Ever since reading that book, I have been interested in Media Activism and became more involved\u00a0in my local Muslim communities media involvement by helping to start a Media Outreach committee at my local masjid, SBIA<\/a>, in San Jose, CA.\u00a0 Dr. Shaheen\u2019s latest book, \u201cReel Bad Arabs\u201d was first published in 2001 and updated in 2009 and features over 1,000 feature films which are categorized\u00a0alphabetically.\u00a0 Each of the films are tagged with\u00a0labels\u00a0such as \u201cVillans\u201d,\u00a0\u201cSheikhs\u201d, \u201cMaidens\u201d, \u201cEgyptians\u201d, and \u201cPalestinians\u201d \u2013 which are related to one of the\u00a0major stereotypes of Arabs and Muslims in\u00a0Hollywood movies.\u00a0\u00a0This book is great for anyone who is doing a research paper on muslims in the media or other related topics, because you can easily look up movies and read a synopsis of the story and why it is\u00a0labelled as it is.\u00a0 Of course not all the films are bad, as besides the \u201cWorst\u201d films for Arabs and Muslims, there are also\u00a0the \u201cBest List\u201d and \u201cRecommended Viewing\u201d films as well.\u00a0 I dont agree with all the\u00a0tags which\u00a0Dr. Shaheen and his team have put on each film. For example they tagged: \u201cWorst List\u201d for the 1985 Classic \u201cBack to the Future\u201d (Although I understand why since the movie just throws in some bad guy Libiyans for no apparent reason), but one has to keep in mind that this book is written solely for the purpose of recording how Arabs and Muslims are depicted and not anything else in terms of storytelling, special effects\u00a0or\u00a0the other technical aspects of filmmaking.<\/p>\n Of course there are many more books which are out there, but these are some of the best that I have read most recently.\u00a0 I have also personally met and\/or\u00a0interacted with\u00a0most of the 5 authors that I have listed above and know that they are all good people who are great writers, journalists and authors.\u00a0 We should support them as much as we can by buying their books and telling others about them.\u00a0 For those\u00a0of you in the Bay Area, please try to attend the great \u201cIslam and Authors\u201d series which is being organized by ILLUME, ING\u00a0and ICCNC.\u00a0 The next event will be on Sat. Jan. 23rd with Writer and Playwright Wajahat Ali who will discuss his play\u00a0\u201cThe Domestic Crusaders\u201d.\u00a0 You can watch an interview that ILLUME did\u00a0with Wajahat here:<\/p>\n