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It has been a busy year for publishers with some 150 books related to 9-11 hitting shelves |
The last year has been a busy one for those in the publishing business. According to some estimates, some 150 books have been released on subjects related to 9-11. In their rush to meet the growing demands of the public publishers have been churning out works covering all aspects of the tragedy from different viewpoints.
From a feminist viewpoint (September 11: Feminist Perspectives By Susan Hawthorne) to the perspective of cartoonists’ pens (BOK! The 9.11 Crisis in Political Cartoons By Chio Bok) you will find books from the entire spectrum of human experience. With the growing interest in Islam & Muslims publishers have also been re-releasing old works and publishing brand new titles on related subjects.
Initially there was such a tremendous demand that copies of the translation of The Holy Qur’an had to be airlifted from the UK. Copies of any books on Islam or Muslims flew away as they climbed the charts of top-sellers lists at Amazon.com and the New York Times.
An adverse effect of this was that pseudo-Islamic sects like Qadianis and the “Submitters” also got their chance to push their works as representing genuine Islam. The translation of the Holy Qur’an by a Qadiani scholar Allama Nooruddin (The Holy Quran: An English Translation By Nooruddin et al) was widely available at book stores and was even recommended by sites like Salon.com. This aberration not withstanding, translations accepted by mainstream Muslims like The Meaning of The Holy Quran By Abdullah Yusuf Ali & The Meaning of The Glorious Qur’an by Marmaduke Pickthall also made record sales.
The 9-11 tragedy also gave an opportunity to Islam bashers to display their new wares. The two veterans of this field, Daniel Pipes and Steve Emerson, came out with new books once again displaying their hatred of Islam and Muslims – Militant Islam and American Jihad: Terrorists Living Among Us. Pipes repeats the same arguments again and again even though they have been refuted several times by scholars like Dr. Maher Hathout. Pipes' intellectual mentor, Bernard Lewis (despite his biases), documents the decline of the Islamic civilization in a balanced and thought-provoking work appropriately titled What Went Wrong—Western Impact and Middle Eastern Response.
Other works by Western scholars who have tried to address the issue of Islam and violence in a relatively balanced way include Dilip Hiro’s War Without End and Milton Viorst’s In the Shadow of the Prophet.
John Esposito in Unholy Wars—Terror in the Name of Islam, provides an accurate picture of Islam as practiced by most Muslims. He argues that the Muslim world’s hatred of the West is not driven by religion but by frustration over the inequities of American policies. He rejects that idea of ‘clash of civilization’ and urges the international community not to precipitate a global clash of cultures.
Left-leaning and anti-war American scholars have criticized America’s current foreign policy and the ongoing war. The most notable among these being Howard Zinn’s Terrorism and War and Noam Chomsky’s 9-11.
Christian religious publishers came out with quite a few books about Islam of their own. George Grant in The Blood of the Moon provides an utterly nonsensical introduction to the struggle between Islamic and Western civilizations. The title of this book itself is based on a completely inaccurate translation of a Qur’anic verse. Evangelist Franklin Graham in The Name again resorts to defaming through his ill-informed comments.
Not all Christian publishers have been bigoted in their products, however. Lee Griffith in The War on Terrorism and the Terror of God, debunks the myth that Islam has monopoly over terrorism. He explains that violent traits are to be found in every faith tradition. Dr. Bill Baker in More in Common than you Think concentrates on the commonalities between the two faith traditions.
Muslim authors, even though absent from the initial publishing rush, are beginning to appear with appropriate works. Dr. Maher Hathout in Jihad vs Terrorism demolishes the stereotypes associated with the Islamic concept of Jihad. Seyyed Hossein Nasr in The Heart of Islam: Enduring Values for Humanity, argues that the terrorist perversion of Jihad has nothing to do with the Islamic concept of just-war. Columnist Muqtedar Khan in American Muslims: Bridging Faith and Freedom, critiques the extremist streaks within some Muslim circles and highlights the tradition of peace and tolerance inherent in Islamic teachings. Mustafa El-Amin in Christianity and Islam highlights the similarities between the two religions and how peace can be achieved through mutual cooperation.
The sheer number of books that are being published seems overwhelming. What impact all these books will have on future remains to be seen. 9-11 has created opportunities for Muslims as well as non-Muslims to better understand each other. Books offer an easy window towards this exploration. Muslims should rise to the occasion and do everything possible to present the accurate picture of Islam through this important medium.
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