Books/Links

Books

	'Al-Ghazali on Islamic Guidance' is a translation from the Arabic, by M. A. Quasem, of Imam abu Hamid al-Ghazali's 'Bidayatul Hidaya' or the 'Beginning of Guidance'. As the title suggests it is a book written for those at the beginning of the path. It is a comprehensive account of how the Muslim should try to organise his/her time on a daily basis in the best of ways.
	'Key to the Garden' by Habib Ahmad Mashhur al-Haddad (Translated from the Arabic by Mostafa al-Badawi). The Muslim Testimony of Faith, that there is no deity save God, is at once the essence and the highest principle of Islam. This book is a demonstration, of how the whole spectrum of Islamic thought and worship unfolds naturally from these few words.
	'Unveiling Islam' by Roger DuPasquier (Translated from the French by T. J. Winter). 'Unveiling Islam' is a book written for those with little or no prior understanding of Islam by providing a thorough introduction to Muslim belief, history and culture. Not only are issues such as "Fundamentalism" and the status of Muslim women presented, but it also provides an overview of the Qur’an, the Prophet, Islamic history, the development of sects and the nature of Muslim art and literature.
	'Islam: Religion of Life' by Abdul Wadod Shalabi is written about Islam from within. The book aims to accurately introduce Islam to both Muslims and non-Muslims alike, seeking to show something of the true nature of the faith, thereby challenging the accepted stereotypes which compromise the present dialogue of civilizations. By explaining the significance of the formal practices and doctrines of the Islamic religion, it endeavors to build a bridge over the irrational gulf cleaving apart two cultures.

'Islam and the Destiny of Man' by Charles Le Gai Eaton. A remarkable book exploring the essence of what it means to be Muslim in the modern world. It reviews the confrontation between Islam and Christendom in history and it compares the tree monotheistic faiths. It examines the role of the Qur'an and the Prophet in forming the Muslim view of man's destiny. This book is concerned "with the very nature of religious faith, its spiritual and intellectual foundations, and the light it casts upon the mysteries and paradoxes of the human condition".

Links

• http://www.newmuslimsproject.net/
  The New Muslims project was established to identify the needs, and provide support to, those interested in and new to Islam. It is supported by an advisory board of converts of various years’ experience, and offers a newsletter for New Muslims produced three times a year.

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• http://www.islamfortoday.com/converts.htm"
  An Internet home for theologically motivated Western converts to Islam and a source of information for non-Muslims seeking a knowledge and understanding of Islam" - Islam for today website

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• http://islamicity.com/Mosque/uiatm/un_islam.htm
  A valuable website containing a guide to 'Understanding Islam and the Muslims.'

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• http://www.iad.org/
  For an introduction to Islam

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• http://convertstoislam.org/index.htm
  A website for converts by converts of formerly Hindu, Jewish, Christian and Buddhist religious backgrounds.

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• http://www.islam-guide.com/
  A brief illustarted guide to understanding Islam and Muslims

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Articles

Articles about converts to Islam:

• Islamic converts defend their faith against terrorism, December 2002
  Reaction to the September 11 attacks among the 20,000 Britons who have converted to Islam over the past 20 years ranged from outrage at the loss of innocent life to sympathy for the perpetrators' anti-American cause. But the dominant feeling remains one of anger that the atrocities have undermined the peaceful teachings of the Koran.

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• Young, female AND Muslim - St. Petersburg Times, October 2002
  Every year, about 20,000 people in the United States convert to Islam. Of these converts, there are more women than men, the majority of them young and unmarried. They come to Islam because they have Muslim co-workers and friends, or because they start studying and find they agree with the tenets of a religion that emphasizes modesty and community.

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• Why I took the hijab - The Guardian, July 2002
  A little over four weeks ago I recited a simple declaration, the shahada. "I bear witness that there is no God but Allah and I bear witness that Mohammed is His messenger," I said; and from that moment, I was a Muslim...the moment I said those words, my heart filled with joy and love and it took about four days for me to come back down off the ceiling.

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• 'The new face of Islam - Evening Standard, March 2002
  Several London mosques have been reporting an increase in the number of converts to Islam, especially since 11 September ...many of these converts are from solid middle-class backgrounds, have successful careers, enjoy active social lives and are fundamentally happy with their lot.

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• Mum, I've decided I want to follow Allah - The Herald, March 2002
  Western women are turning to Islam in rapidly increasing numbers. KAY JARDINE discovers why they are so keen to become Muslims

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• Islam's Female Converts - Newsday Inc, February 2002
  Despite the persistent image of the oppressed Muslim woman, about 7,000 of those converts each year are women, according to the report of a study led by Ihsan Bagby, a professor of international studies at Shaw University in Raleigh, N.C. ...

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• 'Allah came knocking at my heart' - The Times, January 2002
  Anecdotal evidence suggests that there has been a surge in conversions to Islam since September 11, especially among affluent young white Britons

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Articles by converts to Islam:

• Hamza Yusuf: Islam has a progressive tradition too
  The Guardian, June 2002
  The entrenched beliefs many westerners profess about Islam often reveal more about the west than they do about Islam or Muslims.

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• Charles Le Gai Eaton: Islam Today
  We tend to assume, when trying to come to terms with the modern world, that Western civilization will go on, if not for ever, at least for the foreseeable future. Yet, like every other civilization or culture, it contains within itself the seeds of its own destruction... but what we possess — in the Qur’an and in the Sunnah of our Prophet (SAW) — is incalculably more precious than anything that the West holds in its hands today.

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• Gai Eaton: The Roots of Western Culture
  The Qur’anic Horizons Jan-March 1998
  The threat to the Muslims is no longer from a rival religious faith but from a sector of the world that has lost the gift of faith and no longer knows where to seek it. In practice, this is a more dangerous threat than was represented by Christianity in the past; a more subtle and insidious threat, because it appeals to the traitor within our own breasts, the whisperer who whispers: "How can you be sure? How can you be sure that there is anything beyond this world of the senses? How can you believe in something unseen, unheard, unfelt?"

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Introduction

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