"STREET LIT AWARD GOES TO ............AL-SAADIQ"
934424
WELL, AL-SAADIQ YOU DID IT AGAIN. IF THERE WAS AN AWARD AND I WERE A JUDGE YOU WOULD GET IT. I TRULY ENJOYED THE BOOK. YOU TOUCH ON HUSTLERS IN ALL FORMS. THE ILLUSIONS THAT PEOPLE HAVE OF THE GAME IS SOMETHING TO RECKON WITH. CAUGHT UM SLIPPING DEALS WITH A LOT ISSUES THAT HUSLTERS GO THROUGH FROM, ETHICS TO VALUES. THIS IS  A MUST READ FOR PEOPLE WHO COME FROM THE DIRT, IT ALSO ENLIGHTENS FOLKS WHO HAVE NO IDEA ABOUT WHATS GOING ON THE STREETS. THIS BOOK GETS 5 STARS. SO ENJOY THE READ, AND FIND OUT HOW YOU GET "CAUGHT SLIPPIN"
1729534
And the Mountains Echoed was everything I expected.  After reading The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns, I knew I was going to love it.  Khaled Hosseini's writings is like reading poetry.  He writes with such a beautiful even flow....Just like the feathers Abdullah had saved for his beloved sister, Pari.  Of all the books I have ever read, Khaled Hosseini's books are the only ones I could read over and over again.  Thank you Khaled for sharing your gift from God.
2881793
In this collection of poetry by Rafey Habib, To a Suicide Bomber resonated the most with me. The poem addresses terrorists who murder innocent people in the name of God. Its such a problem in this day and age because there are a handful of Muslim terrorist organizations who commit such horrendous acts, and in the name of Islam. They make the rest of the world assume that Islam is a religion of hatred and murder, when that is simply not the case. This especially bothers me because people assume that all Muslims are terrorists and they're too ignorant to understand that what these Muslims are doing is strictly against the religion.
3124810
Like a modern troubadour, the celebrated Iraqi poet Saadi Youssef has lived in wandering exile from his homeland for more than thirty years. This selection of his lyrical, lucid and accessible poems, translated into vivid English by Khalded Mattawa, brims with love, sorrow and beauty.
2147711
No translation of the Qur'an, it is said, can capture the full meaning or beauty of the Arabic original;  and I am not qualified to compare this translation into English (printed side-by-side with the Arabic) with the many other ones, except to say that this translation is set out in a free verse format (in a series of short lines, each beginning with a capital letter) where the Dawood translation, for example, translates the text as prose.  Here the surahs are printed in the traditional sequence (longest first, shortest last), where Dawood and others have rearranged them in a roughly chronological one.

What makes this beautifully printed edition exceptionally valuable are the 6,300 explanatory footnotes to the text.  There is also an index which helps one quickly to locate all the references to, for example, Abraham, the Creation, Women, etc.  Then, introducing various sections of the surahs, Abdullah Yusuf Ali has written 300 Commentaries in rhythmic prose, the idea being to give readers a general idea of the text which follows.  There is also an index which helps one quickly to locate all the references to, for example, Abraham, the Creation, Women, etc.

Abdullah Yusuf Ali died in 1952, and this 2006 edition is the eleventh of a book which was first published in 1934: it has been revised several times - the footnotes in particular - to update or clarify earlier versions.
2659628
Alaa Al Aswany made his literary mark in 2002 when he wrote The Yacoubian Building, the "best-selling novel in Egypt for two years," according to National Geographic, and a hugely popular Egyptian film. Now Al Aswany may become even more famous for a series of articles published in Egypt's opposition press from 2005 to the date of the revolution. Always a believer in human rights, which he believed were being trampled during the thirty-year rule of Hosni Mubarak, the author was a vocal supporter of those who were beginning to challenge Mubarak publicly. In this collection of his articles, beginning in 2005, Al Aswany uses his literary power and popularity to try to reach all elements of Egyptian society, examining some of the issues which have separated Egyptians from each other in an effort to show the importance of cooperation for the larger purpose of ousting the regime and bringing about democracy in a country which has known only despotism, poverty, and corruption for decades. Few who read these articles will doubt their impact on the populace, leading eventually to the demonstrations in Tahrir Square and the far-reaching revolution which began on January 25, 2011, and continued for eighteen days.

At the beginning of the book, Al Aswany explains that repression and poverty were so long-standing that the populace, over two or three generations, had learned submission, and no organized system existed to provide a way for the masses to rebel. Those lucky enough to have jobs, had to work, and these found their own personal solutions to their economic and personal crises. Many talented and educated people left the country because they did not have personal connections to government officials who would hire them. The poor starved.  More recently, Saudi oil money, with the blessing of the Mubarak regime, financed the promotion of Wahhabi Islam within Egypt, a very conservative and fundamental interpretation of Islam which requires obeying the ruler, no matter how corrupt he might be.

Many of the local television stations, owned by Saudis, even now feature uneducated Wahhabi preachers who appeal specifically to Egypt's poor and often illiterate in an effort to sway them to this extremely conservative--and very controlling--Wahhabi point of view. Wahhabi wives and daughters are required to wear the face-covering niqab, though as recently as the 1970s, Egyptian women were treated as full human beings, and wore modern clothing that revealed their arms and legs. Ironically, as the author points out, sexual harassment was much less common then than in the present. In addition, the more this movement grew, the more women were taken out of the government's equation, and the more secure the regime could feel.

Comprehensive examples of the Mubarak regime's many long-standing economic and social abuses, too numerous to mention here, are cited in these articles, which cover just about every issue in Egyptian life, including religion. Of special significance to the author is the fact that President Mubarak did not defend Egypt even when Egyptians were detained and flogged in Saudi Arabia, tortured in Kuwait, killed by Israelis on the Egyptian border, or attacked by Algerians during a World Cup soccer match. On January 25, 2011, when a call went out on the internet to demonstrate in Tahrir Square, about 200 - 300 people were expected. Over a million showed up. The author was there giving speeches for eighteen straight days, returning home only briefly during that time, because, he says over and over again, "Democracy is the solution." An eye-opening and important book for those who care about justice. Mary Whipple

<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/The-Yacoubian-Building-A-Novel/dp/0060878134/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">The Yacoubian Building: A Novel</a>
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Mind you, I got this for free cause Amazon Prime. So, I'm way more lenient and forgiving than I would be if money had been spent.

Saladin Ahmed is an interesting writer in the sense that he's not writing in a particularly interesting way or in an unique one that makes him stand out from the crowd but what he has is a cross cultural flavor that lets him seem a lot more interesting due to a lack of familiarity. I dogged a little on him but his writing isn't bad. It's just very matter of fact and I do appreciate that. He writes a lot like the old pulps where journalists who were only interested in getting the action across would write up stories filled with action cause it's what they knew. Ahmed gets action. It's just not unique. Even the stuff he's describing is pretty basic stuff. It's just told in a very efficient matter. Interestingly, he gets a lot of personality info across in actions as well. Again, it's an old fashion technique but one that's kind of been missing for a bit.

Now, the thing that makes him unique to a lot of critics and what he plays into is being a half Middle Eastern (not sure from where) American and the cultural flavor he can bring. I personally enjoyed it cause it's fun to read stuff that's new or in my case reminds me of all the Middle Eastern people I used to work with. He does a great job of getting cultural personality across as mentioned earlier and it's clear that he has a grasp on a culture that he's not fully part of but can help adapt to western entertainment. I don't know how long he can keep this gimmick up. Especially since there are some very good Middle East writers like Kamel Daoud waiting about in the wings. Ahmed does however have some chops and certainly shows promise here.

I understand this is all early work and I haven't found a cheap copy of his novel yet. I understand he spends most of his time mouthing off on twitter which is a shame. It seems like a place where writers go to remind you don't want to buy their work cause they're sometimes insufferable even when you're agreeing with them. However, I got some hope as typically any early short story collection tends to be rough but this is pretty readable. Hopefully, his maturity can catch up with his obvious raw talent.
1103426
So much verses from the Quraan posted without the contest and without mentioning what is before and after verses. I hope the writer were not expressing the extrem other idea. Any writer respect himself should seek to be neutral but obviously the book is not!.
2721211
After the travesty of "The Gathering" being named the best work of fiction in 2007, I had given up on the Booker as the standard bearer of quality or guide for readers of serious fiction. I am therefore delighted to say that with last year's choice for the prestigious award, my faith in the committee's judgment has been restored. Aravind Adiga's debut novel, "The White Tiger (WT)" could be the most contemporary and relevant prize winner of the past 5 years. In a year when the feel good movie "Slumdog Millionaire" won the Oscar for Best Film, it is entirely fitting and congruous that a book such as WT that exposes the underbelly of moral degeneracy and corruption infecting modern Indian should be named the Booker winner. Are they not in a sense mirror images of one another ?

WT has been well reviewed so it would be pointless for me to get into plot details or what the book is all about. Suffice it is for me to say that in the central character of Balram Halwai, Adiga has served up a most unusual hero (or anti-hero), a cold blooded murderer - immoral or amoral, it's up to you - birthed by an ancient civilization coming of age in a rapidly globalising world, its position secure as the undisputed favourite outsourcing destination for developed countries. How is this centuries old, rigidly caste bound (and in some ways) feudal society that has a gridlock on the minds and destiny of its inhabitants to make sense of a world order promising social mobility and encouraging every man to believe that he can be whosoever he aspires to be ?

The Stork, the Buffalo, the Wild Boar, the Raven, Ashok, Pinky Madam, etc - they are from the economically and socially privileged classes, and though each of them is better or worse than the other by degrees, fact is, they are finally the same. They are selfish, beastly, lacking in moral courage, and yet able to get away with the most loathsome and unconscionable acts (eg, getting a servant to admit to a crime committed by his master) only because the unwritten rules of society allow them to. The "rooster coop" is the symbol the author uses to define the numbed mindset of the underprivileged - it is invisible yet unrelenting in its reach. It is up to Balram to prove to himself and those like him that it is indeed possible to redefine one's own destiny. The murder he commits is dastardly, but isn't it entirely conceivable that our Balram could, with a bit of bad luck, be the one rotting away in jail or even executed, for his social superior's crime and wouldn't it just be an ordinary day in the park for everybody else ?

Presented as a series of late night penned letters to the visiting Chinese premier, WT offers a clever and sly critique of modern India and is chockfull of ironies mercilessly rendered in wonderfully humorous prose. It was great fun to read and the fact that it is still high on the bestsellers list more than a year after its publication suggests that it has struck a resounding chord with the reading public. At long last, a truly worthy Booker winner !
3785301
For anyone muslim who bought this with the intention of learning his releigion I can only say that from what Ive read in the first volume, the aqeeda (belief system) is on point. However, I researched further into Sheikh Ashqar and it seems he had some ties with Ikhwaan Muslimeen in Egypt. For anyone looking to attach themselves to the Salafi Dawah this causes a problem because all of the modern day scholars have spoken out against Ikhwaan Muslimeen because they promote tebelling against the ruler and are proponents of Sayd Qutb, who is also another person spoke. Out against due to his straying from the path of the Sunnah. So be on guard if you choose to read this series. It is written very well and the Sheikh brings a softer, deeper writing style than some of the other creed books out there that sometimes come across too much like a text book. If I had to recommend a book on creed and belief I would recommend Foundations of the Sunnah by Ahmed ibn Hanbal and published by Salafi Publications for a concise to the point understanding of belief and creed of one of the 4 Great Imaams.
4456671
As usual Sa'id delivers one helluva good story.  I thought Killa was sick but ain't got nothing on Yolo.  Once agai Sa'id pens a vicious tell of a natural born killer.  Yolo didn't stand a chance with the influence she was raised under.  This author is very detailed and descriptive in his storytelling.  Each time I read something from him it amazes me how devious his mind is but more  importantly how talented he is.  He takes the time out to hone his craft and draws the reader in each and every time.  I look forward to reading whatever he has in store for his readers next.  Kudos again and again to Sa'id Salaam.

Happy Reading,

Michelle Rawls,
The Official Dcbookreviewer
2410328
4/20/15: I just finished reading this book and was very impressed with the information provided and the each part followed logically the other.
I first made the decision to purchase this book after reading that the author had written it specifically to solve the problem of getting people to listen when you try to tell them about Islam. Learning how the author had used this book to circumvent and defeat the anti-reason, "Don't try to confuse me with the facts" brainwashing of those with whom he had tried to share his information about Islam was a welcome inspiration, as I had myself gone through the same types of rejections, dismissals, marginalizations, and being labeled as 'hateful', 'bigoted', 'Islamophobic', etc. for simply telling the truth based on what the Muslims themselves say and the teachings of their Koran, the Hadith, and Sharia (Islamic law).
There was just one point on which I disagreed with the author.
On the back cover of the book he had written, "Mohammed's story is the most incredible story never told. They say that truth is stranger than fiction and NO ONE could have made this stuff up."
Actually, research by Robert Spencer in his work, Did Muhammad Exist? indicates that there is no doubt that some one or some group did in fact make this stuff up. However, that fact does not in any way detract from the verifiable facts presented in Richardson's The Story of Muhammed and it would be well worth pondering which was the worst case to be considered; whether Muhammed actually did do and say all the things he is said to have, or was a very sick person or group of very sick persons responsible for making all those stories up for their own purposes and somehow able to convince 1.6 billion people that the record of all this (the Hadith) was factual. Remember, the comic book character Super Man was created by a writer, resplendent wit his own complete biography.
I have been studying Islam on my own since 2006, and here's how i think Islam and Muhammad came to be. Around the very end of the 6th century or the very early part of the 7th century, the Arab tribes got together and started conquering other tribes and people. they conquered more and more territory and people, they needed a way to control all of these people. So they created a religion (to support their actions and 'values", and a prophet to use as an example for all the followers of this religion to imitate......in accordance to how the ruling Arabs wanted their conquered people to behave.  And voila', you have Islam.
In closing, I would most strongly encourage all Americans who love their country, who care about themselves and their friends and families to read this read this book, to share it with all of their friends, family members, coworkers, and every other person they can.
The Muslims are very smart, very determined, very resourceful, unbelievably well-organized, masters of prevarication and deceit, and absolutely ruthless in the pursuit of their goal (to conquer the world for Islam).
In Islam, the end justifies the means.
And it's much later than most of you reading this are aware.
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There are many translations of the Glorious Quran, but Abdullah Yusuf Ali's English version is regarded by Muslim scholars and the community in general as the best and truest available. This scholar devoted his entire life to studying Islam and the Quran in order to produce the closest possible translation from Arabic to English. I strongly urge every reader to select this version, rather than to fall into the trap of reading the many sadly ... and distorted versions floating around today. For example, one of the hottest item in bookstores is N. J. Dawood's translation of the "Koran," but the consensus among Muslim scholars is that N. J. Dawood's version is a distortion of the message. For example, NJ Dawood translates one passage in the Qur'an as: "When you encounter the infidels, strike off their heads till ye have made a great slaughter among them, and of the rest made fast the fetters. And afterwards let there either be free dismissals or ransomings, till the war hath laid down its burdens." (47.4-5) But, Abdullah Yusuf Ali translates the same passage as "Therefore, when ye meet the unbelievers (in fight), smite at their necks. At length, when ye have thoroughly subdued them, bind a bond firmly (on them): thereafter (is the time for) either generosity or ransom, until the war lays down its burdens." As an American-Muslim I am excited to know that the country is seeking to understand Islam by going to original source--the Quran. The caveat is that the only "original" source is the Arabic version of the Quran. A translation is influenced by the background and knowledge base of the translator. It is imperative to realize that subtle nuances in wording of a translation can transform a passage entirely. This only serves to prove that the misinterpreted Quran can be used to justify hatred and violence--either by Muslims or against Muslims. Therefore, I again urge all readers to either select this translation to be sure they are reading a truer version.
660779
Ghounem is a legendary Muslim scholar who pioneered and founded the movement "Jews for Allah", converting hundreds of Jews to Islam. He's done it again in this book which amply reflects his pioneering genius by being the first book to list hundreds of ways the Quran corrects the Bible *and* being the first book to list *and* refute hundreds of excuses Christians use for Bible errors. The research that must have gone into this book is incredible because all the verses and passage numbers are also included. I have the book "When Critics Ask" by Geisler who was also the author of the anti-Islamic book "answering Islam", and Ghounem has replied to every excuse Geisler and his cohorts had, Ghounem's book should be in a museum to be admired by all.
3831461
This book is brilliantly written and has an amazing story behind it!  The original Author Waheed Samy, PhD a professor of Arabic Language for more than thirty years, passed away before completing this book.  His daughter, Leila Samy, also an expert in Arabic language, completed this masterpiece in Basic Arabic as a tribute and final gift to her father.  Truly a living legacy of love for the Arabic language and her father!
2695584
i just consumed Al-Jurf's book like I do pretzels dipped in peanut butter....chain reading one chapter after the next. My favorite sentence: "Trees rooted in earth so deeply as to be immovable, yet embodying the freedom of movement that grows wildly out of the solidness of known origins." Aren't we all in search of that type of rooting coupled with freedom? Since having children, it has been my obsession to provide for them exactly what Al-Jurf so poetically and aptly describes.

I was so very impressed with Al-Jurf's literary imagery. Through her lens, I feel I have a better understanding of not only the immediate travesties born from occupation, but also of it's long term, far-reaching corrosive power over one's community and internal environment. She brings a sense of humanity to a confusing situation through her vision, bravery, sensitivity and deep thought conveyed through poetry, essays and stories.

I truly hope this book gets into as many hands as possible and stimulates much needed discussion about Occupied Palestine.
4313808
MashaAllah it is wonderful and a beautiful cover... I just wish that it had more decorative pages like the plain Arabic holy Quran ... But it is wonderful thank you