A Fils for Your Thoughts

I’ve spent a great deal of time trying to write the Understanding Islam book in isolation, by imagining what the best approach for the book will be, given the subject and my target audience.

However, the subject, in itself, is extremely broad and covers a number of issues and branches off to other subjects, making it difficult to develop a structure that will do justice to the subject.

And trying to think on behalf of my audience adds to the complexity of the task, since I am not fully certain whether I have left something necessary out of my argument, or whether the point I am making is clear (or even relevant).

Therefore, if you are interested in trying to understand Islam, I would like to get your feedback: how do you think the subject of understanding Islam should be approached? What topics do you think should be included? Where do you think mistakes in understanding Islam arise? Do you think the points I have raised, or the argument I am making, is valid? If not, why not?

You do not have to answer these questions now, but I would appreciate if you can give me your feedback whenever you can as I post my thoughts on the subject.

I will not be posting the actual book on the blog, but my posts will form the general outline of the book.

I will be creating a special page for the book, so that people can read all the posts in sequence, and where they can leave me general questions, comments or suggestions about the book.

I hope this project will be beneficial for all those who take part in it, and for all those who read it.

As some of you might already know, I am currently writing a book (series?) entitled: Understanding Islam. This book is intended for both Muslims and non-Muslims trying to make sense of Islam. The book, therefore, has the twin aims of:

• Explaining the differences that have arisen amongst Muslims in their understanding of Islam, and why the Muslim world is what it’s like today. Many non-Muslims aren’t interested in understanding Islam, as a religion, as much as they are trying to understand Islam as the ideology behind the crimes being perpetrated in its name. They do not want to hear about Islam being a peaceful religion, but more about the Muslim world and the ideas it is living by

• Presenting an objective criteria and a valid approach to the interpretation of Islamic scripture that avoids the common mistakes people have fallen into. This will help Muslims to make better sense of their religion, without feeling that understanding their religion is beyond their reach, or is reserved for a small class of Muslims, or is too risky a field to venture into

It is my hope that by making Islam more accessible to people, they can discover how they can enrich their lives with Islam’s teachings, and come to understand the difference between what the Muslims believe and what Islam actually teaches.