Two Billion Caliphs
A Vision of a Muslim Future
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- $13.99
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
Explains the attraction of Muslims to their faith, and discusses the challenges contemporary Islam confronts, and how we might imagine an Islamic theology and identity ready to face tomorrow
Islam is often associated with and limited to the worst of the world—extremism, obscurantism, misogyny, bigotry. So why would so many people associate with such a fundamentalist faith? Two Billion Caliphs advocates for a way of being Muslim in the world, ready for today and prepared for tomorrow. Unlike stale summaries, which restrict themselves to facts and figures, Haroon Moghul presents a deeply Muslim perspective on the world, providing Islamic answers to universal questions: Who are we? What are we doing here? What happens to us when we die? And from description, Moghul moves to prescription, aspiring to something outrageous and audacious. Two Billion Caliphs describes what Islam has been and what it is, who its heroes are, what its big ideas are, but not only to tell you about the past or the present, but to speak to the future.
Two Billion Caliphs finds that Islam was a religion of intimacy, a faith rooted in and reaching for love, and that it could be and should be again. Fulfilling that destiny depends on the efforts of Muslims to reclaim their faith, rebuild their strength, and reimagine their future, on their own terms. Two Billion Caliphs offers Muslim thoughts for the age ahead, to create an interpretation Islam of and for days to come, the kind of religion the world’s Muslims deserve, with echoes of the confident faith Muslims once had. The destiny of Islam, then, is not, as so many prefer to argue, a reformation. It is a counter-reformation. A restoration of what once was.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this forthright and entertaining treatise, essayist Moghul (How to Be a Muslim) provides a personal account of Islam's past and present while musing on its future. The author explains the tenets of Islam, covering the unified nature of God, the origin of the devil, and the lives of prophets from Adam to Muhammad, in addition to exploring social issues such as Muslim approaches to marriage and politics. Moghul illustrates his relationship with Islam through personal anecdotes about watching Star Trek with his mother and suffering a major health crisis that forced him to abandon his career in academia. The author doesn't shy away from critiquing Islam, finding fault with Muhammad's opposition to homosexuality and mounting a nuanced take on Muhammad's polygyny. Moghul also offers prescriptions for the future of Islam, advocating for "empowering Muslims locally" and developing "deeply compassionate" Muslim communities. Though Moghul's presentation occasionally feels disorganized, jumping from religious textual analysis to personal stories, the blend of sacred and secular has its charms, as does Moghul's straightforwardness and optimism for Islam's future. Moghul's candid mix of devotional and memoir make this a solid primer on Islam.