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Islam In Our Backyard

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Mark62

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"Islam In Our Backyard" by Tony Payne. Matthais Media 2002

I was attracted to this book for a number of reasons.

Australia is a multicultural society and while I really relish most of what that offers our society, I feel that as Christians we sometimes need to come to terms with this.

As a teacher in adult education, I have a high number of Muslim students in my classes. Given I teach in Western Sydney, the ethnic mix of my students is very varied.

I have had the privilage to hear the author speak several times, including at a Men's Weekend Away at our Church some 12 years ago and was keen to get his take on this topic once I found out about the book.

The Review

The book is subtitled as "A Novel Argument" and the very structure of the book is different in itself and it is this structure that makes it fairly easy to understand and digest. (the length of 134 pages also helps :study ). The premiss of the book is that author is having an ongoing discussion with his non-Christian neighbour after the 9/11 terroists attacks.

Out of these discussions the author Tony, runs various manuscript drafts for a book on Islam past his non-Christian neighbour Michael for comment and questions. It is these drafts that we are mostly reading and they have been interspersed with the novel.

The novel is made up of various meetings and discussions between the two men along with a loose contextual plot that leads Tony's neighbour to raise questions in the first place about Islam. It is these types of questions that many people have about Islam . Some Christians may one day find themselves in the same position that Tony does in the the book. ie, non-Christians may ask us about Islam because we (Christians) are viewed as "religous".

The book succinctly covers:
What Do Muslims Believe?
The Many Faces of Islam
Church & State
Islam & the Secular Society
Internal & External Consistencies in Islam

I have read the book 3 times now and can strongly recommend it.

Availability:

While an Australian book it can be ordered from publishers direct. I'm sure the good folk at Matthias would be happy to get any of their books to anyone in the world. Details of known distributors:

Australia: Matthias Media http://www.matthiasmedia.com.au
UK: http://www.thegoodbook.co.uk
South Africa: http://www.christianbooks.co.za
 
So what does the author make of Islam and Mohammad?

More specifically; his conclusions to the following points you have raised:

* What Do Muslims Believe?
* The Many Faces of Islam
* Church & State
* Islam & the Secular Society
* Internal & External Consistencies in Islam
 
Gabe said:
So what does the author make of Islam and Mohammad?

More specifically; his conclusions to the following points you have raised:

* What Do Muslims Believe?
* The Many Faces of Islam
* Church & State
* Islam & the Secular Society
* Internal & External Consistencies in Islam
Click to expand...

Gabe so many conclusions but I will have a go.

"...One of our constant questions was: Is Islam really violent & expanionsist, in its core principles? I ended up answering a qualified yes to this, based on what the Qur'an and hadith literature actually say, and at Islamic practice and law down the centuries. But I think it's a qualified yes....... that by no means implies that the world's one billion Muslims are all bent on mudering Westerners in their beds" pp130-131

So much of the book is to explain to the those of us largely ignorant of Islam without being judgemental or lowering itself to scare-mongering.

Many Faces of Islam: covers the two broad streams, Sunnis & Shi'ites and then looks at 4 overlays or tendancies which influence how an individual Muslim might practice Islam. It then explores the origins Islam militancy & terrorism.

Church & State : Outlines the fact that in Islam there is no seperation between the two and contrasts the divisions within democratic & "christian" countries where this is the case.

Islam & the Secular Society : The book takes a turn here and really critiques modern secular society which inhibits our right to discuss religion in the public domain and is hindering us critiquing Islam (or any other religion) and with us wanting tolerance but ending up with relativism.

Internal & External Consistencies in Islam: Yes he does think it has inconsitsencies and uses the Qu'ran, the Bible, Tacitus & Josephus to support his claims. He is particularly thorough in deconstructing the Islam assertion that Christ was not crucified and did not die.

Hope this helps
 
Another great book is: ISLAM, Americas Trojan Horse. Mind you most stores will not carry this because it is not "Politically correct" :screwloose
 
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