Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, which Muslims believe is the month the Quran was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad. During the month, Muslims fast from dawn to sunset, foregoing food, drink and sinful behavior. It’s meant to be a spiritual time as well—a time of reflection, prayer and charity. Ramadan is followed by Eid-al-Fitr (the festival of breaking fast) and is a time of great celebration with family and friends. With almost two billion Muslims, their experiences are quite varied. Here are some books to reflect the diversity of the Islamic faith.
The Wrong End of the Table: A Mostly Comic Memoir of a Muslim Arab American Woman Just Trying to Fit In
by Ayser Salman
What happens when a shy, awkward Arab girl with a weird name and an unfortunate propensity toward facial hair is uprooted from her comfortable (albeit fascist-regimed) homeland of Iraq and thrust into the cold, alien town of Columbus, Ohio?
The Gift of Rumi: Experiencing the Wisdom of the Sufi Master
by Emily Jane O’Dell
An authentic exploration of the real Rumi As one of the world’s most loved poets, Rumi’s poems are celebrated for their message of love and their beauty, but too often, they are stripped of their mystical and spiritual meanings. The Gift of Rumi offers a new reading of Rumi, contextualizing his work against the broader backdrop of Islamic mysticism and adding a richness and authenticity that is lacking in many Westernized conceptions of his work. Author Emily Jane O‘Dell has studied Sufism both academically, in her work and research at Harvard, Columbia, and the American University of Beirut, and in practice, learning from a Mevlevi master and his whirling dervishes in Istanbul. She weaves this expertise throughout The Gift of Rumi, sharing a new vision of Rumi’s classic work. At the heart of Rumi’s mystical poetry is the “religion of love,” which transcends all religions. Through his majestic verses of ecstasy and longing, Rumi invites us into the religion of the heart and guides us to our own loving inner essence. The Gift of Rumi gives us a key to experiencing this profound and powerful invitation, allowing readers to meet the master in a new way.
Ali: A Life
by Jonathan Eig
The definitive biography of an American icon from a New York Times best-selling author with unique access to Ali’s inner circle. He was the wittiest, the prettiest, the strongest, the bravest and, of course, the greatest (as he told us over and over again). Muhammad Ali was one of the twentieth century’s greatest radicals and most compelling figures. At his funeral in 2016, eulogists said Ali had transcended race and united the country, but they got it wrong. Race was the theme of Ali’s life. He insisted that America come to grips with a black man who wasn’t afraid to speak out or break the rules. He didn’t overcome racism. He called it out. “I am America,” he once declared. “I am the part you won’t recognize. But get used to me–black, confident, cocky; my name, not yours; my religion, not yours; my goals, my own. Get used to me.” Ali went from being one of the most despised men in the country to one of the most beloved. But until now, he has never been the subject of a complete, unauthorized biography. Ali is a story about race, about a brutal sport, and about a fascinating man who shook up the world.
Unashamed: Musings of a Fat, Black Muslim
by Leah Vernon
In Unashamed, Vernon takes to task the myth of the perfect Muslim woman with frank dispatches on her love-hate relationship with her hijab and her faith, race, weight, mental illness, domestic violence, sexuality, the millennial world of dating and the process of finding her voice.
Islamic Empires: The Cities That Shaped Civilization—From Mecca to Dubai
by Justin Marozzi
Takes readers on a tour of the defining moments, diverse civilizations and the greatest cities in Islamic history over fifteen centuries, from Mecca in the seventh century to the rise of Doha in the twenty-first century.