I am an American Muslim woman, and I was thrilled to read Dr. Ahmed's book. Islam IS a feminist religion which embraces all people, and Dr. Ahmed looks directly at the Koranic text to prove so. Every Muslim and non-muslim should read this book. It's so well written and very easy for a non-religion scholar to follow. Bravo! I'll look forward to more books by this author.
Beyond Veil And Holy War: Islamic Teachings And Muslim Practices With Biblical Comparisons by educator and author Saleem Ahmed is a thoughtful, informative survey of Islamic teachings and the words of the Qur'an itself. Written in question-and-answer format, Beyond Veil And Holy War studies the holy book of Islam and comes to the conclusion that in Islam itself, righteous actions are far more important than spoken prayers, and that some of the purported actions and sayings of the Prophet Muhammad (especially the sexist and violent ones which appear to contradict the Qur'an) may not be as authentic as some consider. A fascinating and highly recommended addition to Islamic studies reference shelves, Beyond Veil And Holy War is a particularly good resource for American readers to learn more about the core nature of Islam.