ANSWERING JIHAD SC: A Better Way Forward

The book is a real eye-opener it will surely answer what is going on these days and why it's going on. When you read this book you'll surely get an idea about Islam and jihad. But not everyone is radical, there are peaceful group who condemn such acts and live peacefully and we need to engage with love & friendship and live peacefully with them. but at the same time acknowledging the truth about Islam. I wish the book was written in simple words i had to keep Google in between while reading this book. The books quality is really good. Your eyes won't get tired reading it And about the book it was defective the bottom of the spine is crushed and the front paperback cover was folded badly and is in really bad shape so i was basically cheated by the 3rd party seller Reading Habit i suggest you to go for another seller other than reading habit seller.

This is a must read for anyone trying to understand Islam, violence and Jihad and how Christianity compares to this. Nabeel, as far as I am concerned is the best anyone can get this topic well and correctly addressed.

An Excellent read!! It's an eye opener and a truth revealer about the real nature of Islam which is often propagated to be a religion of peace!! Nabeel Quereshi is inspiring!!

Nabil Qureshi is no more, my dear friends, but he still speaks! He's young but his writings are matured and scholarly! All his books are worth reading! This book is a must read—true to the facts.

Eye opening

Awesome book ... God bless u and God is with you .

A must read book

Well explained in details. Thru a common man's perceptive.

This repeat performance by the author of the NYT bestseller “Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus” deserves a place in the religion section of every library, public and private. Organized around eighteen vital questions, this relatively brief (173 pp.) discussion of jihad and related topics is intended for the lay reader. The research is thorough, and the writing is clear, concise, and compassionate. “Answering Jihad” addresses a potentially volatile topic with understanding and a surprising degree of objectivity. Books on religion are inevitably prone to bias, and their authors tend to fall into three categories: (1) some deny being biased, which is either disingenuous or demonstrates lack of self-knowledge; (2) some acknowledge possible bias and leave it to the reader to discern the specifics; (3) a minority admit to and describe the bias present in their work, equipping the reader with a baseline from which to judge the accuracy of the author’s perspective. Qureshi is in the last category, admitting a pro-Christian view, while encouraging non-Muslims to separate criticism of Islam from rejection of Muslims. In the author’s words, “Islam is not Muslims, and one can criticize Islam while affirming and loving Muslims.” Islam is often, particularly in western media and politics, described as a religion of peace. This is an assertion hotly debated across many venues, and the author’s own experience provides an example regarding this aspect of Islam. As a young Muslim raised in the United States, Qureshi came from a family that was both patriotic and peace loving. Like most Muslims in the West, “my understanding of the Qur’an was limited to what I had been taught by the elders in my community” -- a peaceful interpretation of the religion. This is common primarily because “... the vast majority of Muslims inherit their understanding of Islam and have not investigated the foundations of Islam for themselves.” If Imams and other local leaders teach that Islam is a peaceful religion, mosque attendees, usually not fluent in the Arabic of Qur’an, tend to accept what they are told as the truth regarding their faith. The book contributes significantly toward an understanding of what is commonly termed “radical Islam,” and of the disparity between the beliefs of most western Muslims and so-called radicals. Based on the Islamic canon, the Qur’an and the hadith, the author concludes that groups such as Al-Qaida, Boko Haram, and ISIS are in fact following the ‘true’ literal teachings of the faith. More liberal and peace-loving Muslims, by contrast, hold to a less literal and often less informed version of Islam. However, in order to adhere to a peaceful version of the faith, Muslims must “... either ignore or reinvent whole swaths of Islamic history and thirteen centuries of Islamic tradition to dissociate themselves from violent Islam.” The ultimate contrast to the violent Islam of past and present Islamists is the forgiveness and love taught and modeled by Jesus Christ, summarized as follows: “The final marching order of Islam is jihad. The final marching orders of Christians are grace and love.” The book includes four appendixes, including a timeline of jihad and a collection of Muhammad’s sayings on the subject, taken from a popular edition of the hadith. One of the appendixes is a seven page explanation of the author’s (former) sect of Islam, the Ahmadiyyat. Although one could argue this portion of the book will be of limited interest to many readers, and therefore unwarranted, its inclusion is justified in light of the proclivity of various branches of Islam to label others as non-Muslims and heretics. The defense of the Ahmadis is, therefore, necessary to substantiate the author’s background as a true Muslim. Readers can expect to be enlightened and challenged by the discussion of questions such as “What is Sharia?”, “Was Islam spread by the sword?”, Does Islam need a reformation?”, Why are Muslims being radicalized?”, and “Do Muslims and Christians worship the same God?”. I strongly recommend this latest work by a well-respected and popular author to all whose world and life may be impacted by Islam and Islamists, and particularly to those who tend to either defend Islam against any type of criticism, or to view all Muslims through the negative lens of violent Islamism.

Narbeel is perfectly write such a book, because he spent four years while a thinking Muslim trying to reconcile the 'religion of peace' he'd grown up in with the violent jihad that erupted on the global stage, and that can be found in the canonical texts of Islam. He therefore has great personal familiarity with the source texts, classical teaching, and modern western interpretation. He takes time explain that moderate Muslims (as he was) do not embrace violent Jihad, and that there are many interpretations, and that we should not judge the Muslims we meet by Islam, but with love and compassion. However he does not dampen down his academic rigour, and sets out to answer the questions he poses with concise clarity, (I may even say snappiness) whilst delicately drawing on personal experience. This makes it inherently readable and enjoyable -I gobbled it up for the first time in a single afternoon. As I continue to read into this topic, I find myself returning to this book constantly, as an excellent holistic reference.

This book helps you to understand all that about Jihad, and how to take it. I recommend that book 100%

Nabeel Qureshi, in den USA gross gewordener Muslim, Kind pakistanischer Einwanderer, schildert in seiner sorgfältigen, gut lesbaren Biografie "Allah gesucht, Jesus gefunden" seinen Weg zum christlichen Glauben. Nachdem er das Christentum kritisch hinterfragt und geprüft hatte, begann er mit der gleichen Akribie die historischen und theologischen Grundlagen des eigenen Glaubensgebäudes zu erforschen. Qureshi arbeitet heute als Forscher und Redner bei "Ravi Zacharias International Ministries". Im Rahmen dieser weltweiten Vortragstätigkeit wurden ihm in den letzten Monaten immer wieder Fragen zum Jihad und zu den jüngsten Anschlägen in Europa gestellt. Qureshi wollte zu diesem Thema eigentlich (noch) nicht Stellung nahmen; die aktuellen Ereignisse drängten ihn jedoch zur Änderung seiner Pläne. Der Autor stellt demütig fest, dass er sich nicht als Experte versteht, sondern als Lernender und Forschender. Zu dieser Transparenz gesellt sich eine Grundhaltung, die ich oft vermisse: Eine klare Sicht auf die Fakten, verbunden mit einer barmherzigen Haltung zu den Menschen. Oft geht in diesen Tagen das eine zu Lasten des anderen. „Es gibt zu viel Verwirrung, zu viel fehlgeleiteten Ärger, zu viel Desinformation, zu wenig Ausgewogenheit, zu wenig Gnade um länger ruhig zu bleiben.“ (11) Qureshi unterteilt sein Werk in drei Abschnitte. Im ersten geht er den historischen Wurzeln des Jihad nach, legt im zweiten die aktuelle Situation dar, um im dritten das Thema im jüdisch-christlichen Kontext zu beleuchten. Methodisch wählte er das Frage-Antwort-Verfahren. Dadurch entstanden 18 kurze, gut lesbare Abschnitte. Jeder dieser Abschnitte wird eingeleitet, wenige Argumente entfaltet und dann zusammenfassend der Standpunkt geklärt. Wie schon im ersten Buch hat der Autor sorgfältig Format und Vorgehen bedacht. Die 18 Fragen lauten: 1. Die Ursprünge des Jihad: Was ist Islam? Ist der Islam eine Religion des Friedens? Was ist Jihad? Ist der Jihad im Koran und im Leben von Mohammed angelegt? Was versteht man unter der Scharia? Wurde der Islam durch das Schwert ausgebreitet? 2. Der Jihad heute: Was ist radikaler Islam? Braucht der Islam eine Erneuerung? Wer steht hinter Al-Qaida, ISIS und Boko Haram? Wer sind die wahren Muslime – die gewalttätigen oder die friedlichen? Warum werden Muslime radikalisiert? Versuchen die Muslime den Westen mit der Scharia zu übernehmen? 3. Der Jihad im jüdisch-christlichen Kontext: Beten Muslime und Christen denselben Gott an? Warum nennen einige Christen Gott „Allah“? Wie sieht der Vergleich zwischen dem Jihad und den alttestamentlichen Kriegszügen aus? Wie sieht der Vergleich zwischen Jihad und den Kreuzzügen des Mittelalters aus? Was hat Jesus mit dem Jihad zu tun? Qureshi nimmt kein Blatt vor den Mund: Die Gewalt ist bereits im Ursprung des Islam angelegt. Der Zugang zu den historischen Dokumenten über das Internet begünstigt die Radikalisierung von Muslimen. Radikale Gruppen werben mit diesen eindeutigen Aussagen. Die Reform des Islam geht also in eine andere Richtung. Durch die Rückkehr zur ursprünglichen Form erhoffen sich viele eine Erneuerung bzw. den Siegeszug des Islam, der die endzeitliche Wiederkehr des Propheten beschleunigt. Der Islam hat sich – abgesehen von den ersten 13 Jahren seines Bestehens – mit einer Doktrin des Krieges etabliert und ausgebreitet. Das Engagement im Jihad ist ein Gradmesser, ob ein Muslim wirklich an den Islam glaubt. Die kraftvollste Erwiderung von christlicher Seite, so Qureshi mit Nachdruck, ist die Aufgabe unsere Feinde zu lieben bzw. sie als Nachbarn nicht zurückzustossen, sondern auf sie zuzugehen und sie kennenzulernen. Man kann den Islam kritisieren und gleichzeitig Muslime lieben (27). Freundschaft ist der bessere Weg wie die Angst.

I highly recommend this slim volume as a very necessary part of our modern education. From a personal and in depth perspective Nabeel tackles one of the most puzzling questions of our time. What do Muslims believe about Jihad, is it a peaceful form of Muslim evangelism or a form that focuses on the spread of Islam by war?