Rent Halal Monk: A Christian on a Journey through Islam

Synopsis

Winner of the Belgian Prize of the Religious Book 2015. (Audience Award)

To acquaint himself with the soul of Islam J.Y. Atlas had openhearted conversations with influential Muslim scholars and artists. From Jakarta to New York and from London to Lahore, this Christian theologian met with imams and Sufis, academics and feminists, punkers and poets. The result is a book full of novel insights that will help us to transcend today's cultural and religious impasses.

Attempts of interfaith dialogue often stay away from the more difficult issues and remain somewhat superficial. With his 'Halal Monk' journey, Atlas wanted to go further. He wanted to get to the root of our current tensions. To do so, he spoke with people like Shaykh Abdal Hakim Murad, Abida Parveen, Imam Feisal Rauf, Amina Wadud, Kudsi Ergüner, Muhammad Abdel Haleem, Musdah Mulia, Ziauddin Sardar, Amir Sulaiman, Mona Siddiqui, Aki Nawaz, Peter Sanders, Cyrus McGoldrick, and many others.

This book collects his most fascinating dialogues at the intersection of culture, society and religion. In between those conversations, some extra light is shed on key concepts of the Islamic tradition and their relevance for today's debates.

Topics as diverse as quranic exegesis, islamic mysticism and islamic feminism are all treated in a nuanced manner. Difficult subjects like islamic fundamentalism and jihad, aren't circumvented but placed within their context and clarified. Aspects of the islamic faith like sharia and ijtihad are explained and juxtaposed with the Christian tradition.

'Halal Monk: A Christian on a Journey through Islam' is one of the most insightful and honest books on Muslim culture, spirituality and theology. A must read for anyone who wants to have a better grasp of the place of islam in the modern world.

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