In this book review for the New York Times, activist and athlete Kareem Abdul-Jabbar looks at two new books about “being Muslim in today’s volatile world.” They are Omar Saif Ghobash’s “Letters to a Young Muslim” and Ali A. Rizvi’s “The Atheist Muslim: A Journey From Religion to Reason” which Mr. Abdul-Jabbar says “may help us return to those glory days when Americans weren’t so frightened and could see the world as more than just Us Versus Them.”
Here are some snippets from Mr. Abdul-Jabbar’s reviews:
“Ghobash’s “Letters to a Young Muslim” follows the literary tradition of a family elder passing down insights to a younger generation, specifically in this case, his two teenage sons, as well as other young Muslim women and men… Ghobash is not an apologist for Islam because there is no need. He argues that reason and religion can coexist because we are meant to use our intelligence to reject manipulative and myopic interpretations of the scriptures.”
“ ‘The Atheist Muslim: A Journey From Religion to Reason,’ is just what the title promises: a close look at Rizvi’s journey from his Muslim upbringing to his rejection of Islam as well as all religion. The arguments presented are thoughtful, articulate, well documented, logical and made accessible by many personal anecdotes and pop culture references.”
