This book captures Malaysia's foreign policy over the first fifty years and beyond since the date of the country's formal independence in 1957. The author provides "macro-historical" narratives of foreign policy practices and outcomes over distinct time periods under the tenures of the five prime ministers. One chapter delves into relations with immediate neighbouring states and another chapter analyses the political economy of foreign policy. A postscript deals with the transition of foreign policy beyond the fifth decade. The concluding chapter suggests that Malaysian middlepowermanship has been in the making in foreign policy practice being particularly evident since the Mahathir years. Employing a critical-constructivist approach throughout the study, the author posits that foreign policy should be appreciated as outcomes of socio-political-economic processes embedded within a Malaysian political culture. In terms of broad policy orientations, Malaysian foreign policy over five decades has navigated over the terrains of neutralism, regionalism, globalization and Islamism. However, the critical engagement of civil society in foreign policy construction remains a formidable challenge.

The author, Dr. Nader Pourhassan, has researched the Koran and the Bible in depth for the last twenty years. God's Scripture is the result of his personal disillusionment with Islam as it is manifested in the modern world. The message of the Koran is resoundingly simple. We should believe in God, which would encourage us to love our neighbor. If we do, we will go to Heaven: "Those who do good to men or women and have faith (in God), we will give them life, a pure life, and their reward will be greater than their actions." This message, which is stated clearly over sixty times in the Koran, has been perverted by those who seek to promote themselves as spiritual leaders, with appalling results, most shockingly the attacks on America on September 11, 2001. His disillusionment grew as he learned about the disparity between the holy book and Islam as it is practiced today. Now, more than ever, there is an urgent need for Muslims and non Muslims alike to understand the truth about Islam, and to return to the original message of the Prophet Muhammad, and that of Jesus, that humankind should strive to be good, to love God and one another.

Many scholars, in the U.S. and elsewhere, have decried the racism and "Orientalism" that characterizes much Western writing on the Middle East. Such writings conflate different peoples and nations, and movements within such peoples and nations, into unitary and malevolent hordes, uncivilized reservoirs of danger, while ignoring or downplaying analogous tendencies towards conformity or barbarism in other regions, including the West. Assyrians in particular suffer from Old Testament and pop culture references to their barbarity and cruelty, which ignore or downplay massacres or torture by the Judeans, Greeks, and Romans who are celebrated by history as ancestors of the West. This work, through its rich depictions of tribal and religious diversity within Mesopotamia, may help serve as a corrective to this tendency of contemporary writing on the Middle East and the Assyrians in particular. Furthermore, Aboona's work also steps away from the age-old oversimplified rubric of an "Arab Muslim" Middle East, and into the cultural mosaic that is more representative of the region. In this book, author Hirmis Aboona presents compelling research from numerous primary sources in English, Arabic, and Syriac on the ancient origins, modern struggles, and distinctive culture of the Assyrian tribes living in northern Mesopotamia, from the plains of Nineveh north and east to southeastern Anatolia and the Lake Urmia region. Among other findings, this book debunks the tendency of modern scholars to question the continuity of the Assyrian identity to the modern day by confirming that the Assyrians of northern Mesopotamia told some of the earliest English and American visitors to the region that they descended from the ancient Assyrians and that their churches and identity predated the Arab conquest. It details how the Assyrian tribes of the mountain dioceses of the "Nestorian" Church of the East maintained a surprising degree of independence until the Ottoman governor of Mosul authorized Kurdish militia to attack and subjugate or evict them. Assyrians, Kurds, and Ottomans is a work that will be of great interest and use to scholars of history, Middle Eastern studies, international relations, and anthropology.

Secrets of Heavenly Food, the follow-up to Hajjah Naziha's Heavenly Foods, contains over 150 recipes from a broad range of locales. Ranging from Cyprus, Lebanon, the Indian-subcontinent to Southeast Asia and even the US, these invariably delicious recipes range in difficulty from simple to involved. With step-by-step instructions and pictures it is possible for even a novice to successfully prepare the most complex dishes in this book. Introductions by the author's father, Shaykh Nazim, her husband Shaykh Hisham, and herself, expound upon the connection between food and spirituality. The heart of this book is the legacy it carries from Hajjah Amina, the author's mother, a scholar and a refugee from Russia. During the advent of communism, Hajjah Amina's family fled their native homeland of Kazan, Russia, in order to preserve their right to observe their religious faith. They sacrificed home, country, and language for the sake of their spirituality. Herein are the recipes which Hajjah Naziha has passed down from her blessed mother, Hajjah Amina. A number of recipes are exceedingly rare, and cannot be found in other sources, including the Small Meat-Filled Dumplings in Savory Tomato Broth (Peel Meen), Rose Pastries (Gul), and Golden Fingertip Pastries (Borsok). The Gul and Borsok were famously prepared by Hajjah Amina in celebration of both Eids and Mawlid an-Nabi. Hajjah Amina brought these recipes from her native country and passed them down to her daughter, Hajjah Naziha, who in turn passed them down to her own daughter, Sajeda. Through this work, Hajjah Naziha generously passes down these recipes to her "daughters" in tariqah, the female students who come to learn on the Sufi path."

This is a concise introduction to the contemporary challenges and key issues facing Islam. This new introduction aims to present Islam through the lens of contemporary issues. Illustrated with examples and case studies taken from lived religion, each chapter looks at Islam in a modern context, and modern issues relevant to the religion. After an initial chapter providing an overview of the Islamic faith, its history and basic theological tenets, Ron Geaves moves through key contemporary themes: Islam and diversity, ethics and morality, gender, fundamentalism, and the relationship between Islam and the West. Concluding with a final section looking at the future for Islam, its relevance in modern times, the future for the religion in question and what it can contribute to society in terms of inter-religious dialogue and harmony between different communities. These useful guides aim to introduce religions through the lens of contemporary issues, illustrated throughout with examples and case studies taken from lived religion. The perfect companion for the student of religion, each guide interprets the teachings of the religion in question in a modern context and applies them to modern day scenarios.

The modern political idea of jihad-a violent struggle against corrupt or anti-Islamic regimes-is essentially the brainchild of one man who turned traditional Islamic precepts inside out and created the modern radical political Islamist movement. Using the evolution of Sayyid Qutb's life and writings, Musallam traces and analyzes Qutb's alienation and subsequent emergence as an independent Islamist within the context of his society and the problems that it faced. Radicalized following his stay in the United States in the late 1940s and during his imprisonment from 1954 to 1964, Qutb would pen controversial writings that would have a significant impact on young Islamists in Egypt for decades following his death and on global jihadist Islamists for the past quarter century. Since September 11, 2001, the West has dubbed Qutb the philosopher of Islamic terror and godfather ideologue of al-Qaeda. This is the first book to examine his life and thought in the wake of the events that ignited the War on Terrorism. A secular man of letters in the 1930s and 1940s, Qutb's outlook and focus on Quranic studies underwent drastic changes during World War II. The Quran became a refuge for his personal needs and for answers to the ills of his society. As a result, he forsook literature permanently for the Islamic cause and way of life. His stay in the United States from 1948 to 1950 reinforced his deeply held belief that Islam is man's only salvation from the abyss of Godless materialism he believed to be manifest in both capitalism and communism. Qutb's active opposition to the secular policies of Egyptian President Nasser led to his imprisonment from 1954 to 1964, during which his writings called for the overthrow of Jahili (pagan) governments and their replacement with a true and just Islamic society. A later arrest and trial resulted in his execution in August 1966.

Garden of Mystery, the 'Gulshan-i Raz', holds a unique position in Persian Sufi literature. It is a compact and concise exploration of the doctrines of Sufism at the peak of their development that has remained a primary text of Sufism throughout the world from Turkey to India. It comprises a thousand lines of inspired poetry taking the form of answers to questions put by a fellow mystic. It provides a coherent literary bridge between the Persian 'school of love' poetry and the rapidly growing number of metaphysical and gnostic compositions from what had come to be known as the school of the 'Unity of Being'. Translated by Robert Darr who has for thirty-five years been a student of classical Islamic culture.

For centuries Christians and Muslims have engaged with each other in manifold ways, peaceful and otherwise, be it in scholarly study, or in war and colonization. Today, Christians represent an influential body of opinion that largely perceives Islam, post 9/11, as a threat. Yet Muslims represent approximately one third of the world's population. Improved understanding between Christians and Muslims is therefore crucial and a prerequisite for universal peace and justice. This book aims to investigate Islam's place in the world, Muslim aspirations vis-a-vis non-Muslims and the realities of how Muslims are perceived and how they perceive others. Each chapter analyses accessible texts from central thinkers and commentators, broadly split into two camps: confrontational or conciliatory. Christian-Muslim relations are set in the wider context of civilizational, geo-political and economic interaction between the Muslim world and the historically Christian West.