"It is rare to see a publication which includes personalities from both Shia and Sunni schools of thought and which is so much needed in today's turbulent world. This book, I believe will . . . enrich our understanding of not only the historical but the contemporary history of the Muslim."-Ahmed J. Versi, chief editor of The Muslim News (London) Who have been the Muslim world's most influential people? What were their ideas, thoughts, and achievements? In one hundred short and engaging profiles of these extraordinary people, fourteen hundred years of the vast and rich history of the Muslim world is unfolded. For anyone interested in getting an intimate view of Islam through its kings and scholars, generals and sportsmen, architects and scientists, and many others-this is the book for you. Among those profiled are the Prophet Muhammad, the Caliph Umar, Imam Husain, Abu Hanifa, Harun al-Rashid, al-Khwarizmi, al-Ghazali, Saladin, Rumi, Ibn Battuta, Sinan, Ataturk, Iqbal, Jinnah, Ayatollah Khomeini, Malcolm X, and Muhammad Ali.

Worldwide in its membership and increasingly being recognized as the youngest of the world religions, the Baha'i faith is enjoying rapid expansion. In this captivating book, Moojan Momen gives a brief survey of the life, the works, the claims and the teachings of Baha'u'llah, its founder. Covering the resistance he encountered, including successive forced exiles and vitriolic opposition, this book highlights his dedication and that of his followers who were often willing to sacrifice their lives for his teachings. Comprehensive and yet concise, this is a perfect book for anyone interesting in knowing more about the Baha'i faith and its inception.

The only child of Muhammad to survive him, Fatima was from early times taken up by Shi'a Islam, for whose adherents she is the virgin mother, the heavenly intercessor with untold power before God's throne, and the grieving mother of al-Husayn, the Shi'a's most important martyr. During her life she was impoverished and weak, neglected, marginalized, and divested of justice: but her reward in heaven comprises incalculable riches, all those in heaven will bow their heads to her, and her company will be the angels and the friends of God. Here, for the first time, her story is told.

'A cause for celebration. Captures Teresa's conversational enthusiasm most effectively' - "Library Journal" (starred review). This autobiography of Saint Teresa of Avila (1515-1582) combines ecstatic experiences with a dose of common sense. One of the great classics of spiritual memoir, this is the first new English translation in forty years, and the first by a woman. With this fresh translation of "The Book Of My Life", Mirabai Starr brings the inimitable Spanish mystic to life for a new generation, with contemporary English that mirrors Teresa's own earthy, vernacular Spanish, and that presents us with - four centuries after Teresa's death - someone we feel we know: a woman intoxicated with God yet filled with an overflowing love for the world.

The dual biography of two remarkable women - Catherine Parr and Anne Askew. One was the last queen of a powerful monarch, the second a countrywoman from Lincolnshire. But they were joined together in their love for the new learning - and their adherence to Protestantism threatened both their lives. Both women wrote about their faith, and their writings are still with us. Powerful men at court sought to bring Catherine down, and used Anne Askew's notoriety as a weapon in that battle. Queen Catherine Parr survived, while Anne Askew, the only woman to be racked, was burned to death. This book explores their lives, and the way of life for women from various social strata in Tudor England.

Mother of Amish Schoolhouse Shooter Gives Message of Hope and Healing Who would have believed all the beauty God would create over the nine years since that awful day. On October 2, 2006, a gunman entered an Amish one-room schoolhouse, shooting ten girls, killing five, then finally taking his own life. This is his mother's story. Not only did she lose her precious son through suicide, but she also lost her understanding of him as an honorable man. Her community and the world experienced trauma that no family or community should ever have to face. But this is, surprisingly, a story of hope and joy--of God revealing his grace in unexpected places. Today Terri lives in harmony with the Amish and has built lasting relationships that go beyond what anyone could have thought possible. From the grace that the Amish showed Terri's family from day one, to the visits and ongoing care Terri has given to the victims and their families, no one could have foreseen the love and community that have been forged from the fires of tragedy. Let Terri's story inspire and encourage you as you discover the wonder of forgiveness and the power of God to bring beauty from ashes.

Born into one of the wealthiest families in Philadelphia and raised and educated in that vital center of eighteenth-century American Quakerism, Anne Emlen Mifflin was a progressive force in early America. This detailed and engaging biography, which features Anne's collected writings and selected correspondence, revives her legacy. Anne grew up directly across the street from the Pennsylvania statehouse, where the Continental Congress was leading the War of Independence. A Quaker minister whose busy pen, agile mind, and untiring moral energy produced an extensive corpus of writings, Anne was an ardent abolitionist and social reformer decades before the establishment of women's anti-slavery societies. And at a time when most Americans never ventured beyond their own village, hamlet, or farm, Anne journeyed thousands of miles. She traveled to settlements of Friends on the frontier and met with Native Americans in the rough country of northwestern Pennsylvania, New York, and Canada. Our Beloved Friend provides a unique window onto the lives of Quakers during the pre-Revolutionary era, the establishment of the New Republic, and the War of 1812.

Emil Bock lectured widely on Rudolf Steiner after the Second World War, and during the course of his research he uncovered many previously unknown aspects of Steiner's life. This book, the second of two volumes, explores some of the themes and ideas in Steiner's work, as well as exploring the nature of destiny. The early years of Jesus, the Christmas festival and the break from the Theosophical Society to the Anthroposophical Society are just some of the many themes and events covered in this comprehensive study. Bock also examines the circle of people around Steiner at this time and, using Steiner's ideas on karma and reincarnation, draws interesting parallels with Rome, Byzantium, Ephesus and the Grail Castle.