About the Book

The author argues forcefully, supported ably by citations from the scriptures as well as their interpretation by scholars, how Islam has by and large been misinterpreted as a code of regression. From explaining how banking is allowed by the religion to the redundancy of the burqa, from providing the real definition of kafir to enumerating the rights of married and divorced partners in a couple, from putting jihad in the correct perspective to questioning the authenticity of any story that goes in the name of Hadith… Asghar Ali Engineer offers an issue-by-issue rebuttal of the uneducated notion that Muslims are an obscurantist lot. Of course, he has no kind words for the ulema that earn the faith a bad name; he might well have stuck his neck out to invite their ire by lambasting their tendency to interpret the Qur'an in the most unlikely, yet convenient, manner that suits a patriarchal, male chauvinist and sectarian mindset.

Neither Allah nor His Prophet, the author insists, would approve of the injustice a motley group of monopolyists in the faith have unleashed on humanity. For all practical purposes, Islam is as modern as it gets.

About the Author

Asghar Ali Engineer is a writer, activist and scholar of repute. Awarded Right Livelihood Honorary Award (also called the Alternate Nobel Award) 2004, National Communal Harmony Award, 1997, and many other awards, Asghar Ali Engineer has written over 60 books on Islam, problems of Muslims, Muslim women's rights, communal and ethnic problems in India, South Asia and Islamic state.