Many people share the opinion that this concise book is among the finest introductions to Islam for an educated readership. Its content is authentic, reliable, and powerfully presented - written by an Islamic scholar, Dr. Abdul Wadod Shalabi, who combines traditional religious training from al-Azhar University and Western education from the University of Cambridge, where the author received his doctorate. Also, it has been edited by Abd al-Hakim Murad, himself a scholar.

Muslim centers and organizations have purchased thousands of copies of this book for distribution at special events - often times as gifts to guests interested in learning more about Islam. Also, university students (Muslim and non-Muslim) are keenly drawn to the insight this book offers about Islam, its rites of worship, the Prophet (God bless him and grant him peace), the Quran, and the Muslim condition today.

Essentially, this book is written from within. It seeks to show something of the true nature of the faith, thereby challenging the accepted stereotypes which so badly compromise the present dialogue of civilizations. By explaining the significance of the formal practices and doctrines of Islam, this book endeavors to build a bridge over what must be the deepest yet most irrational gulf ever to have cleaved apart two cultures.

About the Author:
Abdul Wadod Shalabi is the author of over twenty books on all aspects of Islam. He combines a deep loyalty to his theological training at al-Azhar University in Cairo, while having an acute understanding of the crisis of the modern world. His studies abroad, which earned him a doctorate from the University of Cambridge, and his prominent career in the Azhar hierarchy (he has been editor of its journal and deputy Shaykh of al-Azhar), have placed him in a unique position to distill and introduce Islam to multitudes raised in the West.

Paperback, 96 pages.