Note: [Republished from the Scholar of the House website] The books listed below were selected by Dr. Abou El Fadl from a comprehensive bibliography of Islamic Studies books compiled by Professor Patrick O'Donnell, published in 2003. Books published after 2003 are not included. [Go to the complete comprehensive bibliography by Professor O'Donnell.]
Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced designations were determined by Dr. Abou El Fadl. Placement of a book within this section was determined by Professor O'Donnell.
***Since Scholar of the House first published this abbreviated list of WORST books in Islam, there has been a continuous flood of Islamophobic books steadily entering the marketplace with no sign of abatement. It is fair to say that any books by notorious Islamophobic writers would be included, as the total number of Islamophobic books defy citation. Included among the authors would be: Robert Spencer, Daniel Pipes, Steven Emerson, Bridget Gabriel, Irshad Manji, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Pamela Geller and others. An excellent summary of Islamophobes is available on the Southern Poverty Law Center website.
BACK TO RECOMMENDED READING LISTS SUMMARY
Calder, Norman. Studies in Early Muslim Jurisprudence. Oxford, UK: Clarendon Press, 1993.
Pipes, Daniel. Slave Soldiers and Islam: The Genesis of a Military System. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1981.
Rosen, Lawrence. The Justice of Islam: Comparative Perspectives on Islamic Law and Society. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2000.
Schacht, Joseph. The Origins of Muhammadan Jurisprudence. Oxford, UK: Clarendon Press, 1950.
Warraq, Ibn, ed. and trans. The Quest for the Historical Muhammad. Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books, 2000.
Wansbrough, John. Qur’anic Studies: Sources and Methods of Scriptural Interpretation. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1977.
Warraq, Ibn, ed. The Origins of the Koran: Classic Essays on Islam’s Holy Book. Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books, 1998.