Letting Islam Be Islam: Separating Truth From Myth

Since the jihadist attacks against the United States on September 11, 2001, numerous non-Muslims, including many of our political leaders, have tried to tell Americans what Islam "is." Unfortunately, many, if not most of these non-Muslims appeared to have relatively little knowledge about Islam. Consequently, efforts to understand Islam commonly start out by referring to it as "the Religion of Peace," and the terms "moderate" and "radical" have come to dominate our conversations about Islam. For that reason, Dr. Stephen M. Kirby has written this book to allow the Koran, "the Prophet" Muhammad, and authoritative Islamic scholars to explain what Islam "is." These sources were not worried about political correctness, and the result is a well documented, critically accurate presentation of Islam that counters many beliefs widely-held among non-Muslims. The reader will gain a new perspective on the term "radical." Kirby also examines studies that have looked at some of the attitudes among Muslim-Americans; these studies raise disturbing questions for American society. Dr. Kirby is the author of "Islam and Barack Hussein Obama: A Handbook on Islam." He holds a Ph.D. in Foreign Affairs from the University of Virginia. He is retired from over three decades in law enforcement, much of that time spent investigating white collar crimes and public corruption. Combining the investigative thoroughness of a detective with the research skills of a scholar, Kirby has written an authoritative, thought-provoking book that will change the way readers understand Islam.

The Editorial Review section does not have space for the entire review, so here it is:


Letting Islam Be Islam: Separating Truth From Myth

The book, written by Dr. Stephen Kirby, is based on the authentic, historical Islamic sources and the writings of new researchers as well as the foundation of Islamic thinking today.  Through it all, the book provides a very deep understanding of the Koran and the Sunnah in an effort to help the Muslim and the non-Muslim know and understand current Muslim behavior.  The book provides help understanding the basic relationship of Muslims with each other and with non-Muslims.  It consists of 19 chapters which include: interpretations, hadith, sirah (Mohammad's biography), the concept of abrogation, the prophet hood of Mohammad, peace be on Him, the Islamic religion and all the monotheistic religions, sharia, women, slavery, apostasy, interfaith regulations according to Omar, the five daily prayers, heaven, and American Muslims.

The book is an excellent resource to guide you in understanding the enormous plethora of information about Islam.  Whatever the motivation of those writings, whether it is out of knowledge, intelligence, fear, ignorance, deceit, or truce, you will understand them better after reading this book.

Hanan Lutfi Zinedine, Islamic Literature, Issue No. 73, 2013.
(Translation provided by Dr. Mark Christian)

Letting Islam Be Islam: Separating Truth From Myth, Dr. Stephen M. Kirby, CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (October 2, 2012), 402 pages
عنوان الكتاب بالعربية: "ليكون الإسلام هو الإسلام: فصل الحقيقة عن الخرافة". اعتمد مؤلف الكتاب الدكتور (ستيفين كيربي) على المصادر الإسلامية التاريخية الأصيلة، وكتابات الباحثين الجدد، إضافة إلى أسس التفكير الإسلامي اليوم. ومن خلال ذلك كله، يقدم الكتاب فهماً أعمق للقرآن والسُّنة بحيث يساعد المسلم وغير المسلم على معرفة السلوكيات الراهنة وفهمها، وعلى فهم أسس علاقة المسلمين ببعضهم بعضاً وبغير المسلمين. يتكون الكتاب من تسعة عشر فصلاً: شملت علوم التفسير والحديث والسيرة، ومبدأ النسخ، ونبوة محمد عليه الصلاة والسلام، ودين السلام، والأديان التوحيدية، والشريعة والمرأة، وقضية الرق، والردة، والعهدة العمرية، والصلوات الخمس، والجنة، والمسلمون الأميركيون. الكتاب دليل ممتاز لتوجيه الفهم للتدفق الهائل للإسهاب في الحديث عن الإسلام، سواء أكان ذلك عن علم أم ذكاء أم خوف أم تهدئة أم جهل أم خداع.