Book Review: 50 things you want to know about world issues

by Abu Fateh

Well if you talking about books now, it’ll always be Harry Potter. But how about this, a book that can make you ‘know everything’ about world issues kind of person, well if not everything at least part of everything. Obviously, current affairs theme book will only cover particular stories/issues, i.e. war, climate change, politics etc. But I manage to find a book that cover many subject around the world issues that you always wanted to ask and also the question you never thought to ask.

In an increasingly complex world it is easy to feel that only the experts understand global issues. Well known for his ‘Global Notebook’ segment on the ‘Sunrise‘ Channel 7 morning show, Dr Keith Suter makes sense of even the most complex issues to give a better understanding of what’s going on in the world and Australia place in it. Among the question he answers are including; Can the west win war in terrorism? What is the risk of World War III? What is globalisation? Why are the kids in Africa starving? Is the world running out of oil? Who owns South Pole? How serious US debt is? Is Microsoft is powerful than, say Poland? and more.

 

Book Review: Purification of The Heart

Purification of the heart: Sign, Symptoms, and cures of the spiritual diseases of the heart
Translation and Commentary of Imam Maulid’s Matharat al-Qulub by Hamza Yusuf

In the day of judgment no one is safe the one who returns to god with a pure heart (26:88-89)

In waiting the time for maghrib in the chilling weather of UK’s spring evening, my sms alert rang and reads, “I’m in London BBC studio, forum with Sy Hamza Yusuf, tune on BBC, its live at 7.” The massage came from my close friends who live in London some years ago while I was in Scotland. Without knowing the name of the Syeikh, I presume that there must be something special about him. Knowing my friend he will not be so eager for something unless it is really significant. I ‘googled’ his name, watching the forum and start to know him more and more since. He is a great scholar with immense knowledge, and noble effort in bringing the message of Islam in America.

Purification of the heart is a really special book. The book is inspired from the poem of Imam al Mawlud, ‘Matharat al-Qulub’ which address the sign, symptoms and cures of the spiritual diseases heart. In this book, Syeikh Hamza translate verse by verse from the poem and you will find there is about 25 of heart diseases which include miserliness, hatred, iniquity, envy, heedlessness, anger just to name some of them. The commentary on each verse is very constructive. Each disease commented is supported by the quran verses, hadith and early scholar’s opinion.

 

Book: The World from Islam

The World from Islam
Author: George Negus

By: Abu Fateh

This is the first book I bought when I first came to Australia. I never know the name of the author, but should have realized it from one of the program from the SBS channel. It is hard to get a book by Australian journalist writing about Islam, and I am lucky to find one. First came to Australia, I always wanted to know the way Australian deal with the post September 11 wave, which radically have change the shape of socio-politics around the western country; home of minority Muslims. Browsing through the synopsis, I believe the reason of the author to present this book to the community of non-Muslim is enough to tell me how unclear they are.