The story oof one of Australia's most contentious religious discrimination case

 

PB. 300pp. Excellent condition. $15 including p9stage anywhere in Australia.

In March 2002, three Muslim converts attend an Evangelical Christian seminar promoted to reveal the inner secrets of ‘Holy Jihad’.

Shocked by what they hear, they convince the Islamic Council of Victoria to lodge a complaint against Catch the Fire Ministries, under a controversial new hate speech law. A case expected to be over in three days turns into an unholy war of words lasting five long years – freedom of speech versus freedom from vilification is under the spotlight.

Award-winning author Hanifa Deen follows this case from beginning to end, witnessing the religious impulse at its best – and worst. Her very human account focuses on the personalities and motives of the two religious tribes – Muslims and born-again Christians. Real people – on both sides of the courtroom – express their pain and their innocence at a hearing that turns into a nightmare.

Through Deen’s eyes we discover a wider meaning to this conflict, as we come to realise that religious vilification is only one strand of a more complex story with hidden agendas.

Muslim women tell stories of rights, abuse, love and loss

 

Mint condition. PB. 402pp. Booktopia are selling this for $27.50 plus postage. Our special price including postage to anywhere in Australia is $25.

Andalusian scholar writes on Muslim interfaith relations

 

Rare book. PB. Mint condition. 231pp. Amazon sells this for over $40. Our price $20 including postage anywhere in Australia.

A study of excerpts from the classical Andalusian scholar Ibn Hazm on Islamic theology as it pertains to other religions in the context of the unique convivencia experiment in multiculturalism of medieval Islamic Spain.

SOLD Biography of Muhammad

 

SOLD

Mint condition. 268pp. PB. $20 including postage anywhere in Australia

Muhammad was born in 570 C.E. Over the course of the following sixty years, he built a thriving spiritual community and laid out the foundations of a religion that has changed the course of world history. There is more historical data available about his life than that of the founder of any other major faith, and yet, particularly in the West, his is a consistently misunderstood story.

An acclaimed authority on religious and spiritual issues, Karen Armstrong offers a balanced portrait of this revered figure. Through comparison with other prophets and mystics, she illuminates Muhammad's spiritual ideas; she uses the facts of his life, from which Muslims have drawn instruction for centuries, to make the tenets of Islam clear and accessible for modern readers of all faiths. This vivid and detailed biography strips away centuries of distortion and myth to reveal the man behind the religion.

Karen Armstrong, bestselling author, scholar, and journalist, is among the world's foremost commentators on religious history and culture. Post-9/11, she has become a crucial advocate for mutual understanding between the world's major faiths. Her books include Buddha: A Biography, The Battle for God, and Islam: A Short History.

"Respectful without being reverential, knowledgeable without being pedantic, and, above all, readable. It succeeds because [Armstrong] brings Muhammad to life as a fully rounded human being." -The Economist

SOLD Primer on Islamic faith and culture

 

SOLD to a lawyer in Tasmania.

Mint condition. PB. 403pp. $25 including postage anywhere in Australia.

Islam is the way of life for million of people around the world. Its teachings guide people to live harmoniously and in balance with themselves, others and the world around them. Everyday people come into contact with Islam and those who practice this faith. The need to know about the Islamic teachings has become more important then ever.

As Muslims assimilated the English language into their rainbow of languages, the need for clear and concise literature grows. This is especially true when one considers that there are millions of Muslims whose native language is now English. In addition many seekers of truth have been yearning for a book that would present the clear and precise Islamic view of life in a format that not only invites further study and research, but that also provides the path to achieve this goal.

"What Islam is All About" is a textbook designed to meet all of these needs. In one volume is included the basic history of the Prophet Muhammad, (peace be upon him), the teaching of Islam, the history of the ancient Prophets, the study of the Quran, the Islamic philosophy of the world and life within it, Islamic law, Hadith, contemporary issues and much more.

Perfect for Muslim schools, Sunday schools, adult study classes, independent learners, students of religion, seekers of truth and anyone interested to know more about Islam from an insider's point of view. You will not find a more complete, compelling, and pleasant presentation of Islam and what it teaches anywhere else!

SOLD Susan Carland writes on sexism in Muslim societies

 

SOLD to a lawyer in East Sydney, NSW.

Ex-library. Mint condition. PB. 182pp. $20 including postage anywhere in Australia.

The Muslim community that is portrayed to the West is a misogynist’s playground; within the Muslim community, feminism is often regarded with sneering hostility.

Yet between those two views there is a group of Muslim women many do not believe exists: a diverse bunch who fight sexism from within, as committed to the fight as they are to their faith. Hemmed in by Islamophobia and sexism, they fight against sexism with their minds, words and bodies. Often, their biggest weapon is their religion.

Here, Carland talks with Muslim women about how they are making a stand for their sex, while holding fast to their faith. At a time when the media trumpets scandalous revelations about life for women from Saudi Arabia to Indonesia, Muslim women are always spoken about and over, never with. In Fighting Hislam, that ends.

On the Buddhist tantric system

 

Very good condition. PB. 184pp. $20 including postage anywhere in Australia

"The Kalachakra, or "Wheel of Time," is one of the most profound and sublime of the Buddhist tantric systems. It is an intricate interweaving of astrology, eschatology, physiology, and yoga into a meditational path system that embraces the entire material universe and leads to complete, perfect enlightenment. 

The Kalachakra, with its special connection to the land of Shambhala and a future golden age of Dharma, has a special appeal for people of all levels of learning and practice. Initiation into its practices traditionally have been large public events, especially when granted by the Dalai Lama. Initiation into the Kalachakra Tantra has been given with increasing frequency in recent years, but information on this complex system and practice remains sparse. 

The Wheel of Time attempts in part to fill the gap. The book opens with a Foreword by His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama. Then the five articles discuss, respectively, the Buddhist background, history, initiation rites, generation stage sadhana, and completion stage practices of the Kalachakra Tantra."

An ex-priest writes about his civilisation

 

RARE BOOK. Excellent condition. PB. 374pp. $25 including postage anywhere in Australia.

Not yet another history of the Church written from within the church, this is a deliberately provocative, no holds barred, open forum discussion of the issues of Christianity.

Find out more about this book here. 

SOLD What the West gained from the rest

 

SOLD to an uber driver in Arncliffe

Mint condition. PB. $20 including postage anywhere in Australia

SOLD Introductory textbook on Muslim religious law

 

SOLD to a workplace psychologist in Arncliffe

Mint condition. PB. $20 including postage anywhere in Australia. $25 including postage anywhere in Australia.

SOLD On mosque architecture

 

SOLD

Ex-library. Mint condition. HB. $50 including postage anywhere in Australia.

David Marr's religious journey

 

Very good condition. PB. 319 pp. $18 including postage anywhere in Australia.

A prominent Australian journalist explores themes of religion, politics and sexuality. 

Priests and preachers have returned to haunt Australian politics. The mission is to get us all to heaven by banning drugs, chopping movies and turning the criminal law against sex. This book is about the politics of salvation - and the cruelty, comedy, and pain inflicted by the enemies of freedom and pleasure.

This is also a book of stories - of murder, and chicanery, suicide and savvy bishops, of the Methodist childhood of John Howard and the ruthless Christian warriors who fight the drugs war, of bizarre censorship and bigotry on the High Court, brawls behind the closed doors of elite church schools, the endless Crusade against sodomy and the devout life of Brian Harradine.

David Marr's aim is to make sense of what's happening as this country drifts back in time, by disentangling the theology from the politics.

A definitive biography of Buddha

 

Ex-library. Excellent condition. PB. 240pp. $20 including postage anywhere in Australia.

With such bestsellers as A History of God and Islam, Karen Armstrong has consistently delivered penetrating, readable, and prescient (The New York Times) works that have lucidly engaged a wide range of religions and religious issues. In Buddha she turns to a figure whose thought is still reverberating throughout the world 2,500 years after his death.

Many know the Buddha only from seeing countless serene, iconic images. But what of the man himself and the world he lived in? What did he actually do in his roughly eighty years on earth that spawned one of the greatest religions in world history? 

Armstrong tackles these questions and more by examining the life and times of the Buddha in this engrossing philosophical biography. 

Against the tumultuous cultural background of his world, she blends history, philosophy, mythology, and biography to create a compelling and illuminating portrait of a man whose awakening continues to inspire millions.

Essays on Islam, fundamentalism and freedom of speech in the West

 

Good condition. PB. 144pp. $15 including postage anywhere in Australia.

This collection of essays and occasional pieces have one unifying theme, the making of myth. This book looks at myths such as the Western myth of Islam and the exotic Orient, the Islamic myth of the decadent West, the myth of a plot centred around Salman Rushdie to denigrate the sacred personages of Islam, the utopian myths of fundamentalist preachers and the gurus of the new religious movements, the myth of causes in whose path death is perfect freedom.

SOLD Richard Fidler writes about the rise and fall of Constantineople

 

SOLD

Mint condition. HB. 512pp. $25 including postage anywhere in Australia.

'A brilliant reconstruction of the saga of power, glory, invasion and decay that is the one-thousand year story of Constantinople. A truly marvellous book.' - Simon Winchester

In 2014, Richard Fidler and his son Joe made a journey to Istanbul. Fired by Richard's passion for the rich history of the dazzling Byzantine Empire - centred around the legendary Constantinople - we are swept into some of the most extraordinary tales in history. The clash of civilizations, the fall of empires, the rise of Christianity, revenge, lust, murder. Turbulent stories from the past are brought vividly to life at the same time as a father navigates the unfolding changes in his relationship with his son.

GHOST EMPIRE is a revelation: a beautifully written ode to a lost civilization, and a warmly observed father-son adventure far from home.

Judith Lucy discovers her soul

 

Mint condition. Signed by the author. PB. 256pp. $20 including postage anywhere in Australia.

• A book about life that discusses liquor and lovemaking as much as it does the point of it all. 
• 
  
• Judith Lucy has looked everywhere for happiness. Growing up a Catholic, she thought about becoming a nun, and later threw herself into work, finding a partner and getting off her face. Somehow, none of that worked. 
• 
  
• So lately, she's been asking herself the big questions. Why are we here? Is there a God? What happens when we die? And why can't she tell you which of her friends has herpes, but not what they believe in? 
• 
  
• In her first volume of memoir, the bestselling The Lucy Family Alphabet, Judith to work out her parents. 
• 
  
• In Drink, Smoke, Pass Out, she tries to find out if there's more to life than wanting to suck tequila out of Ryan Gosling's navel. With disarming frankness and classic dry wit, she reviews the major paths of her life and, alarmingly, finds herself on a journey. 
• 
  
• 'A well written, poignant, moving and naturally humorous story of one forty-something's attempt to get her life together.' Australian Bookseller + Publisher 
• 
  
• 'An often hilarious, at times disarming account of her ongoing search for spiritual awakening.' Madison 
• 
  
• 'Can she write? Heck, yeah . . . At least one laugh per page - that's about 245 laughs' Herald Sun

Opus Dei

 

Mint condition. PB. 416pp. $18 including postage anywhere in Australia.

Opus Dei is one of the most talked about but least known religious organizations of our time. For years no one has been allowed access to its secrets. Until now . . .

Here, Vatican insider John Allen uncovers its true nature. Granted unlimited access to those within its ranks, gaining a wealth of interviews with the heads of Opus Dei around the world, Allen finally separates the myths from the facts: the actual use of whips and the cilice; the true extent of Opus Dei's funds; the identities of its influential members in politics, banking and high office; and how much power this shadowy group really has.

The classic work of religion ad politics in America

 

Very good condition. PB. 448pp. $20 including postage anywhere in Australia.

In Under God, Garry Wills, one of America's liveliest and most eminent political observers, moves through the tapestry of American history, illuminating the instances where American politics and American religion have collided.

Beginning with the 1988 presidential contest, an election that included two ministers and a senator accused of sin, Wills surveys our history to show the continuity of present controversies with past religious struggles and argues that the secular standards of the Founding Fathers have been misunderstood. He shows that despite reactionary fire-breathers and fanatics, religion has often been a progressive force in American politics and explains why the policy of a separate church and state has, ironically, made the position of the church stronger.

Marked by the extraordinary quality of observation that has defined the work of Garry Wills, Under God is a rich, original look at why religion and politics will never be separate in the United States.

SOLD Sex, marriage and the Church

 

SOLD

Excellent conditions. PB. 160pp. $15 including postage anywhere in Australia.

Travels through China's places of pilgrimage

 

Good condition. PB. 339pp. $20 including postage anywhere in Australia.

To walk through China is to walk on holy ground. Travels Through Sacred China is a guide to the soul of China. It is also a guidebook which enters into the spirit of Tao.

A revealing guide to China's guide to the vast religious and spiritual heritage

This book explains why to understand the soul of China you must see the sacred in China, which is there in the designs of the buildings, the street plans of the cities, in the household shrines at the back of shops, and in the concept that the very land of China itself is sacred. It presents the fundamental sacred ideas that lie at the heart of this ancient land, and is also a guidebook which enters into the spirit of the Dao, through which the culture and traditions of China are brought to life.

About the author

Martin Palmer is a regular contributor to the BBC on religious, ethical, and historical issues, and appears regularly on both BBC radio and TV, including the World Service. He is also a well-known translator of Chinese classical texts such as the Dao De Jing and the Shang Shu, and is an advisor to the China Taoist Association, the Mongolian Buddhist Sangha, and the World Council of Churches as well as heading the Alliance of Religions and Conservation.