Jesus Today: A Quaker Perspective eBook: Michael Wright: Amazon.com.au: Kindle Store

Book review of Michael Wright’s ‘Jesus today – a Quaker perspective’ | Non-theist Friends Network



BOOK REVIEW OF MICHAEL WRIGHT’S ‘JESUS TODAY – A QUAKER PERSPECTIVE’
AUGUST 19, 2019 TREVOR LEAVE A COMMENT


Book review: Michael Wright’s ‘Jesus today – a Quaker perspective’
by David Parlett (extracted from our forthcoming NFN Newsletter)



Isn’t it remarkable how some of the best books on Jesus are written by former clerks of the Nontheist Friends Network? (David Boulton’s Who on Earth was Jesus?, published in 2008, became – and maybe still is – a standard text book in some RC seminaries following the enthusiastic recommendation of Henry Wansbrough, general editor of the New Jerusalem Bible.)

Now Michael Wright has published Jesus Today – a Quaker Perspective, to add to the collection. Michael was an Anglican priest for 40 years before leaving ordained ministry and becoming a Quaker, so he knows whereof he speaks. 

Furthermore, his knowledge is up to date: while most of his quotations are from the bible and Quaker Faith and Practice, he also draws on valuable material from such writers as John Spong, Karen Armstrong and Marcus Borg.

 ‘What I am seeking to share with those who read this’, he explains, ‘is a fresh appreciation of Jesus, his life and teaching, which is not trapped in the mindset of the past’. He regrets that ‘Few [Quakers] refer to Jesus or the gospels in meeting for worship. Mention of him can even be unwelcome to some. I hope now to stimulate an interest in the significance of his teaching from which we can draw inspiration for our values and practice today… There is a significant contrast between Jesus’ original teaching and behaviour and the authoritative doctrines and orthodoxies later developed and then imposed by the institutional churches. Quakers have largely either challenged or sidelined these since the foundations of our movement in the 17th century.’

If Chapter 3, devoted to ‘some elements of the Quaker way’, will serve well for newcomers and enquirers who find some of our language and attitudes unusual and perhaps baffling, chapter 4, ‘A Quaker approach to the bible’ is essential reading for many of us who think we know it well enough already. ‘Quakers share the biblical narrative with other Christians, and we value the scriptures without taking everything at face value. We pay attention to the spirit who gave the scriptures, rather than abiding by the letter of them.’ (This is almost word-for-word Robert Barclay). ‘Our approach to the scriptures is distinctive and not widely understood, even among Quakers’. Rather than adopt creeds, he adds: ‘The early Quakers […] delved into the scriptures and drew from them inspiration to shape their lives in the circumstances of their own time. This we can do in our day. Our Quaker testimony to truth and to integrity, to equality and justice, to peace, to simplicity and sustainability, all spring from gospel principles which Jesus taught’.

Michael then looks at the four gospels, using an image that particularly appeals to me. As a former journalist, he likens the style of Mark to The Daily Mirror, Matthew to The Daily Telegraph, Luke to The Guardian, and John to The Sunday Times as it used to be.

Chapter 6, ‘Revising our understanding of the Jesus story’, precedes ‘Some Quaker Responses to Jesus’, in which we are reminded of George Fox’s central experience of discovering Jesus within himself and of the impact of the Quaker message in English life when first shared publicly. But the scene in Britain today is very different from the 1640s: ‘Then Christian religious practice and teaching was the shared experience of just about everybody, although there were lots of disagreements between different groups about what should be taught and practised. Today Christian congregations are clearly a minority, in which the distinctive Quaker voice is a minority within a minority’. 

 David Parlett

Michael Wright’s Jesus Today – a Quaker Perspective is published by Sixth Element Publishing, 2019 (ISBN 978191221857-8). Michael has very kindly allowed us to add it our website at: https://nontheist-quakers.org.uk/2019/07/23/jesus-today-book/ (182 pages pdf), but if you would like a nice printed copy try Friends House Bookshop.

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Jesus Today: A Quaker Perspective eBook: Michael Wright: Amazon.com.au: Kindle Store




Jesus is a name we all recognise, but few people these days really know much about him, his personality or his teaching. For many he is as he appears in stained glass windows, or in hymns with words like “now above the sky he’s king, where the angels ever sing”, or nailed to a cross – dead. None of these present the lively radical teacher, poet, and healer that he was in his prime.

A great deal of new knowledge about Jesus and the time in which he lived has become available in recent years. Few people in Quaker meetings or in churches are aware of much of it.

Michael Wright is a Quaker. Before that he was an Anglican priest. He has for many years engaged Quakers, Methodists, Anglicans and Roman Catholics in exploring some of this modern perspective of Jesus. Many who come to discover more about Jesus find that he challenges, motivates, encourages and inspires them in ways which the traditional Christ of faith often does not. This book invites readers to discover more about Jesus, and also something of a Quaker perspective on him.

Having found the Quaker way one which has given his spiritual practice a new lease of life, Michael commends it to others, whether Quakers or not. He has found that Quaker ways can also help enrich the lives of those who belong to other religious communities at the same time as sharing in aspects of Quaker life and worship.

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Product Description
Jesus is a name we all recognise, but few people these days really know much about him, his personality or his teaching. For many he is as he appears in stained glass windows, or in hymns with words like “now above the sky he’s king, where the angels ever sing”, or nailed to a cross – dead. None of these present the lively radical teacher, poet, and healer that he was in his prime.

A great deal of new knowledge about Jesus and the time in which he lived has become available in recent years. Few people in Quaker meetings or in churches are aware of much of it.

Michael Wright is a Quaker. Before that he was an Anglican priest. He has for many years engaged Quakers, Methodists, Anglicans and Roman Catholics in exploring some of this modern perspective of Jesus. Many who come to discover more about Jesus find that he challenges, motivates, encourages and inspires them in ways which the traditional Christ of faith often does not. This book invites readers to discover more about Jesus, and also something of a Quaker perspective on him.

Having found the Quaker way one which has given his spiritual practice a new lease of life, Michael commends it to others, whether Quakers or not. He has found that Quaker ways can also help enrich the lives of those who belong to other religious communities at the same time as sharing in aspects of Quaker life and worship.

Life in the Light: the challenge of belief and language for 21st century Quakers | The Australian Friend

Life in the Light: the challenge of belief and language for 21st century Quakers | The Australian Friend

Life in the Light: the challenge of belief and language for 21st century Quakers

February 28, 2015/0 Comments/in 1503 March 2015 /by David Swain

Geoffrey Ballard, Canberra Regional Meeting

This article stems from the workshop looking at the non-traditional Quaker colours, that I co-facilitated with Peter Williams at the 2015 YM Summer School.

We attended a Share and Tell session on Non-Theism at the 2014 YM, our first Yearly Meeting. It was great to be among people who shared a range of views, were open to non-traditional beliefs, and wanted to have a conversation about Quaker beliefs. As a follow-up to that session, Peter volunteered to develop a proposal for a Quaker survey, to find out more about Australian Quakers and what they believe, the final results of which are now available. So now we have some data (that can be found on the Quaker website), none of it at all surprising perhaps, but interesting nonetheless.

I introduced the Summer School with these words:

Almost at the same time as the experience of George Fox and the founding of the Religious Society of Friends, Isaac Newton, in 1665, discovered that light is made up of many colours. Like light, 21st century Quakerism is made up of a spectrum of beliefs (colours).

In religion and science, views have changed since the 17th century. Since Fox and Newton’s views on religion, we have had the religious views of scientist Albert Einstein, and now Stephen Hawking; as well, religious thinkers, from the Christian tradition, like Selby Spong, Don Cupitt, Karen Armstrong, and non-theistic Quaker David Boulton, express various views on current religious thought. Their thinking has evolved.

No doubt there are Muslim, Jewish and Buddhist thinkers as well as Humanists who could add much to this arena.

What do you think and believe? The challenge of the Quaker survey was to think about the “god” word. Is Quakerism Christianity without beliefs? Is it Humanism within a Christian culture? Is Quakerism Humanistic Christianity? Does it matter what Quakers believe? I have heard some Quakers say “no” to the last question.

In essence, 62% of Australian Friends believe in “G/god”, 13% do not, and 25% are uncertain or unable to answer. Of those who believe in “G/god”, most describe this term as The Inward Light, A Life Force or Spirit, and not a being. Those who do not believe in “G/god” have developed a range of alternative words to substitute when traditional religious terms are used. Words are metaphors so it is important that when they are used we understand their common meaning so that we can communicate.

I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth: And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord, Who was conceived by the holy Ghost, Born of the virgin Mary, Suffered under Pontius Pilate, Was crucified, dead and buried. He descended into Hell, The third day he rose again from the dead. He ascended into Heaven, And sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost, The holy Catholick Churche, The Comunion of Saints, the forgiveness of sins, The resurrection of the body, And the life everlasting. Amen.

From the 1662 Book of Common Prayer.

Is this the God that George Fox believed in?

Can I make a bold assertion and say that most 21st century Australian Quakers do not believe in this God, and that most people would see Quakers as non-theists if a conversation took place. David Boulton says,

Nontheism … is …the absence of any belief in a deity or deities, in the existence of God (where ‘existence’ is understood in a realist, objective sense), and especially belief in one God as creator and supreme ruler. (p.6, Godless for God’s Sake, edited by David Boulton)

Some Quaker nontheists have wholly abandoned ‘God language’ and hope for a progressive relinquishment of such language within the Society. Some choose not to use the word ‘God’ themselves but are happy to “translate” it when it is used by other Friends in written or spoken ministry or in conversation. Some have no problem using traditional Quaker Godspeak – “God”, “that of God”, “the Spirit”, “the divine”, ‘”the inner light” – understanding these hallowed and resonant terms metaphorically, symbolically, poetically, instrumentally, signifying the sum of our human values, the imagined embodiment of our human ideals, the focus of our ultimate concern: no more, but, gloriously, no less than all that makes up the wholly human spirit. (p.7-8, Godless for God’s Sake, edited by David Boulton)

Unfortunately experience is so hard to put into words. Yet we need to use words to communicate. As my husband pointed out to me: trying to describe beautiful music to another person is almost impossible. It has to be experienced. Yet everyone will experience something different. When I first heard Mimi and Rodolfo express their love for each other in La Boheme, tears came to my eyes. Someone else may be left without any emotional reaction, or a different reaction.

Quakers are experimental and experiential. They don’t accept being told, or behaving according to a formula. Quakers are bit like cats. Ever try herding cats?

So what is the problem? Quakers have meetings for “worship”. Some would call them just meetings, or meetings for silence and stillness, or meetings for contemplation and insight. And when you look on the Australian Quaker website, and start reading the material, a different picture is revealed about Quaker belief, at odds with the results of the Quaker survey. ‘God’ language is used that needs explanation for good communication. Making assumptions can lead to big misunderstandings.

For example, at the end of a press release by the YM Clerk, put out after the 2015 YM, it states:

About Quakers: ………Quakers believe everyone is endowed with something of the divine; and one can strengthen awareness of it and obedience to it by silent worship, mutual support and activity together, and by trying to live according to our testimonies……

I believe this statement is not a true reflection of all Quakers in Australia in 2015. If the statement had said: Most Quaker believe….. then it would have used inclusive language and been accurate.

This is the challenge for 21st century Quakerism. How to describe Quakerism that allows for the many colours of belief, at the same time not denying the historical Christian tradition, but using inclusive language that does not exclude those who are non-theist. Advices and Queries is a very useful tool for meditation and reflection, but for many non-theists it has many roadblocks because of the language used and the assumptions made about modern day Quakers.

It is often said that Quakers believe that there is something of God in everyone. They don’t, you know! Many do, but not all. And that is after a conversation to decide what is your experience or definition of God.

What would George Fox, with a 21st century mindset, say about Quakers now? Would he say, “Of course we believe in God – make it very clear to everyone”. (Which God would that be George?) Or would he be saying. “We are many years past the age of Enlightenment. We have scientific discoveries and understanding about the Universe. Update!” In the recent film The Theory of Everything, Stephen Hawking says in one of the opening scenes, to Jane, his future wife, that he is a cosmologist. “What’s cosmology?” she asks, and he responds, “Religion for intelligent atheists.”

How do Quakers now present themselves to the world as people of many colours (beliefs)? How do Quakers speak about themselves to each other? How can a theist and non-theist listen and accept each other, without the fear of change and a loss of historical tradition and heritage?

In particular, the current language, especially in written form, is not inclusive of all Quakers today. Diversity can bring strength, but Quakers must drag themselves into the 21st century, and truly represent the makeup of all members.

In 1656 the elders at Balby released Quakers from complete adherence to original writings, (“the letter killeth”), as is seen in other religious traditions, and established the principle of “continuing revelation”. The challenge is to make the principles and the practice of early Quakers meaningful to us by using language and practices that are relevant in the context of today’s culture.

I am not rejecting the use of religious language. I am asking for relevant and inclusive language.

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Children of the Light
Come in all ages and sizes
One shape does not fit all.

Haiku by Margaret Woodward

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Further reading

Books and articles

Bolton David (ed) 2009. Godless for God’s sake. Nontheism in contemporary Quakerism. Dales Historical Monographs; Hobsons Farm, Dent UK;

Epstein, Greg M. 2010 Good without God. What a billion nonreligious people do believe. HarperCollins: New York, NY.

Geering, Lloyd 2002  Christianity without God.  Polebridge Pess, California. 

Vosper, Greta 2012. Amen. What prayer can mean in a world beyond belief. HarperCollins: Toronto;

Maguire, Daniel C. 2014 Christianity without God. Moving beyond the dogmas and retrieving the epic moral narrative. State University of New York Press: Albany, NY.

Harris, Sam 2014. Waking Up. A guide to spirituality without religion. Simon & Schuster: New York, NY

Holloway, Richard 1999.  Godless morality.  Canongate Books, Edinburgh.

Cressin, Os 2014. Quaker and naturalist too. Morning Walk Press: Iowa City, IA.

Raymo, Chet 2008. When God is gone everything is holy. The making of a

religious naturalist. Sorin Books: Notre Dame IN.

Rush, David 2002. They Too are Quakers: A survey of 199 nontheist

Friends. Available at http://universalistfriends.org/pdf/rush.pdf

Wright, Michael (2014). Being Quaker now. A different way of being open

for transformation. Available at: http://www.nontheist-quakers.org.uk/documents/Being_Quaker_now.pdf

Websites

Nontheist Friends http://www.nontheistfriends.org/

Nontheist Quakers. Nontheist Friends Network for British Quakers of an atheist, agnostic or nontheist persuasion interested in modern theology. http://www.nontheist-quakers.org.uk/index.php

Quaker Universalist Voice. A forum for exploring diverse spiritual paths.

http://universalistfriends.org/

Sea of faith network http://www.sofn.org.uk/ “Exploring and promoting religious faith as human creation”

Tags: Quakerism, theism and non-theism

Karen Armstrong will make the ‘Case for God’ in Noble Lectures – Harvard Gazette

Karen Armstrong will make the ‘Case for God’ in Noble Lectures – Harvard Gazette

Karen Armstrong will make the ‘Case for God’ in Noble Lectures

DATENovember 8, 2007

Acclaimed author and religious historian Karen Armstrong will present “The Case for God” during the three-day William Belden Noble Lectures at the Memorial Church Nov. 13-15 at 8 p.m. 

Armstrong, the author of some 20 books, including the best-selling “A History of God” and “The Battle for God,” is renowned for her ideas about the similarities between Islam, Judaism, and Christianity, and what unites the three monotheist faiths. She points out that each has in common the image of a single supreme being who was revealed to the Prophet Abraham, each is historically linked to Jerusalem, and each, during the past few years, has seen within it the rise of a rigid and conservative group within their faith that has formed in reaction to the changing modern world.

On Nov. 13, Armstrong will begin the series with her examination of “What Is Truth?”; the following evening (Nov. 14), she will discuss “How Do We Know the Unknowable God?”; and her final lecture (Nov. 15) confronts “God’s Future.” An eminent religious scholar will present a response to each of the lectures.

Among Armstrong’s recent work is a re-writing of her biography of the Prophet Muhammad, newly titled “Muhammad: A Prophet for Our Time.” She said on New York public radio in 2006, that “I have rewritten my biography of the Prophet Muhammad, based on the latest research — he was not a warrior, but he found himself, like many of the Axial Age sages, in a violent society and he eventually brought peace to the region by practicing a daring policy of nonviolence worthy of Gandhi. He stopped the violence and went into Mecca unarmed and forced the Meccans to negotiate with him, accepting terms that his followers thought were disgraceful.” She has just completed work on her latest book, “The Bible: A Biography,” due out in November.

The Noble Lectures were established at Harvard in 1898 and claim an impressive roster of past lecturers including Theodore Roosevelt, Sen. Eugene McCarthy, and Archbishop of Canterbury Robert Runcie. The lectures are free and open to the public. For more information, contact the Memorial Church at (617) 495-5508 or e-mail memorial_church@harvard.edu.

Review: The Bible by Karen Armstrong | Books | The Guardian

Review: The Bible by Karen Armstrong | Books | The Guardian

People of the book
Richard Harries praises Karen Armstrong's study of the origins of Jewish and Christian scriptures, The Bible


Richard Harries

Sun 14 Oct 2007 08.57 AESTFirst published on Sun 14 Oct 2007 08.57 AEST




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The Bible: The Biography
by Karen Armstrong
302pp, Atlantic Books, £14.99

What on earth are we to make of the Bible? Literally a closed book to so many now, and when opened found to be an amazing mixture of the obscure, the horrendous and the sublime. A book that is still used by millions for daily reflection and misused by a good number for political purposes. Karen Armstrong's study, which appears in the series "Books That Shook the World", manages to organise a large amount of complex material in a clear and orderly way. She shows how the highly disparate writings that now compose the Jewish and Christian scriptures came together and examines the very different methods of interpretation used over the centuries. Her book's great strength is the way she unfolds the Jewish and Christian histories of formation and interpretation in parallel with one another.

The two pivotal points for her are the destruction of the temple in the 6th century BCE and the even more devastating destruction of Herod's great temple in 70 CE, followed, some decades later, by the flattening of the whole of Jerusalem. 

These traumatic events resulted in the formation of religious communities no longer so dependent on a physical building but on words written down on scrolls and later collected together in books. The destruction of the second temple resulted not only in the young Christian church, which saw itself as a temple of the Holy Spirit, the locus of the divine presence in the world, but in the gathering of a small group of rabbis in Yavneh, a coastal city southwest of Jerusalem, and later in Galilee. Indeed you feel that Armstrong's heart is with this group of heroic rabbis trying to recreate Judaism after their terrible loss and urging that scripture should always be interpreted as encouraging compassion even when it is against the surface meaning of a particular text.

The stories continue, showing the continuing tension between those who wished to see a historical truth in a text and those who sought what they thought of as its real ethical and mystical meaning through allegory. But as Armstrong shows, an exclusively literal interpretation of the Bible is a recent development. I particularly liked the statement by Calvin, who is so often appealed to by fundamentalists, that the story of creation in Genesis is God adapting a complex, profound truth to our very limited minds and is therefore to be seen as balbative or "baby talk". All interpretations are in any case inseparable from the ideology that is brought to bear, whether it is the conviction that all scripture is about Christ, or the one behind certain forms of the Kabbalah, with its mysterious idea of a divine spark now scattered and implanted in each one of us which has to be reunited with its source.

One of the book's underlying themes is that there is no definitive meaning of a text. Each has been and will be endlessly disputed. William Blake summed it up succinctly: "Both read the Bible day and night, / But thou read'st black where I read white." This has been a great source of embarrassment to Christians but is regarded as something of a strength in Judaism. Indeed there is a wonderful story, which Armstrong cites, of some early rabbis trying to find the true meaning of a text. One of them appeals to heaven for a miracle or divine voice to show them what it is, and the answer comes back that the responsibility for interpretation now lies with them. This cannot be overridden by anything from heaven. As a later rabbi said: "We pay no attention to a heavenly voice." On hearing that he had been overruled, God had the decency to laugh and say: "My children have conquered me."

The second theme is well put, not only by the rabbis of Yavneh but Augustine: "Whoever, therefore, thinks that he understands the divine scriptures or any part of them so that it does not build the double love of God and of our neighbour does not understand it at all. Whoever finds a lesson there useful to the building of charity, even though he has not said what the author may be shown to have intended in that place, has not been deceived."

In the light of that it is strange that space is given to Rabbi Meir Kahane - whose biblical justification of ethnic cleansing led Baruch Goldstein to shoot 29 worshipping Palestinians dead - but not to any of the heroic figures, some of them martyrs, such as Archbishop Oscar Romero, who have been inspired by the Bible to struggle for the most marginalised against the forces of oppression.

Armstrong takes a tough-minded approach to alleged facts, observing for example that "the scholarly consensus is that the story of the exodus is not historical". She doubts whether we can get beyond what the Gospels give us to assemble a historic life of Jesus. Yet sceptical scholars, whether Jewish like Geza Vermes or Christian like JN Sanders, have come up with outlines of Jesus's life and teaching that are very similar.

The book has a helpful glossary, footnotes and index. But I would have liked to see a final chapter that considered how feminists, liberation theologians and literary critics are looking at scripture with new enthusiasm and insights. Also there is the Orthodox Christian east, as well as western Europe and America, to take into account in any full story; and, not least, the way the Bible is now being interpreted and used in a host of developing countries.
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Lord Harries of Pentregarth is honorary professor of theology at King's College London. His book The Re-enchantment of Morality: Wisdom for a Troubled World is due to be published by SPCK.

If the Oceans Were Ink: An Unlikely Friendship and a Journey to the Heart of the Quran: Carla Power: 0783324807769: Amazon.com: Books

If the Oceans Were Ink: An Unlikely Friendship and a Journey to the Heart of the Quran: Carla Power: 0783324807769: Amazon.com: Books





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If the Oceans Were Ink: An Unlikely Friendship and a Journey to the Heart of the Quran Paperback – April 7, 2015
by Carla Power (Author)
4.1 out of 5 stars 111 customer reviews
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PULITZER PRIZE FINALIST

NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST

Named A Best Book of the Year by The Washington Post and The Denver Post

“A vibrant tale of a friendship.... If the Oceans Were Ink is a welcome and nuanced look at Islam [and] goes a long way toward combating the dehumanizing stereotypes of Muslims that are all too common.... If the Oceans Were Ink should be mandatory reading for the 52 percent of Americans who admit to not knowing enough about Muslims.” ―The Washington Post

“Journalist Power writes about her year studying the Quran with a Muslim scholar she befriended while working at a think tank in London. For some, this will be a strong introduction to Islam. To others, it's fodder for discussion on the Sheikh's views, how Westerners (such as Power) interpret those views and the interplay of culture and religion.” ―The Denver Post

“For all those who wonder what Islam says about war and peace, men and women, Jews and gentiles, this is the book to read. It is a conversation among well-meaning friends--intelligent, compassionate, and revealing--the kind that needs to be taking place around the world.” ―Fareed Zakaria, author of The Post-American World

“With a journalist’s mind for the story, a born traveler’s heart for the adventure of crossing borders, and a seeker’s yen for the poetry and mysticism of belief, Power creates an exceptional record of a timeless quest.”― Merritt Tierce, a National Book Foundation “5 Under 35” honoree and author of Love Me Back

“An inspiring story of two [people] from different worlds who refuse to let religious and cultural differences, prejudice, and ignorance get in the way of their friendship, If the Oceans Were Ink is as thought-provoking as it is elegantly written. It takes a difficult, highly charged topic and puts it into terms that are not only understandable and eye-opening, but beautiful.”―Bustle (11 Beautifully Written Memoirs by Women)

“[Carla Power and Sheikh Mohammad Akram Nadwi's] conversations break down stereotypes.... Power displays the diversity and intellectual richness of the practicing Muslim world, and shows how much we have to gain from mutual understanding.” ―Shelf Awareness

“Carla Power's intimate portrait of the Quran, told with nuance and great elegance, captures the extraordinary, living debate over the Muslim holy book's very essence. A spirited, compelling read.” ―Azadeh Moaveni, author of Lipstick Jihad

“Engaging … Together [Carla Power and the Sheikh] explore … the significance of veiling and unveiling, the struggle against unjust rulers and jihad, and contemporary wars. Power's narrative offers an accessible and enlightening route into a topic fraught with misunderstanding.” ―Publishers Weekly

“Unique, masterful, and deeply engaging. Carla Power takes the reader on an extraordinary journey in interfaith understanding as she debates and discovers the Quran's message, meaning, and values on peace and violence, gender and veiling, religious pluralism and tolerance.” ―John L. Esposito, University Professor and Professor of Islamic Studies, Georgetown University, and author of The Future of Islam

“Lively … Intelligent and exceptionally informative.” ―Kirkus Reviews

“A thoughtful, provocative, intelligent book.” ―Diana Abu-Jaber, author of Birds Of Paradise and The Language of Baklava

“Their yearlong debates on issues ranging from the veiling of women to calls for fatwas challenged their own understandings of religion, culture, politics, and friendship and offer powerful new insights into Islam.” ―Booklist

“If the Oceans Were Ink opens a door to the power of the Quran's lyrical and complex prose to inspire, comfort, and ignite hearts everywhere. A must read for anyone wishing to understand a global community's central spiritual source.” ―Dalia Mogahed, Director of Research, The Institute for Social Policy and Understanding, and co-author of Who Speaks for Islam?

“A former foreign correspondent for Newsweek raised partly in the Middle East and boasting a graduate degree in Middle Eastern studies from Oxford, Power spent a year reading the Quran with a longtime friend, Sheikh Mohammad Akram Nadwi. Their experience led them beyond stereotypes to a constructive understanding for the text's call for peace and equality. Great for book clubs.” ―Library Journal

“There are many intriguing books that trace the encounter of Westerners with Muslims from traditional backgrounds. Some of these books are love stories, others are clashes. Carla Power's If the Oceans Were Ink is something more radical, magical, and much more relevant: a religious encounter mediated through a gentle friendship, one that is committed to a dialogue and a search for truth. In a world characterized by so much tension and polemic, Power offers what might be our best hope for a better tomorrow: an intelligent friendship. Most enthusiastically recommended.” ―Omid Safi, Director, Duke Islamic Studies Center
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About the Author

Carla Power writes for TIME and was a foreign correspondent for Newsweek. Her writing has appeared in Vogue, Glamour, The New York Times Magazine, and Foreign Policy. Her work has been recognized with an Overseas Press Club award, a Women in Media Award, and the National Women's Political Caucus's EMMA Award. She holds a graduate degree in Middle Eastern Studies from Oxford, as well as degrees from Yale and Columbia.

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Paperback: 352 pages
Shipping Weight: 10.7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars 111 customer reviews


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Biography
After a childhood spent split between the Midwest and the Middle East and Asia, I grew up interested in the relationship of Muslim societies and the West. I went on to study and write about Islam and Muslim issues as a journalist. But it wasn't until I sat down with my old friend Sheikh Muhammad Akram Nadwi to read the Quran that I found myself really engaging with the surprising ways they converged and diverged.
Having been raised moving around, I'm happy to continue doing so. I now live in England with my British husband and Brit-American kids, though I get back to the Midwest--and the Mid-East and Asia--as much as I can.


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Roger Deblanck
5.0 out of 5 starsAn Enlightening MemoirJanuary 16, 2017
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In her yearlong study under the guidance of renowned Islamic scholar Sheikh Mohammad Akram Nadwi, journalist Clara Power gained profound insight and clarity of the Quran’s humane message of peace and inclusiveness. Her memoir is a remarkably moving tribute to the great knowledge and compassion that echo forth from the true teachings of the Prophet Muhammad. Through her experiences, we can gain a deep appreciation for the beauty, complexity, and humanity of the Quranic verses. Power highlights how the Sheikh’s studies bear testament to the manifold contributions and significant influences women have made throughout the history of Islam. In fact, no religion has women playing so vital a role in its development than Islam. Too often over the centuries, it has been radicals and extremists who have polluted the true message of the Quran. In doing so, they have chosen to exploit laws and customs to carry out oppression, violence, and terror.

Power learned from the Sheikh how to return to a close examination of the Prophet’s sage words and deeds, which reveal the inspiring faith and universal values of the Quran. In its essence, Islam advocates devotion to prayer, focus on charity, and closeness to God. Islam espouses equal rights and justice, and an empowering form of humanity can be found in the life of the Prophet’s wisdom and actions. To be a true Muslim one must show loyalty to the Prophet’s sunna, his words and deeds. Through the Prophet’s vision and message, one finds a call for moderation of actions, acceptance of others, equality of all people, and piety towards God. Muhammad’s community of Muslims was to spread peace, feed the hungry, and honor kinships. The Prophet preached never to force beliefs on anyone. His hopes were to bring learning and understanding. He knew his limits and he taught to avoid anger, power, and wealth. He also taught his followers to be generous and demonstrate a gentle character. These attributes will ultimately help people relate to the true message of Islam. In fact, nowhere in Islam do hierarchies or divisions exist. Nor does compulsion. Islam not only tolerates differences, it values them as part of God’s design. The Quran stresses how no singular group has exclusive salvation, and it questions any group that claims only a singular path to paradise exists.

So why is Islam viewed with suspicion and fear? The Sheikh explained to Power how obsessive rules and laws have too often devolved into punitive measures and acts of extremism, which directly defy what the Prophet taught and stood for. Sadly, abandonment of Islam’s true message occurred over centuries with the decline of the traditional madrasa system. The intellect and moderation of Islam slowly deteriorated into the harsh words and practices of radicals. Extremists now conduct misguided readings of the Quran and settle on reckless interpretations. The Sheikh explains how Islam is about justice and how all fighting and protesting should be redirected into time spent for prayer and honoring God. Islamists have made Islam about political struggle, when they should be focused on piety. By making political power the only goal of Islam, extremists abandon the way of the Prophet’s teachings. Their quest for sharia law destroys their piety towards God. Real piety requires a commitment to one’s individual belief in honoring God and following the Prophet’s message of peace and understanding. State-endorsed Islam is nothing more than hypocrisy. Problems arise when Muslims chose identity politics over piety.

Returning to a loyal reading of the Quran reveals a great humanity based on reason and tolerance. Islam began with a command to read, so any call to arms is misguided because Islam demands its followers to think, pray, submit, and be patient in their quest to gain a closeness to God. This knowledge of returning to God is the cycle of life that the Prophet pursued. Carla Power learned through her studies with Sheikh Akram that the piety rooted at the heart of Islam calls for the defense of human rights and a devotion to individual consciousness over laws imposed by the state. Power’s memoir celebrates exactly what Islam expounds: that to practice true humanity, one must learn to see the whole of the world and learn to accept and understand others. If the Oceans Were Ink is among the most enlightening and open-minded books on discussing the humane faith of Islam and the Quran.

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Gretchen @ My Life is a Notebook
4.0 out of 5 starsA must read if interestedMay 27, 2016
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I did not believe that Carla would be the right narrator in the beginning. She opens the book with the story of her early years, living around the world with her family in Egypt and Afghanistan and India and all these other places, while her father collected artifacts. My stomach dropped when I thought that she was going to believe herself worldly enough to have these discussions because she’d been places and seen things in a very privileged fashion.

Instead, she directly confronts her privilege. She calls out her past self for thinking that she knew a lot about other cultures and other religions even though she had never really engaged with them deeply. Throughout the book, she is constantly admitting her to own biases and beliefs and using them to challenge her own way of thinking–and the reader’s. Instead of feeling as though I was listening to someone who thought they were an authority on the subject, I truly believed I was listening to the genuine journey to understanding of someone with an academic background of knowledge in Islamic religion and culture. That, on it’s own, is priceless.

Then there is the nature of the man with whom she takes this journey, Sheikh Mohammad Akram Nadwi. There is never any moment when either of them use his opinions as an end-all-be-all answer for all Muslims. Instead, we are led to a deep understanding of how he views the Quran the way he does, but also how others view it in different ways. We are never made to feel as if his answers are the “best” ones, though I grew to have a deep respect for him and his ideas.

A great deal of this comes from the fact that, while there are a lot of surprising places where Power and the Sheikh are in harmony, there are many places where they are not. The book does not shy away from these things, and instead investigates them on both sides. Sometimes, it is Power who showcases a shift in her worldview. In others, the Sheikh himself changes his opinion. It is a genuine dialogue of give and take.

I took this class in order to deepen my knowledge of other religions, and for the first time with these books I feel like that has been accomplished. Not only do I feel educated about some of the finer points of Islam and the Quran, but I have also come to an understanding of how the Quran can be interpreted and what it means to a variety of different Muslims. I also recognized myself taking a similar journey to Power while I was reading. I appreciated her blunt honesty with herself and her worldview, because it kept me from narrowing mine. If this is a topic that you are interested in, I completely recommend picking this up.

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John R. Sheehan
5.0 out of 5 starsBrilliant and Very Readable - a Book to add to your permanent collectionApril 26, 2018
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I should get a commission for the number of times I have recommended this book. If you want a sane and sober view of Islam, without trying to convert you to how wonderful it is or how horrible, if you seriously want to understand a different point of view without feeling you are being attacked, this is it. Gently written, with great compassion and yet without losing a point of view, this book walks you through some of the major questions that most westerners have without being aggressive or dismissive. I

I likened this book to my grandmother's fudge. My grandmother made fudge that was so rich, taking a bite would probably have put your system into terminal shock. You scraped little bits with your teeth, and let the richness melt in your mouth. This book, for me at least, was like that. I would read for a little, and then put the book aside to digest what I had read. It took me a while to get through, not because it was complex or difficult but because it was so rich, and provided so much stimulus for my own thought and reflection.

I continue to recommend this book, and this will be a book I will re-read several more times, I know. I am grateful to the friend who recommended it to me, and I am confident in recommending it to others.

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doaa
5.0 out of 5 starsAn amazing book with a smart message to muslims and non-muslims as wellMay 25, 2016
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An amazing book. An honest writer who describes an ideal Muslim family and their interactions in Western environment. The "sheikh" represents a pure pious Muslim who could smartly and peacefully adhere to the core of religion.."Clothes don't make you pious" "they protect piety when it is already there"..Also I was moved by his attitude and his respect to his religious principle, " the sheikh would caution his students not to repakage Islam to make it more acceptable to Westerners "..the way the sheikh explained sourat (or chapter) " Youssef" (or Joseph) in Quran is really very impressive..with a novel sensible sense!.. I enjoyed reading a book and I advise anyone who would really want to know more about Islam from a neutral and a rational point if view to read the book...this is a smart message to Muslims and non Muslims as well..an invitation that tells everyone start with your heart...

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susie m
4.0 out of 5 starsFor a better understanding of Islam, both culturally & spirituallyJuly 18, 2017
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Many Americans are very interested in learning more about Islamic culture and religion, particularly as they relate to Western values. This book is a great place to start. I was impressed by the diversity and depth of views described here, as well as the author's thoughtful examination of her own biases as she absorbed surprising statements from the Sheikh. Ms. Power would do well to understand Christianity a little more, but all in all, I found, as she did, a deeper understanding of my own beliefs. I heartily recommend this book and am inspired to learn more about Islam and how all religions affect their intercultural relationships worldwide, both in conflict and compatibility.

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Bia
4.0 out of 5 starsAn important read amidst an East and West divideJuly 3, 2017
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If the Oceans were Ink comes at a crucial moment. While Islam has been around for thousands of years, prejudice towards its religious practices, born of the actions of extremists, has never been greater. Carla Power draws attention to an important distinction between these extremists—those that you see and hear in the media—and the everyday civilians who practice their faith much like anybody else: peacefully, and without using religion as an excuse for violent action. Power does this by returning to the text that informs Islam, the Quran, and extracting from it truths that teach empathy, respect, and more.

Because of the myths this book sets straight, and because of the time it dedicates to a religion and culture that many make assumptions about, If the Oceans were Ink is of humanitarian scope and importance. Through her work, Power encourages her readers to expand their minds in order to understand the complexity of a reality that has been repeatedly reduced to a “us versus them” narrative. In doing so, not only does she inform and educate, but she also gives her audience the tools with which to restructure their own, perhaps biased and otherwise unchallenged beliefs.

If the Oceans were Ink is easy to follow regardless of one’s background or knowledge in Islam teachings. It is largely structured by means of an extended interview wih Sheikh Mohammad Akram Nadwi, who by his title of Sheikh is entitled to teach and guide others in Islamic faith. The Sheikh provides a range of views on various relevant issues, including child marriage, women’s rights, and other religions. Sheikh Akram is both progressive and conservative in different ways—making clear the fact that Western labels are inadequate for categorizing groups of people in the Middle East. Instead, political affiliations and views are more nuanced, requiring a specific understanding of individuals’ opinions.

I particularly enjoyed this book for the fact that its writer, Power, was consistently aware of her own biases and privileges given her position in this journalistic project. While her dedication to this issue clearly exemplified her questionings of the media and search for the truth, Power still acknowledged that there were ways in which her perspective could be increasingly understanding, and she sought to pursue this personal, positive change. Her motivations for interviewing the Sheikh and developing more direct contact with Islam were quite noble in my eyes, and I believe she also used this opportunity to help others see beyond assumption. In this sense, I believe that Power has used her platform to create positive change and plant a seed through which greater empathy and consideration might be developed.

I must add, furthermore, that going into this book I had my own biases, as most of what I knew of the religion of Islam was merely what I’d heard about from others in passing, or in the media. Largely, my knowledge composed of the prejudices and forms of oppression against Muslims that exist today, a great part of which comes from members of the United States. I was not an active participant in this prejudice but I did also disagree with many political differences existent in several Islamic countries, such as for example laws against women’s rights. If the Oceans were Ink sheds some light on the intricacies hidden behind these wide-sweeping laws, suggesting that there is much dissent within the culture itself, and that these elements are often separate entities from those of religion. Overall, this book encouraged me to question what I hear in the media and, in some cases, popular discourse, and to consider that what might be today construed as one truth is not what originally existed in the text, in the Quran.

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edsetiadi
5.0 out of 5 starsA beautifully written book on Islam that takes us back to basic: the reading of the Holy QuranJuly 4, 2015

This book is a perfect book for Ramadan reading, written by Carla Power, a secular Jewish journalist whom has 20 years+ unique friendship with a renowned Muslim scholar in Britain, Sheikh Mohammed Akram Nadwi.

It is an enlightening book, written with the mission to 1. Debunk the [negative] myths and stereotypes surrounding Islam and Muslims 2. To differentiate between local customs (like burqa-wearing Taliban) and the religion 3. And more centrally for the book, to interpret the verses in the Holy Quran and show, for instance, why the so-called "verse of the sword" that Osama Bin Laden used to justify his actions was being misinterpreted.

It is a personal book, built around the personae of the Sheikh, following his amazing journey from a simple madrassa student in his village in India, to researcher in Oxford University, and to world renowned expert on Hadith. It is also a personal book for the author, where she can relate a lot of major historical events with her own story - from her childhood in Tehran, Delhi, Kabul, Cairo, to her work in an Islamic Think Tank and as a journalist covering the Middle East.

It is also a beautifully written book, with the highest respect dedicated to Islam and the Holy Quran. The title of the book itself is a testament to this, which is a poetic reference from a Quran verse:

Say, even if the ocean were ink For (writing) the words of my Lord, The ocean would be exhausted Before the words of my Lord were exhausted, Even if We were to add another ocean to it. (Al Kahf 18:109)

Reza Aslan's No God But God was enlightening, so did Karen Armstrong's Islam: a short story. But this book is different, it moved me, humbled me and able to connect me to the solemn and peaceful [real] religion of Islam, one verse of Quran interpretation at a time. The Sheikh's wisdom and teachings about Islam is very calming and reassuring, while the author's worldly knowledge gave me a new perspective on how to see the so-called "Islamic World" from a different light.

I will read and re-read the book for sure.

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Mohammad Nawaz
5.0 out of 5 starsIt is sad and unfortunate that things have not been going well ...May 11, 2015
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It is sad and unfortunate that things have not been going well in the Islamic countries, and those involved in violence in the west and elsewhere are claiming to be carrying out their evil deeds in the name of Islam. Should we really blame it on the religion or the Quran? Since 9/11 I have read a number of books published in the west which without a second thought come out with certain partial quotations from the Quran and boldly assert that it preaches and encourages its followers to carry out inhuman activities against non-muslims. Almost all such quotes from the Quran are generally out of context. The authors tear them of the the total subject matter. It becomes very clear from reading such publications that many of their authors have never made any serious effort first to understand the true spirit of Islam and they have hastily come to certain wrongful conclusions which a serious and profound scholar of Islam even from another religion will not accept. Those who put the blame on the Quran and Islam mix up the meanings of their Quranic citations with the still prevailing ancient tribal cultures of the people of the many muslim countries. In addition, the lack of education, ignorance of large number of muslims and their extremely narrow understanding of Islam should not be overlooked. Very few non-muslim writers and none of the anti Islam ones have tried to capture the real spirit of the Quran keeping also in view the historical times when it was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad (over a period of 23 years) and the problems of that era which needed response and remedies. In this context, Carla Power deserves a hugh praise for studying Islam with a serious mind and has penetrated deeply into the purpose and meaning of various subjects in the Quran. Anyone who will read her book will realize that one should not form a hasty judgement and interpret verses from the Quran simply to support their argument as lawyers do in the courts. The book : If The Oceans Were Ink, is both for Muslims and non-Muslims. It contributes greatly to the interfaith understanding and harmony. The author deserves to be congratulated for being an impartial observer in reflecting on various subjects in the Quran.


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wrentzu
4.0 out of 5 starsTitle is misleading but the book is still very interesting.December 25, 2015
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The title is a bit misleading. I really thought it would be a book about the Quran with the author's teacher guiding things along. It's really not like that at all. She does spend a great deal of time with " The Sheihk " and he is absolutely her hero in the sense that she accepts anything that he says without question ; but what makes this book interesting and what carries things along is the author's own interesting story. I was much more interested in that.

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Lisa A Ushman
4.0 out of 5 starsVery informativeFebruary 28, 2016
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I read this book right before my church group visited a local mosque. I wanted to have a non-media influenced perspective on the Islamic religion. It did that very well, though the first portion of it, for me, was a slow read. I got this book because I saw it on a list of the best books published in 2015 and I had the desire to know the truth about this growing religion. I recommend it. I gave it only 4 stars, because the beginning pace bugged me, at the time.

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Apr 20, 2015Beth rated it it was amazing
I will admit that, coming into this book, I was extremely naive about Islam and the Quran. My sole hard-core belief was the same belief I ascribe to any serious religion - that there will always be those who pick and choose parts of their belief to harm others, whether it is gays in Christianity or "Westerners" in Islam. I'm not sure if my ignorance on this topic helped or hindered the reading of this book, but it certainly gave me a sense of peace about what could be possible between the 3 religions that are more similar than different.

Carla Power makes a strong case in this book that Islam and the Quran are much more than what many (including most jihadists) have been told. Repeatedly, the point is made to "Think!" - not just follow rote memorization. The Sheik, Mohammad Akram Nadwi, makes it his goal to try and teach people to think about the Quran - study and ask questions and *always* go back to the sources. This sort of encouragement to not just follow blindly is far different from my own Protestant upbringing. Power ties together her studies with Akram, as well as current and past events, to demonstrate that Islam is not a static religion, but one that can grow and learn in accordance with the Quran.

For those like myself with little or no knowledge of the Quran, this book is an elegantly written way to get a basic understanding. For those who are more well-versed in Islam and/or the Quran, this book is a way to "think" and to study and to learn more about the basic sources from the past. And for those who believe Islam is evil, this should be required reading. I firmly believe people are entitled to their own opinions, but I do believe that those opinions should at least be based on the further gaining of knowledge. A few half-truths, left unresearched, leads to nothing but stunted growth and rotten ideas.

Please do not think this book is a boring text - it is the furthest thing from it. It is interesting, and even comforting - sort of like the meetings over tea that Power often had with Akram during her year of studies. It is extremely well-written and her background as a journalist definitely shows. Something that could have been boring, dry or pushy ended up being much more intriguing than I anticipated. I find myself having finished this book and interested in learning more, so a hunt for further reading is in order.

Long story short? Read this. Knowledge is important, and should never stop. Islam is one of the fastest-growing religions in the world today, and it is imperative that we strive for a mutual understanding based on facts rather than panic and fear. (less)
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Mar 25, 2015jordan rated it it was ok
"If the Oceans were Ink” weaves together two narrative threads, either of which could have made for an interesting read. Unfortunately, neither narrative proves very satisfying. Carla Power, the author, decides to seek to understand the Quran. Given our world, one can hardly imagine a more useful intellectual pursuit. She forms a close relationship with an Islamic scholar, Sheikh Mohammad Akram Nadwi, with whom she can study the text. Here then are those two threads: one, the friendship between an erudite Islamic scholar and a western secular woman journalist and the other an exploration of the Quran. And Islam. Neither story, however, ever develops sufficient power to become compelling. The story of the friendship lacks any tension whatsoever. As for the Quran, far from oceans of ink, Power offers an understanding of the text that is instead a narrow swimming lane.

No doubt Sheikh Akram is an engaging and erudite man of extraordinary learning. I would be eager to read more of his work. Islam is a rich tradition and it is interesting how he reaches back into that tradition in order to argue, for example, for gender equality. When it comes to learning with Akram, however, Power takes on the role of the empty vessel to be filled. Instead of offering any challenge to Akram’s understanding of Islam, she continually accepts his interpretation as if it were the “right” one. Yes, she more than once pays lip service to the diversity of Islam. As she correctly points out, there simply can’t be one reading of the Quran – or any sacred text with a group of believers --that is valid for 1.6 billion people. Yet time and again she circles back into the same paradigm: that Akram’s views, because she can without much difficulty square them with her western secular and liberal views are in some sense “right.” On the page, her passivity and acceptance makes for relationship that I can only describe as dull.

As you can imagine, this acceptance of Akramin turn runs into the book’s second shortcoming. Her exploration of the Quran never runs very deep. Nor does she seriously engage the inherent contradictions of the text. In reality, there are Muslims who read the Quran as a text advocating peaceful coexistence AND those who read it as requiring terrible violence. Both can make arguments from the text. Nor is the latter argument as easily dismissed as Power tries to assert, simply a failing to read the second half of a particular sentence. No they read the text. They read the whole text. Their conclusions arise out of differences of interpretation not a shortness of attention.

As it happens, Power’s approach is curiously ironic. Power at one point explains the influence of the late Edward Said’s paradigm of Orientalism on her understanding of Islam. Her approach to Islam, however, resembles nothing so much as the liberal side of the Orientalist coin (if you’re unfamiliar with Said’s thesis, you can find a synopsis on Wikipedia). Instead of applying any analytical method to Akram’s narrative, she simply accepts it as true. Consider for example her presentation of the life of Mohammed and the Companions: Power merely accepts it as a historical truth, rather than as a source that would likely exhibit an obvious bias. There are no shortage of scholars who might have helped Power unpack the traditional narrative, but for her these are of little interest. Imagine if instead she had decided to study either the Hebrew Bible or the Christian Scripture with a rabbi or priest. It is almost impossible to imagine she would simply accept the narrative of Moses or Jesus as, you’ll pardon the pun, Gospel. Yet here she does just that. In so doing, she fails her reader on multiple levels.

On the textual level, her approach misses the Quran’s complexity. Really, it is almost impossible to explain why the Quran is a text like no other. Unlike other religious texts, the Quran follows no particular narrative thread. Instead, the Quran collects the Surahs without regard for sequential order. If you know the Bible, imagine Chapter 1 as Israel at Sinai and Chapter 2 being the rules of property and chapter 3 being the story of King Saul and chapter 4 as the rules of sacrifices and you’ll get an inkling of what this might look like. Oh, and also sprinkle the psalms through the text as well.

Further complicating Quranic study, the text itself is written in an extremely esoteric Arabic. Crucial aspects of the Quran contain language so obscure that it can only be understood through analogy, often tortured analogy. Consider for example the famed notion of the virgins of paradise. The word understood as virgin, “hur,” isn’t a noun at all, but an adjective meaning “white.” While it has come to be understood as meaning “virgins,” that isn’t at all clear in the text. (Indeed, one recent scholar, writing under the pseudonym Christoph Luxenberg, went so far as to argue that Syriac, not Arabic is the original language of the Quran, and that “hur” actually refers to white raisins. Fascinating to scholars, the idea went over in Islamic quarters about as well as you’d expect). Power’s belief in the supremacy of Akram’s understanding, however, denudes the Quran of such complexity. If the Quran contains much that conflicts with Power’s ideas of ethics or proper living, it doesn’t get much play here.

In the end, Power’s accepting of one view of Islam as true – and the one of which she can most easily approve – does a grave disservice to the faith she expresses a desire to understand. In some Christian quarters it has become fashionable to assert that events like the Crusades or the Blood Libel pogroms were “unchristian” and that therefore the perpetrators weren’t “real” Christians, and thus absolve Christianity of any responsibility. In the same vein, one hears great Islamic scholars like George Bush and Barak Obama opine that ISIS doesn’t represent “true Islam.” This of course if nothing more than prettifying hogwash. Muslims who engage in actions that we might find reprehensible draw from the same well as Power’s teacher. I may find some communities of my faith tradition wholly deplorable but writing them out would be intellectually dishonest. That she finds Sheikh Akram’s reading more attractive doesn’t make them any more true. Those who murdered Anwar Sadat and behead people in Iraq read from the same Quran Akram reads in Britain.

For the most part, westerners remain painfully ignorant about Islam. Power does a real service pointing out the depth of that ignorance. Whether one accepts or rejects the “clash of civilizations” narrative, there are countless reasons – practical, intellectual, aesthetic – for people to seek a deep understanding of Islam in all its richness. Clinging to ignorance should be unforgivable. Unfortunately, Power doesn’t so much as bring in the sun of understanding to banish this ignorance as use a candle to offer a tunnel of light to a destination she prefers. Rather than presenting Islam, she presents the Islam she as western intellectual happens to prefer. (less)
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Jun 10, 2015Salam Ch rated it liked it
"وَلَوْ أَنَّمَا فِي الْأَرْضِ مِن شَجَرَةٍ أَقْلَامٌ وَالْبَحْرُ يَمُدُّهُ مِن بَعْدِهِ سَبْعَةُ أَبْحُرٍ مَّا نَفِدَتْ كَلِمَاتُ اللَّهِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَزِيزٌ حَكِيمٌ "- سورة لقمان
" And if whatever trees upon the earth were pens and the sea [was ink], replenished thereafter by seven [more] seas, the words of Allah would not be exhausted. Indeed, Allah is Exalted in Might and Wise." -Surat Lukman.

Carla Power presents in "if the oceans were ink" a memoir for her encounter to study the Quran wit ...more
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Dec 13, 2016Roger DeBlanck rated it it was amazing
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In her yearlong study under the guidance of renowned Islamic scholar Sheikh Mohammad Akram Nadwi, journalist Clara Power gained profound insight and clarity of the Quran’s humane message of peace and inclusiveness. Her memoir is a remarkably moving tribute to the great knowledge and compassion that echo forth from the true teachings of the Prophet Muhammad. Through her experiences, we can gain a deep appreciation for the beauty, complexity, and humanity of the Quranic verses. Power highlights how the Sheikh’s studies bear testament to the manifold contributions and significant influences women have made throughout the history of Islam. In fact, no religion has women playing so vital a role in its development than Islam. Too often over the centuries, it has been radicals and extremists who have polluted the true message of the Quran. In doing so, they have chosen to exploit laws and customs to carry out oppression, violence, and terror.

Power learned from the Sheikh how to return to a close examination of the Prophet’s sage words and deeds, which reveal the inspiring faith and universal values of the Quran. In its essence, Islam advocates devotion to prayer, focus on charity, and closeness to God. Islam espouses equal rights and justice, and an empowering form of humanity can be found in the life of the Prophet’s wisdom and actions. To be a true Muslim one must show loyalty to the Prophet’s sunna, his words and deeds. Through the Prophet’s vision and message, one finds a call for moderation of actions, acceptance of others, equality of all people, and piety towards God. Muhammad’s community of Muslims was to spread peace, feed the hungry, and honor kinships. The Prophet preached never to force beliefs on anyone. His hopes were to bring learning and understanding. He knew his limits and he taught to avoid anger, power, and wealth. He also taught his followers to be generous and demonstrate a gentle character. These attributes will ultimately help people relate to the true message of Islam. In fact, nowhere in Islam do hierarchies or divisions exist. Nor does compulsion. Islam not only tolerates differences, it values them as part of God’s design. The Quran stresses how no singular group has exclusive salvation, and it questions any group that claims only a singular path to paradise exists.

So why is Islam viewed with suspicion and fear? The Sheikh explained to Power how obsessive rules and laws have too often devolved into punitive measures and acts of extremism, which directly defy what the Prophet taught and stood for. Sadly, abandonment of Islam’s true message occurred over centuries with the decline of the traditional madrasa system. The intellect and moderation of Islam slowly deteriorated into the harsh words and practices of radicals. Extremists now conduct misguided readings of the Quran and settle on reckless interpretations. The Sheikh explains how Islam is about justice and how all fighting and protesting should be redirected into time spent for prayer and honoring God. Islamists have made Islam about political struggle, when they should be focused on piety. By making political power the only goal of Islam, extremists abandon the way of the Prophet’s teachings. Their quest for sharia law destroys their piety towards God. Real piety requires a commitment to one’s individual belief in honoring God and following the Prophet’s message of peace and understanding. State-endorsed Islam is nothing more than hypocrisy. Problems arise when Muslims chose identity politics over piety.

Returning to a loyal reading of the Quran reveals a great humanity based on reason and tolerance. Islam began with a command to read, so any call to arms is misguided because Islam demands its followers to think, pray, submit, and be patient in their quest to gain a closeness to God. This knowledge of returning to God is the cycle of life that the Prophet pursued. Carla Power learned through her studies with Sheikh Akram that the piety rooted at the heart of Islam calls for the defense of human rights and a devotion to individual consciousness over laws imposed by the state. Power’s memoir celebrates exactly what Islam expounds: that to practice true humanity, one must learn to see the whole of the world and learn to accept and understand others. If the Oceans Were Ink is among the most enlightening and open-minded books on discussing the humane faith of Islam and the Quran. (less)
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Feb 23, 2015Josie rated it really liked it
A very thoughtful book. A secular journalist befriends a traditional Islamic scholar, Sheikh Mohammad Akram Nadwi. For a year she meets with him to learn about the Quran and his faith. Surprisingly, his view is very broad in places where a Westerner might expect it to be narrow; women, education, reason, etc...His thoughts on veiling of women was fascinating. It should only be the woman's choice. Veiled, a woman becomes more than just her body or a sexual object for someone else. It seems surprisingly feminist in that way. Also, his emphasis on placing sacred text in the context in which it was written is necessary for a faithful reading. Educated clergy are a gift to the faith, not a detraction. He even changes his mind on a matter of theology by the arguments of two of his female students (to the astonishment of his male students!)
I've heard it said that when you learn of religions different from your own, you learn about your own religion in the process. While I admired and was humbled by aspects of this man's holiness, I found his faith to be utterly otherworldly, concerned largely with personal piety and fear of hell. At times it seemed the reason for good deeds and submission to Allah's will was in hopes of afterlife rewards. This world was just a way station to something greater (or grimmer) and a pious Muslim wouldn't get too involved in it. This may be good advice, but I find those "pie in the sky" theologies disturbing in any faith, including my own. It seems unloving and without compassion. A narrowing of vision perhaps that excluded too many and focused so much on the self and the self's spiritual scoreboard. The Sheikh seemed a very caring family man and a gentle friend to the author, but in the end, he concludes that because she is an unbeliever, she is bound for hell - and he says it nicely, with a smile.
Like the author, I found myself hoping he would present a more "modern" sensibility on certain topics. Indeed on some matters, he was amazingly egalitarian and enlightened. Much of his scholarly research has been to reclaim the heritage of women teachers and spiritual leaders in Islam's past. On other issues like homosexuality and the legitimacy of other religions, he remains very hard line with little of his fluid thinking on other matters. His condemnation of my faith, while kindly given, was very difficult and hurtful. We really have no authority to say these things to another, even in a "kind, I'm trying to save you" way.
All in all a fascinating peek at this holy book and faith which has something beautiful and challenging to say to us all. (less)
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Mar 10, 2016Tim rated it really liked it
Shelves: islam, islam-western-islam
There was much that was relatable in both Carla and Sheikh Akram. In Carla, I recognized the desire to understand, and even the desire for immersion that she inherited from her father when she observes that “I saw the transformative effect that crossing cultures had on him: it went beyond a value to become a survival strategy.” (location 567) Later, she alludes to the focus and clarity that is possible in displacement, not only in the obvious benefits of seeing something “foreign” up close, but also in the view it gives to the home culture: “For me, distance has always spurred engagement, if not enchantment. I was most attentive to Western culture when I was far away from it.”(location 3394)

In the Sheikh’s view of Islam the theme that most struck me was his focus on kindness and compassion and how he draws a line from that to the justice of Islam. Justice is ultimately a form of love, of a desire for a universal good past all lesser agendas. It goes past politics, culture and “religion” in its institutional form and extends to God Himself.

For if God is bigger than we can imagine, then God must truly transcend. It’s where we see the universality of Islam. My own attraction to the faith started as an intellectual search through a discarding of the past. I was stepping away from what I’d been taught early in life in a search for the authentic. I discovered something on my own terms, and that discovery has resonated in the sense that I am now able to embrace the new as well as the old. Like anything that has truth at its essence, the focus on the particular grants clarity to the universal. God is closer than we can imagine, yet transcendent. One God, many manifestations. The truth in Islam is reflected for me just as much in Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism. The Real is reflected precisely because I’m seeing it in one focused way rather than trying to glimpse it from all possible vantage points. The Sheikh says at one point “If Allah had pleased, He would have created all people alike, yet Allah has bestowed on man the potential for intellect and will, hence people have diverse beliefs, thoughts, and tendencies.” (location 3479) This comes from the Qur’an itself in 5:48 among other places. Where the Sheikh and I would disagree is his belief that only Muslims (capital M) carry the ultimate true religion.

The Qur’an speaks to Muslims in the lower case “m”...muslim meaning “One who submits to God”. Islam as an institutional religion with its centuries of accumulated history wasn’t around when the Qur’an was revealed. This, the Sheikh too acknowledges, and he sees this as a call to get past culture and politics to a focus on God, which for him means a focus on character. There is a chapter where he is challenged on this by Mona, a student who sees justice as extending to the here and now in the sense of fighting corrupt leaders, particularly in the context of the Arab Spring. The Sheikh didn’t see this as important as a focus on improving the self. I would take a bit of both – fight corruption but don’t let it consume you, transcend it or you’ll become what you’re trying to avoid.

Carla wanted to see Islam through the Qur’an as interpreted by the Sheikh, who she was drawn to from his remarkable studies on the influence of women in Islamic history. She too hoped for more truth in universals through a focus on particulars. For the Sheikh, his plan was to take her back to “basics” with Islam as focused first on the Qur’an and then the Sunnah of the Prophet. The Sheikh is not a Salafist in this sense, but would have more of a traditional approach as seen by someone like Seyyed Hossein Nasr. Sheikh Akram respects the work done by classical Islamic scholars, but also challenges that work in his recognition of the impact of culture, even in his own habits. To him, it’s about a return to The Qur’an and Sunnah, and Carla acts a bit shocked when she is told that so many Muslims don’t study the Qur’an or even read it as they should, instead relying on others to interpret it for them.

The book has an amazing tone of openness and a willingness to learn from both parties and is not afraid to express disagreements, uncomfortable ideas, traditions or facts, including the age of Aisha, whether or not the Qur’an authorizes domestic abuse, issues of women’s rights and of course jihad. It’s a healthy discussion, and one that is encouraged by Islam itself.“The term that appears most frequently in the Quran, after “Allah,” is ilm, or knowledge. Islam began with the command, “Read.” And the Sheikh’s own message was not a call to arms, but a plea to his students: “Think!”” (location 4206)
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Jul 26, 2015John Kaufmann rated it liked it
Shelves: philosophy-religion, sociology-socscience
Very mixed about this book. I could have given it 2-stars or 4-stars. I enjoyed reading it, and it challenged some of my preconceptions/prejudices. That's what a good book is supposed to do, right?

But at the same time, I found it hard to accept much of what the protagonist (the Muslim cleric the author befriended) said about Islam - I was questioning and critiquing a lot of what he said and what the author accepted, at least on the surface. I couldn't help wondering at times whether the author was condoning some of the comments (she is/was quite open and even sympathetic toward Islam), or whether she was just a journalist reporting on what her friend was teaching. (She did voice her own skepticism on a few issues, such as over how women are treated and the reflexive anti-Jewish attitudes expressed even by this cleric.)

In any event, I couldn't help thinking that if this cleric that she befriended is among the most liberal and Western that Islam has to offer, well, it's still quite conservative by contemporary western standards (and many Muslims probably prefer it that way). (The author reminds us that it's only 200-300 years ago the West was much the same, and is still no paragon of liberalism or tolerance.) Furthermore, as liberal and open and accepting as this cleric is, much of what he had to say is, by his own admission, not even accepted within his immediate family and faith community, much less by Islam as a whole. That doesn't mean most Muslims are terrorists, of course, or even that they are supportive of the extremists; but it does suggest that there remains an inherent tension between Muslim religion/culture and the West. The author didn't go there.

The protagonist argues that the Quran (and in particular the Hadith, the direct commentary and teachings of Muhammed and his immediate companions) is more liberal and tolerant than common perception, and that the more intolerant and extreme positions that have come to be identified with Islam in recent years are interpretations that have accrued by clerics over the centuries and contradict Muhammed's message. I'm not sure that's accurate based on other stuff I've read, but I'm also not sure it's even relevant.

All-in-all, it's a good book and worth reading. It is a more enjoyable way to learn about Islam than many of the drier, more "scholarly" books. Just don't enter it thinking it is the "truth" about Islam, or even that it's accurate or representative (maybe it is, but maybe it isn't). It does portray, however, one piece of the mosaic that makes up Islam, and deserves our attention.(less)
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May 08, 2016Edwin Setiadi rated it it was amazing
This book is a perfect book for Ramadan reading, written by Carla Power, a secular Jewish journalist whom has 20 years+ unique friendship with a renowned Muslim scholar in Britain, Sheikh Mohammed Akram Nadwi.

It is an enlightening book, written with the mission to 1. Debunk the [negative] myths and stereotypes surrounding Islam and Muslims 2. To differentiate between local customs (like burqa-wearing Taliban) and the religion 3. And more centrally for the book, to interpret the verses in the Holy Quran and show, for instance, why the so-called "verse of the sword" that Osama Bin Laden used to justify his actions was being misinterpreted.

It is a personal book, built around the personae of the Sheikh, following his amazing journey from a simple madrassa student in his village in India, to researcher in Oxford University, and to world renowned expert on Hadith. It is also a personal book for the author, where she can relate a lot of major historical events with her own story - from her childhood in Tehran, Delhi, Kabul, Cairo, to her work in an Islamic Think Tank and as a journalist covering the Middle East.

It is also a beautifully written book, with the highest respect dedicated to Islam and the Holy Quran. The title of the book itself is a testament to this, which is a poetic reference from a Quran verse:

Say, even if the ocean were ink For (writing) the words of my Lord, The ocean would be exhausted Before the words of my Lord were exhausted, Even if We were to add another ocean to it. (Al Kahf 18:109)

Reza Aslan's No God But God was enlightening, so did Karen Armstrong's Islam: a short story. But this book is different, it moved me, humbled me and able to connect me to the solemn and peaceful [real] religion of Islam, one verse of Quran interpretation at a time. The Sheikh's wisdom and teachings about Islam is very calming and reassuring, while the author's worldly knowledge gave me a new perspective on how to see the so-called "Islamic World" from a different light. (less)
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Apr 10, 2015Lindsay rated it it was amazing
Shelves: adult, non-fiction, biographymemoir, progress-and-commentary
It took me one whole month to read this because it is a sitting and thinking book, though not in an inscrutable way...just so much food for thought. And I chose to pick it up in time for holiday/life madness.

As a non-believer who happens to love Islam (as well as hailing from St. Louis), I enjoyed much of Carla Power's perspective going into a year long study with her friend and colleague, Sheik Mohammad Akram Nadwi. She had a foundation and was curious, and she often calls herself out on her own ignorance, privilege, and assumptions. It was so enlightening to hear the Sheik's point of view--in these days of strict black and white, it was awesome to hear confident yet humble lessons from a conservative (though progressive--in the ways traditional Islam has always been historically) Muslim. I felt Power's friction, too, on the moments they did clash, but always it roots down a deeper exploration. After a chapter or two reading the e-book on loan from the library, I realized I just needed to buy the dang thing--this is the first book in forever that prompted me to highlight the text and put in stickies. I am so excited to explore all the feminist and otherwise progressive Muslims referenced throughout...marked up the bib quite well, too. While the book was not without some detractors, it provided me a beautiful reading experience (in the end, I was tearing up a bit) and no doubt has developed my own understanding of Islam a little more. (less)
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May 06, 2015Vera rated it it was amazing
Carla Power writes with a novelist's elegant eye, taking readers on an intimate, personal journey into the heart of a religion that has been an enigma to most Western readers. Refreshingly open and honest, Power neither seeks to defend Islam nor to malign it; rather, she unpacks elements of the religion that we may have heard reference to but with little context. And she does it with the help of a companion, Sheikh Mohammad Akram Nadwi who grew up steeped in it. Together they peel away layers of meaning from the text of the Quran and the cultures that have evolved around it. Who was Mohammad and how did the book get written? Do women really count less than men in Islam? Why is the Quran open to such widely divergent interpretations? What's the deal with the 72 virgins? Power weaves her own story of growing up American, secular and nomadic across the Middle East and South Asia in the 1970s and 80s with Nadwi's upbringing in a village and then a madrasa in northern India. Their personal histories converge in Oxford, England where, against a global backdrop of war and cultural barriers, they work together to tease out a deeper understanding of the world's fastest-growing religion. This book is a must-read for policymakers, journalists, community leaders, and anyone (Muslim or non-Muslim) who is interested in a clear, humanist picture of what Islam is all about. (less)
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Dec 04, 2015Ina Cawl rated it it was amazing
i honestly enjoyed this book although it will be diffcult for non muslims to fully understand many words in the book
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Apr 15, 2017Quo rated it liked it
Recommends it for: Those with a very minimal exposure to Islam
Recommended to Quo by: League of Women Voters selection at local library
Shelves: reviewed
There are essentially two books within If the Oceans Were Ink: An Unlikely Friendship and a Journey to the Heart of the Quran by Carla Power, a curious blending of Islamic scholar Sheik Akram's interpretation of the Qur'an (Koran) and an embedded autobiographical sketch of the author's childhood & family, with the profile of the sheik being much more compelling. In fact, I wished that Carla Power had been much less personally involved in the book itself and simply had let Sheik Akram act as the driving force. That said, I suspect that the editorial mission was to allow this book to serve as a preamble for those with no previous exposure to Islam or the Middle East. The author takes on the task of experiencing or interpreting the Qur'an as a "cultural cartographer" with Sheik Akram, an Indian-born Muslim scholar living in the U.K. as her guide.

My point of discontent is that I felt that Carla Power was never fully invested in a thorough exploration of the Qur'an as opposed to merely completing her assignment of spending most of one year with an Islamic scholar. Power's view of the Qur'an seemed simplistic at best & with reference to the most important Islamic book, she indicates: "I had no clue", an odd admission for someone with considerable journalistic experience who spent parts of her childhood in various Islamic countries and who has a degree from Oxford. We learn that the author's father was a depressive law professor in St. Louis & a Quaker and her mother an English professor & a "cultural Jew". And like her father, someone whose view of Islam was that of an "Orientalist", someone with an aesthetic appreciation of Islam rather than viewing it as a living tradition, Carla Power expresses that both were "most at home when farthest from it."

We do learn that prior to Muhammad, pilgrims made an annual visit to Mecca to worship the 360 idols or tribal gods contained in the Kabba much as the ancient Druids made pilgrimages to the area that now is said to serve as the repository for St. Stephen's bones & the Christian pilgrimage site at Santiago de Compostela in NW Spain. Also, initially Muhammad led a multi-faith community at Medina that included Jews & pagans. In 632, 10 years after the flight to Medina, the Hejira & after battling the Meccans & building the first mosque, Mohammad returns to Mecca in triumph & smashes the idols within the Kabba. These are fundamental details to a comprehension of the Qur'an and Islam.

Sheik Akram is from a small town near Lucknow in northern India & is viewed as a liberal cleric because he is has a less doctrinaire reading of the Qur'an and Islam in general, particularly as relates to women. Akram's view is that "the whole world is a mosque" and calls for a "muscular submission to Allah". He states that "whether in Lucknow or Liverpool, pray and change yourself & not the system". Thus, Akram laments both the American focus on individualism (vs. the Muslim focus on continuity) and those Muslims who attempt at all costs to recreate the age of Muhammad rather than to use the Qur'an as a guide to a living faith. Akram has written a controversial book, based on extensive research, Al-Muhaddithat: The Women Scholars in Islam with coverage of Muhammad's 11 wives & in particular, wife #3, Aisha, who was a jurist, a military commander & an Islamic scholar. Meanwhile, wife #10, Saffiya, was a Jewish convert to Islam.

At a seminar aimed at young British Muslims seeking spouses, the sheik is asked about feminism, child brides & the role of women within Islam but not about the absence of female imams or sheiks. It seems that Muslim women today are better educated & better-off in general but still secondary to men, though there has been a gradual evolution according to Akram, whose own views seem to be evolving. According to the sheik, Islam is "not just an identity but a means of knowing (cultivating) God's presence", for "Allah demands faith & action." In spite of a seeming openness to other religions, Sheik Akram suggests that Jews & Christians must accept Muhammad as a prophet in order to reach heaven. And, the Christian concept of the Trinity represents the ultimate sin against Islam as "God doesn't need any partners".

The segments of If the Oceans Were Ink that I most enjoyed were those when Akram speaks of his own relationship with Islam, including his views on how Islam has allowed cultural aspects to change since Muhammad's time. especially with relation to the role of women. Sheik Akram is described as an "extremist quietist" & is firmly apolitical. He tells Muslims to "change yourself & not the system!". Akram cites the assault on the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center on 9/11 and the reaction to that attack, the so-called "War on Terror", suggesting that both the bombers and the responders were obsessed with external threats, with both seeming as symmetrical as the Twin Towers, blaming each other instead of developing Taqwa, or God-consciousness.
The jihadis blamed the west for the ills of the Muslim world, while the American hawks exaggerated the threat from the jihadis. Neither was willing to look at what was really ailing their societies, thought Akram. In the Muslim case, it was their mistaken turn away from piety to identity politics. In the United States, it was a moral decline & an unquenchable desire for eating, drinking, money & sex. True freedom means freedom from desire. True freedom means freedom of thinking and if your mind just follows your desires--how to make more money, how to eat more, drink more, have more things--it's really worse than slavery.The sheik, who also has a degree from Oxford, has described his own life as a "deft shuffle between tradition & exploration." Late in the book, the former nun & British author, Karen Armstrong, is quoted as stressing the need to "focus on reconciliation & not retaliation."

There are indeed insights into the Qur'an within If the Oceans Were Ink but I thought that the book often resembled a transcribed author's journal, "Travels With Carla" as it were and I had expected a more in-depth interchange between Carla Power & Sheik Akram. *If permitted, I would have rated the book as 3.5 vs. just a 3. (Thus, perhaps a 4* rating for Sheik Akram and a 3* rating for Carla Power.) (less)
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May 09, 2017R Nair rated it liked it
Islam is a beautiful religion in itself, unfortunately it also may be the most misinterpreted one at the present times. Not only westerners but also many easterners still remain largely ignorant of what Islam truly is. I don't claim to be an expert, but having grown up in a country where one can peacefully study in a catholic school that stands about 5 meters away from a Hindu temple while most of your friends in the said school are Sikh and Muslim kids reciting morning prayers from the Bible, gives you a unique perspective about the internal structure of faith and how easy it is to not be butthurt over what a book or a polititian says. This book provides that perspective but unfortunately not in real depth. If the book had gone into the deeper contentious issues in Islam along with the innumerable ideas in it that are a klaxon of peace and tolerance instead of the chapters dealing with the cultural and socio-economic background of the Islamic Scholar and the author's friendship with him, then this would have been a far more interesting book. But as it is, it is compelling reading and can work as a candle in the dark for those looking to understand the scholarly secular philosohpical interpretation of the Quran in greater depth. (less)
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