There are 1.7 billion Muslims in the world today and at this crisis point in history, the traditional ones are being vastly over-shadowed by fundamentalist extremists with a violent agenda. Faithful Muslims who regularly pray and worship in mosques are being squeezed from the other side as well. In the United States and elsewhere they are the victims of Islamophobia ("the unjustified targeting and demonization of Muslims for primarily political reasons").
This inspiring and spirited book is by Omar Saif Ghobash, the ambassador of the United Arab Emirates to Russia. It consists of sophisticated, caring, and worldly wise letters to his son. He convincingly presents a concise overview of Islamic history, the volatile realm of Middle Eastern politics, and the challenges facing Muslim believers in a disorderly and combative world of diversity.
Ghobash salutes responsibility and hopes that this virtue can bloom in the hearts and minds of the young:
"I want my sons' generation of Muslims to realize that they have the right to think and decide what is right and what is wrong, what is Islamic and what is peripheral to the faith. It is their burden to bear whatever decision they make."
Ghobash has good things to say about Islam as a great and rich tradition and as a religion of peace. He speaks with devotion of Muhammad, the Qur'an, and the warmth of prayer and recitation. And equally important, he asserts: "We need to find a theological and social space and place for the following ideas: doubt, question, inquiry, and curiosity."
Ghobash believes that Islam has within it the vigor and creativity to embrace these ideas as it shares its ample wisdom with the world.
