Field: Autobiography

Title: Inescapable Questions

Author: Alija Izetbegović

Publication: The Islamic Foundation 2003

ISBN: 0-86037-367-3

Rating: aaaaa

Level: Intermediate

Reviewed by: Safwan

“Every people has its promised land. Our promised land is Bosnia. We call upon you to fight for it and win it.”

The multi-ethnic setting in Bosnia & Herzegovina is not too different from Malaysia. As outlined in the beginning of the book, major races in the country; i.e. Bosniaks, Serbs, and Croats played and still play a crucial role in maintaining the country’s integrity.

Alija Izetbegović’s self-written biography starts with some accounts of his teenage life; a young man and his reflections; whose faith had to be taken care by his mother. At a time when the Serbs (from Serbia )was in power, Alija dodged the draft (military service) and was hunted for it. It was in his teens when the second world war erupted, and around that time, he served his first imprisonment.

Alija spent some time to write books in the next chapter of his life. In fact, in 1983 he was again imprisoned, this time principally due to his writings. After serving the term, at a time when the communist regime of Yugoslavia was considerably weakened, Alija- with some friends- formed the SDA. The party did not take long to win the votes and more importantly hearts of Bosnian citizens. However, the path ahead is thorny, that only few dare to traverse.

With Crotia (president: Franjo Tudjman) leaving Yugoslavia, Bosnia & Herzegovina was left to choose between a war of independence and living as a second class citizen, under the feet of Serbs (president: Slobodan Milosević), in a new-but-rump Yugoslavia. As history witnessed it, dignity was preferred, and Bosnia & Herzegovina fought to earn it. The bloody, one-sided, draconian war that followed cannot be adequately described, to say the least. Bosnia was bent, but not broken. With the president's leadership, they in fact came out of it stronger and better experienced; far from what their enemies would expect of them.

This book recorded many experiences of the president and his remarkable life. His principles, decisions, and determination, above all, are unique and invaluable; they are for everyone to appreciate. Leading his people with nerves of steel, he lived by his principles both as a European and a Muslim.

[More...]

Field: Autobiography
Title: Return of the Pharaoh
Author: Zainab al-Ghazali
Publication: The Islamic Foundation 2006
ISBN: 0 86037 240 5
Rating: aaaaa
Level: Beginner
Reviewed by: Safwan

“This is but one story, but represents countless similar stories which have never become known to the general public” – Translator’s note.

The true story, which holds readers’ breaths, happened in Egypt, during Jamal Abd al-Nasir’s regime after the successful military coup against the King. The ‘Muslim Brotherhood’ better known as Ikhwan, was a very active and influential spiritual, economical, and political group under the leadership of it founder, Hasan al-Banna. The author slightly touched on her relation with Hasan al-Banna, issues they had, and eventually her bai’ah (pledge) to him only some time before his assassination.

The large bulk of the narration concentrates on the era of the despots. Jamal Abd al-Nasir, indeed was an ikhwan, received ikhwan’s popular support in the coup. But it did not take the ikhwan long before they realised that Jamal had no interest in upholding the values of Quran into his system. In no time, the atrocities began.

The author, along with Sayyid Qutb and Abd al-Fattah Ismail, tried to revive the group, then weakened by the demise of its founder and all the restrictions and banning imposed by Jamal’s regime. Abiding to the Islamic teachings of not to wage war against muslim rulers, they opted a path purely educational. Their aim was pure and simple- to educate the ummah, but the plan was meticulous, requiring piles of integrity and perseverance.

However, as the author tells, Jamal was afraid of them. He accused ikhwan of planning his assassination. No later many of its members, including Zainab herself, was taken into military prisons. She was quick to realise that they were not dealing with human beings any longer. These people are barbarous, brutal and ruthless- if only words can describe. In the words of Zainab, “they are worse than the beasts”.

The subsequent chapters depict situations where one with a sense will hesitate to talk about. The sufferings that the author went through were unimaginable. In a captivating manner, she described the ordeal she went through in the notorious Egyptian prisons. It was a real trial and test from Allah. The pharaoh had returned, in order that Allah takes more martyrs out of his evil acts.

The book ended with the author’s release. She was behind bars 1965-1971.

[More...]

Field: Biography
Title: Malcolm X
Author: Michael Benson
Publication: Lerner Publications Company
ISBN: 0-8225-5385-6
Rating: aaa
Level: Beginner
Reviewed by: Safwan




Intending to present "just the facts" of his life, the book started with a simplistic overview of the setting at the time Malcolm Little was a boy. At a time where racism presided, Malcom's family lived without assurance of safety. It explained how Malcom's father, Earl, was closely associated to Marcus Garvey which consequently made their family a target of Ku Klux Klan's brutality.

A significant part of the book narrated about Malcom's dark years of his life. When he was in his teens, he took up drug dealing, burglary, and other illegal businesses to earn his living. His imprisonment in 1945, when he was 20 years old marked yet another phase of his life- as a follower of Nation of Islam.

The author correctly described Nation of Islam as deviating from the original teachings of Islam, and Malcolm's participation in it strengthens the organisation significantly. Described as confident and eloquent in his speech, he quickly won the support of many.

His life-changing journey to Makkah was surely recounted as well. This was when he also took to Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Ghana, and several other african countries to meet with their Leaders. Being comprehensive, the book also recorded Malcolm's meeting with Mohammad Ali and Martin Luther King Jr.

Describing his assasination in 1965, the book emphasised that although he is dead, his message of liberation and equality continued to live. In a straightforward and easy manner, the book tells its readers more about the course of Malcolm's life than the message he died for.

[More...]