The Islamic Civilisation Book Club 2021

About the Book Club

Wardah Books is hosting a regular book club called The Islamic Civilisation Book Club.

The book club aims to promote systematic, serious reading about Islamic Civilisation; and to introduce the scope and depth of Islamic Civilisation.

The book club is chaired by Dr Md Mubarak Habib Md. For some subjects and texts, there will be guest chairs. For participants in the book club, the pace of reading is one book in 5 weeks on average. The book club is open to everyone. The book club is not a class, it’s a purposeful conversation amongst readers who are all reading the same book. All books for the book club are available at Wardah Books.

Sessions

→ The book club meets on Mondays. Please refer to the schedule below.

→ Each session is from 8pm to around 9:15pm; conducted on Zoom until further notice.

→ There are two sessions for each book. The first session is the Pre-reading Session and the second is the Post-reading Session.

→ Add Wardah Books Events into your Google calendar.

Sync all events | Select specific events.

Pre-reading Session
The chair introduces the text, places the text within its field of study, introduces and explains key terms to look out for in the text, introduces the author, and provides guidance on reading the text. Participants will then proceed to read the book over until the Post-reading Session.

Reading
Some pointers for active reading for book club:

1. Take notes and make chapter summaries for yourself.
2. Write discussion points to raise later in the Post-reading Session.
3. Plan your time and read consistently. Complete the text before the start of the Post-reading Session.

Post-reading Session
The chair summarises the main ideas of the text and leads a discussion among participants.

Theme

For 2021, the theme of the book club is Islam and Other Civilisations.

The aim for this year is to understand how the breadth of Muslim response in interactions with other civilizations draws from an active application of wasaṭiyyah (balance), specifically with respect to revelation and the ‘aql.

Zoom Session Pointers

1. Download the Zoom application from www.zoom.us or your mobile app store. You may access the session with your mobile phone, tablet, or computer.
2. Set up an account.
3. Log in to Zoom.
4. Enter the meeting id and password (provided in email newsletter or see below under the relevant book and date)
5. Mute your microphone at the start. When you want to say something to the other book club participants, switch on your microphone.
6. It would be nice to switch on your camera so that we can all see each other. But this is optional for ladies.

Subjects and Texts for 2021

PRIMER Six Covenants of Prophet Muhammad With the Christians of His Time by John Andrew Morrow Pre-Reading Session: 18 Jan 2021, 8pm Post-Reading Session: 8 Feb 2021, 8pm Purchase book: Click here

SALVATION Islam and the Fate of Others: The Salvation Question by Mohammad Hassan Khalil Pre-Reading Session: 15 Feb 2021, 8pm Post-Reading Session: 29 Mar 2021, 8pm Padlet Discussion Purchase book: Click here

RELIGIOUS DIVERSITY Imaginal Worlds: Ibn al-‘Arabī and the Problem of Religious Diversity by William C. Chittick Pre-Reading Session: 5 April 2021, 8pm Mid-Reading Session: 2 May 2021, 8pm Post-Reading Session: 31 May 2021, 8pm Padlet Discussion Purchase book: Click here

ENCOUNTER WITH BUDDHISM Buddhism and Islam on the Silk Road by Johan Elverskog Pre-Reading Session: 7 June 2021, 8pm Post-Reading Session: 26 July 2021, 8pm Purchase book: Click here

ENCOUNTER WITH CONFUCIANISM Islam and Confucianism: A Civilizational Dialogue by Osman Bakar & Cheng Gek Nai Pre-Reading Session: 10 Aug 2021, 815pm Post-Reading Session: 22 Sep 2021, 815pm Purchase book: Click here

ENCOUNTER WITH CHRISTIANITY A Common Word: Muslims and Christians on Loving God and Neighbor Edited by Miroslav Volf, Ghazi bin Muhammad and Mellisa Yarrington Pre-Reading Session: TBA Post-Reading Session: TBA Purchase book: Click here

DA'WAH Doing Cross-Cultural Da'wah in Southeast Asia by Dr Imtiyaz Yusuf  Pre-Reading Session: 8 Nov 2021, Monday, 8pm Post-Reading Session:  29 Nov 2021, Monday, 8pm Purchase book: Click here