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A prominent rabbi and imam, each raised in orthodoxy, overcome the temptations of bigotry and work to bridge the chasm between Muslims and Jews

Sons of Abraham relates the unlikely friendship between the orthodox Rabbi Marc Schneier and Imam Shamsi Ali. Despite the anti-Muslim and anti-Semitic prejudices they were exposed to in their youth, these two men forged a lasting friendship in the tumultuous decade following the attacks of 9/11. Here they share their vision of how Jews and Muslims can work to find common ground. To that end, they analyze some of the religious texts that divide—but can also unite—Jews and Muslims, and address the pressing issues of the day, such as why Jews should be concerned about Islamophobia and why Muslims should care about anti-Semitism. In a time when Jews and Muslims are viewed as incorrigible enemies, Sons of Abraham is an example of a genuine alliance that gives readers a cause for hope.

This 4-Volume-Set, CCIS 0251 - CCIS 0254, constitutes the refereed proceedings of the International Conference on Informatics Engineering and Information Science, ICIEIS 2011, held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in November 2011.The 210 revised full papers presented together with invited papers in the 4 volumes were carefully reviewed and selected from numerous submissions. The papers are organized in topical sections on e-learning, information security, software engineering, image processing, algorithms, artificial intelligence and soft computing, e-commerce, data mining, neural networks, social networks, grid computing, biometric technologies, networks, distributed and parallel computing, wireless networks, information and data management, web applications and software systems, multimedia, ad hoc networks, mobile computing, as well as miscellaneous topics in digital information and communications.

Il 9 agosto 1945 a Nagasaki, Hiroko Tanaka esce sulla veranda di casa: leggera dei suoi ventun anni, innamorata del suo Konrad, i pensieri alati come le tre gru che le attraversano la schiena, ricamate sul suo kimono. All'improvviso, il cielo esplode di un bianco abbagliante e le strade si anneriscono di migliaia di ombre... E nel giro di un istante a Hiroko non rimane più nulla, a parte tre ustioni a forma di gru sulla schiena, ricordo indelebile di tutto ciò che la bomba le ha strappato. Due anni dopo arriva a Delhi, desiderosa di ricominciare. Come un fresco temporale estivo, entra nelle vite di Elizabeth, la sorella di Konrad, di suo marito James Burton, e di Sajjad Ashraf, un giovane indiano alle dipendenze dei Burton, da cui inizia a prendere lezioni di urdu. Gli anni passano, nuovi legami sostituiscono quelli perduti, vecchie guerre cedono il passo a nuovi conflitti. Ma tanto la Storia quanto le vicende personali gettano la loro ombra sulle vite ormai saldamente annodate dei Tanaka, dei Burton e degli Ashraf, trasportati dal Pakistan a New York, e di lì all'Afghanistan, all'indomani dell'11 settembre... In un romanzo poetico, teso e commovente, tra i cieli di Nagasaki, i giardini dell'India, l'asfalto di New York e il deserto afghano, Kamila Shamsie racconta un'epica vicenda di disastri scampati e affrontati, lealtà infrante e ricostruite, amori ripagati e traditi. E nei destini personali e comuni dei protagonisti canta la sua terra e la sua gente, sempre capaci e desiderose di far rinascere una speranza dalle profonde e ingombrati cicatrici di una guerra, che non ce

In a prison cell in the US, 2002, a man stands trembling, naked, fearfully waiting to be shipped to Guantanamo Bay. How did it come to this? he wonders ...
9 August 1945, Nagasaki. Hiroko Tanaka steps out on to her veranda, taking in the view of the terraced slopes leading up to the sky. Wrapped in a kimono with three black cranes swooping across the back, she is twenty-one and in love with the man she is to marry, Konrad Weiss.
In a split second, the world turns white. In the next, it explodes with the sound of fire and the horror of realisation. In the numbing aftermath of a bomb that obliterates everything she has known, all that remains are the bird-shaped burns on her back, an indelible reminder of the world she has lost.
In search of new beginnings, two years later Hiroko travels to Delhi. There she walks into the lives of Konrad's half-sister Elizabeth, her husband James Burton and their employee Sajjad Ashraf, from whom she starts to learn Urdu. As the years unravel, new homes replace those left behind and old wars are usurped by new conflicts. But the shadows of history - personal and political - are cast over the entwined worlds of the Burtons, the Ashrafs and the Tanakas, as they are transported from Pakistan to New York and, in the novel's climax, to Afghanistan in the immediate wake of 9/11. The ties that have bound these families together over decades and generations are tested to the extreme, with unforseeable consequences.
Burnt Shadows is an epic narrative of disasters evaded and confronted, loyalties offered and repaid, and loves rewarded and betrayed.

This anthology showcases English-language creative writing by 25 Pakistani women, including immigrants and refugees, established authors, and new voices. The stories portray a Pakistani community in Houston, the harsh lives of Pakistan's poor, and life Manhattan in the aftermath of 9/11. The goal of the anthology is to reveal how Pakistani women challenge stereotypes that patriarchal cultures in Pakistan and the diaspora have imposed on them, both as women and as writers. Each story begins with an author biography and a b&w photos. A glossary of South Asian words is included. There is no subject index. Annotation ©2009 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

These two CDs, recorded by native speakers, are an invaluable component of the Colloquial course. While reinforcing material from the book, the CDs also contain a variety of additional exercises, including role-playing, designed to perfect your speaking and listening skills.

Brilliant new novel from Pakistan's most acclaimed young writer. A spellbinding love story set in 80's Pakistan.

Silat Seni Gayong is an art of self-defense, a fighting art but one that also emphasizes the development of the self, becoming a better person, and serving humanity. Sometimes compared to a tiger ready to devour its prey, Gayong helps practitioners develop and increase physical fitness, flexibility, mental conditioning, and self-confidence. Author Sheikh Shamsuddin, who has studied Gayong for 25 years, introduces this little-known practice to Western readers in this first book on the subject in English. The most comprehensive study in any language on Gayong and its customs, The Malay Art of Self-Defense explores in depth the system, techniques, crucial elements, and philosophies involved. Also covered are the art's history, profiles of the most notable practitioners, and an informative Q&A collected from various martial art practitioners to expand readers' knowledge and appreciation. Included are photos of Gayong demonstrations, traditional training centers, customs, and events.

Samina Akram, famosa attivista politica pakistana, scompare nel nulla. Due anni prima il suo amante, il più famoso poeta del Paese e anch'egli dissidente, era morto a seguito delle percosse subite da una non meglio identificata agenzia governativa. Quattordici anni dopo, mentre il Paese vive una nuova stagione democratica, Aasmani, la figlia trentenne di Samina, riceve un messaggio redatto nel codice segreto usato da sua madre e dal Poeta per comunicare negli anni della clandestinità... Il libro è al tempo stesso un thriller, un vivace e realistico ritratto del Pakistan di oggi, e la toccante storia di un rapporto madre-figlia in cui risuona continuamente una domanda: è possibile comprendere e perdonare una madre che ti ha abbandonato?

Powerful novel by a young author from Pakistan which has been written with verve and humour and likened to }The God Of Small Things{. Her first title, }In The City By The Sea{ was shortlisted for the John Llewelyn Rhys/Mail On Sunday prize.

Few figures have been of such enduring importance as Ibn Sina, also known as Avicenna (980-1037 AD), the great Persian philosopher and physician of the Abassid period. This work is a study of the fourth part of Ibn Sina's late and most comprehensive book al-Isharat wat-Tanbihat, Remarks and Admonitions, a book which Ibn Sine describes as 'the cream of the truth', containing 'the best pieces of wisdom' expressed 'in sensitive words'.
The present volume includes an introduction, discussing the nature of the fourth part of al-Isharat and the procedures followed in analyzing and translating it; a lengthy analysis of Ibn Sina's ideas on the three main topics in this part of al-Isharat (the nature of happiness, the stations of the knowers, and the signs manifested by the knowers); and a translation of this part.
The work shows that, to Ibn Sina, knowledge of the eternal aspects of the universe, primarily of God, is the highest human objective and the only thing that secures human happiness or heavenly existence. While no permanent knowledge of this kind is possible for a human being on earth, signs of its temporary acquisition are evidenced in many ways, one of which is possession of powers that a person who does not know the secrets of the universe may consider extraordinary.
Although the focus of this volume is on the fourth part of al-Isharat, many references are made to some of Ibn Sina's other writings by way of clarifying certain points and placing this part of al-Isharat in the context of Ibn Sina's general philosophy.