Appalled by the rise of Islamic fundamentalism, Ibn Warraq offers in response a reasoned examination of the world’s second largest religion. Having been raised as a Muslim himself, Warraq has personal experience with Islam as well as a thorough knowledge of Islamic scholarship. Warraq presents a critical analysis of the life of Muhammad, the factors that influenced the writing of the Koran, the rise of Islam as a new religion, and its rapid spread by conquest.
Warraq is courageous in his criticism of the dark side of Islam, devoting whole chapters to the Salman Rushdie affair, the oppression of women in Muslim society, the enforcement of irrational taboos by Islamic fundamentalists, the authoritarian nature of Islamic law, the suppression of basic human rights in many Muslim countries, and numerous other controversial topics.
Warraq pleads for freedom of expression in Muslim society and the right to discuss and criticize the tenets of Islam without fear of death threats and other acts of terrorism. Fully documented with a complete bibliography, Why I Am Not a Muslim is a frank and long-overdue critique of Islam.
[Internet Infidels hosts a review by Ibn al-Rawandi.]