Missions Resources - Bibliography

Beyond Belief: Islamic Excursions among the Converted Peoples
Authors: Naipaul, V.S.
ISBN: 0-375-70648-8
Publisher: New York: Vintage Books, 1998

Summary: In 1995, Trinidad-Indian-British Author Naipaul went on a trip to four non-Arabic Islamic countries - Iran, Indonesia, Pakistan and Malaysia. This is his chronicle.

It is the work of an astute observer of humanity, with a honed sense for subtle cultural signals of great meaning. It pours from the hand of a gifted writer, who knows something of the pain and the joy of the world, of which we in the West only catch aromas on occasion.

Most fascinating however, is Naipaul's knack for running into important people. Not the people in the news, but the important people. For instance, in 1995, he has an interview with an old Muslim cleric in Indonesia. In 1999, after an unexpected collapse of the Dictatorship, and an even more unexpected turn of an election, that same cleric, Mr. Wahid, would become the president of Indonesia.

I recommend Beyond Belief as a better way to understand the contemporary situation in the non-Arabic Muslim world, than reading ten years worth of newspapers.