Islam: Beliefs and Teachings

Islam: Beliefs and Teachings is an internationally recognised book by Ghulam Sarwar of the Muslim Educational Trust. It was published by Sarwar as the first English textbook for madrasa students in Britain .

Publication details

• 1st Edition, London 1980 (10,000), reprinted in India 1983 (2,000)
• 2nd Edition, London 1982 (12,000), reprinted in India 12 times 1989-1999 (24,000)
• 3rd Edition, London 1984 (20,000), reprinted in Kuwait 1985 (10,000), London 1987 (20,000)
• 4th Edition, London 1989 (20,000), reprinted in Pakistan 1992 (5,000), London 1992 (20,000), 1994 (20,000), 1996 (20,000)
• 5th Edition, London 1998 (21,000), reprinted in India 2000 (2,000)
• 6th Edition, London 2000 (21,000), reprinted in India 2001 (2,000), 2002 (4,000)
• 7th Edition, London 2003 (21,000), reprinted by The Islamic Foundation at Chennai in India 2004 (4,000)
• 8th Edition, London 2006 (21,000), Pages: 240, ISBN 0-907261-45-0

Overseas editions: French, Norwegian, Romanian, Chinese and Bengali

Sarwar notes in the preface, that "I feel humbled to note that 275,000 copies of my book 'Islam: Beliefs and Teachings' have been printed in England since 1980".

Approving critique

The Independent newspaper call it a "popular school textbook" The Times newspaper say that it is a "standard text for Muslim religious education"

Critical reception

Ed Husain states that "The first book I read about Islam in English was Islam: Beliefs and Teachings by Ghulam Sarwar" and goes on to state that after only being taught about Islam orally by his family, Sarwars book "filled a gap".

As he was taught that Islam and politics do not mix he says that "one part of the book has stayed with me." This being the chapter "Political System in Islam". He says that Sarwar said that Politics within Islam is fundamental.

Husain goes on to say that "What I did not know at school was that Sarwar was a business management lecturer, not a scholar of religion. And he was an activist in the organisations that he mentioned Muslim Brotherhood and Jamat-e-Islami. Sarwar's book was not the dispassionate educational treatise it purported to be." and that "He was also the brains behind the separation of Muslim children from school assemblies into what we called 'Muslim assembly', managed by the Muslim Educational Trust (MET) [of which Sarwar is the Director]. What seemed like an innocuous body was, in fact, an organisation with an agenda. In my school, a Jamat-e-Islami activist named Abdul Rabb represented the MET and awarded us trophies and medals for our performance in MET exams. Ostensibly it all seemed harmless, but the personnel all belonged to Jamat-e-Islami front organisations in Britain. Their key message was that Islam was not merely a religion but also an ideology that sought political power and was beginning to make headway."

However, when Husain quotes Sarwar on page 21 of The Islamist regarding politics and Islam (page 169 of Sarwar's book), he does so but, although not wrong, he words the quoting very differently from what is actually written in Sarwar's book.

Additionally, as discussed above, Husain mentions that "What I did not know at school was that Sarwar was a business management lecturer, not a scholar of religion." However, it says clearly in Sarwar's book that he "obtained his first degree in Commerce and a masters in Business Management from the University of Dhaka, Bangkladesh" and that "For three years he taught Business Management to first-degree students in City College".

It must be also noted that the book was written in collaboration with Usamah K. Ward, Prof Dr. Muhammad Abdul Jabbar Beg, Dr. Faruq Nurul Arefin, Dr. Muhammad Qamarul Hasan and Nasreen Sarwar, Farhat Yasmeen Sarwar, Ruqaiyyah Waris Maqsood (Rosalyn Kendrick) (former head of Religious Studies) and Syed Dohan Nuh.

Copyright infringement

Sarwar writes in the preface of the 8th Edition that:

• "It is sad to note that the book has been pirated in the United States, India and the Far East. We do not know how many thousands of copies have been pirated, but the estimated number is quite substantial. We would urge publishers, booksellers, teachers and all readers not to sell or buy pirated copies of the book. Piracy is a menace and dealing in pirated books is like dealing in stolen goods. We hope the combined efforts of honest publishers, booksellers and readers will help us stop the cancer of piracy."

See also

• Ghulam Sarwar
• Sultana Nasreen Sarwar
• Muslim Educational Trust

External links

• Islam: beliefs and teachings at the Muslim Educational Trust website