The Alternative is the first great American/Islamic novel. About journeys from the Old World to New York; from Judaism/Christianity; from searching for Allah to knowing Him.
This is a story of journeys: From the old world to the new; from Judaism and Christianity to Islam; from madness to sanity; from sanity to madness; from the gross to the subtle; from the seen to the unseen; from searching for Allah to knowing Him. Although all of us --knowingly or unknowingly-- are on this journey, The Alternative concerns itself primarily with Oliver Courtney, a harmonica-playing English intellectual seeker, and Ignor Freund, a good-hearted Hungarian/Jewish war refugee. They start from the Old World (Ignor wandering around post-war Europe; Oliver drifting through the Far East and Central Asia), meet on the open sea on a freighter bound for Mexico, and make their way finally to the center of the New World, America. Along the way they encounter other explorers, each moving at his/her own pace through his/her inner world, some destined to find, others to lose. Companion of all, particularly Oliver, guiding him in the material world and watching over the others in the unseen, is Mr. Jibril, Persian Pir of the Way, a mysterious ray of light, wisdom and pure love, representing the eternal and infinite Source.
