Customer Reviews

The Humor of Islam...You'll Die Laughing

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I found this book to be a noble but somewhat forced attempt at satire. It is not a book of humor, although some readers will laugh at certain examples. Humor has no strings attached; it's meant to inspire laughter without leaving the reader pondering on some deeper meaning afterwards. Satire is social criticism disguised as something funny. It's meant to offer the reader something that seems funny--until the "joke" bites back and makes you think.

The author's pseudonym contains the clue as to the real purpose of this book, even more than the title. In fact, Az Zaqqum is not so much a personal name as a reference to a "tree" in Islamic spiritual tradition, whose fruit is so deadly that if one drop of it touched the earth, everything and everyone would be swallowed up in fire and brimstone. Ironically, it is also the name of an oilfield in the United Arab Emirates. So, then, this book only seems to be a book of jokes; in reality it tells a bitter and deadly story behind the attempt at humor. I would imagine the author, whatever her name, is a Muslim woman whose purpose in writing is to excoriate the Islamic laws of sharia that treat a woman and everything female with disgust and contempt. Rather than writing an essay or a work on fiction or nonfiction, she chose to try to show through irony and sarcasm the huge chasm that exists between the spiritual teachings of Islam and the way they have been distorted by the men in power.

I applaud her intentions, but I think a different literary form would have gotten the point across more "pointedly." After reading it, I felt as if I had been repeatedly been hit on the head with a hammer. The sad fact is that if she got up publicly and made her points to the media, she would probably become a target for assassination like Salman Rushdie, the author of The Satanic Verses.

So, you may well laugh at some of the things in this book, but much of it will be what German lit-crit calls "galgenhumor" --gallows humor.

A very well-researched and unique insight into the world of Islam....with a sense of humor!

Az-Zaqqum has written on a subject that has gotten very little academic attention thru the years and that is on Islam humor. Az-Zaqqum has researched the Koran and pulled out of it some very funny and informative stories that will help not only student of Islam, but anyone wishing for a further understanding of a highly complex religion. Are Muslim allowed to laugh and have fun? what does Sharia say about divorce and the roll of women, how did Islam start, and who was Muhammad, these subjects and many others are brought out in this book. Bin-Laden and his Taliban boys won't like this, but most Muslim, Christians and Jews will love it.

For my Humanities class, I decided I'd do a report on Islam. I found the title of this book intriguing, so, I bought the book and found it fascinating, and after fact checking some of the information that I found personally unbelievable, I was even more intrigued.

I can tell you that imo sharia should never, ever be allowed in the United States! I had never even heard the word sharia, now I have to wonder, what kind of human would want sharia laws, where laughing too much is forbidden, and worse!

The news stories at the back were bizarre but, I liked how the writer tied them back to the hadith Bizarre not only because of the hadith, but because some Muslims today still use them. Why are they still debating how Muhammad peed?

The news story of the man who blamed the Jinn for setting his house on fire when it was his son. I was happy the Jinn was vindicated, but I had to laugh at the story. I'd never heard of a Jinn and, had no idea how important they were to Muslims.

I like how this book cuts to the chase. It's a quick and easy read. From the first hadith to today's news. Not much has changed in 1400 years, but I can see why so many Mid East Muslims come to the west for medical degrees!

Informative, funny and all too real. The pictures were great and the news stories really brought it all together.

I can't believe this is the only book on the Humor of Islam, and yes, I nearly did die laughing.

I recommend this book. Especially to Muslims. If this book is as true as it seems, then, it's not the Non Muslims who don't understand Islam, it's Muslims. Allah didn't forbid laughing.

In the search section, type in the word...Dawg.
Then type in the words...sharia swim suit
Then type in the words....driving while blind.

Well done, very funny and absolutely illustrates the point!
Sharia is scary!

Funny and easy to read, easy to understand and informative, great photos, written with a wry sense of humor. If all muslims read this book, they'd have to lighten up. This book takes the mystery out of hadiths and really shows how it was the companions of Muhammad who really screwed up Islam.
For me, it was one of the best books on Islam that I've read.

As I began to read,the little voices we hear (doesn't everyone hear them?), about finding a good place to temporarily stop, was overshadowed by "just one more page". Well written, yes, has humor, and I cannot imagine it would offend anyone. And well, if it does, just get over it!

As a Muslim, I bought this book just to see the ignorance bigots like this have. I have to say, this was by far the dumbest Muslim bashing book ever!
He thinks he is so funny, but his jokes have to be some of the most stupid, I have ever heard. Obvious (even to those who hate Islam) that this guy is just stretching it and isn't even the slightest bit funny. A complete waste of space on Amazon's site and your kindle or bookshelf!

I found this to be a totally worthless book. Very poorly written - language is dull, and sentences choppy. The quality of print, and of pictures is third rate. The writer, trying too hard to present humor in Islam, has obviously missed the mark. None of the stories is funny, not even interesting.