The Thoughtful Guide series is for serious spiritual seekers looking to deepen their knowledge of a particular religion. It offers not primarily text books for the library, though they can be used as such, but accessible overviews of the history and the benefits that a particular religious practice can bring to the reader. The authors eschew fundamentalism and excessive simplifications, mapping out paths than can be followed with the mind as well as heart.

Islam is the fastest growing religion in North America, and the world, with well over the billion followers. Since September 11, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and the ongoing war against terror, the world has seemed to be heading inexorably towards greater confrontation between Muslim and nonMuslim cultures.