Nuri S Donkey

When Allah wants a pauper to be happy First he makes him lose his donkey Then he lets him find it A lost donkey and a collection of stories don't appear to have much in common. But the joy of finding each of them lies in the renewed appreciation for something vital that perhaps was taken for granted. For his livelihood's sake, a pauper mustn't lose his donkey; for humanity's sake, we mustn't lose our desire to listen to - and recognize ourselves in - the voices of others. Nuri's Donkey takes readers to a remote village in Turkey, where they will discover funny, bittersweet, and stranger-than-fiction tales about people who are not so different after all. In 1982 I went to this village with my then-husband to meet my in-laws. None of the villagers had ever seen an American or heard a foreigner speaking Turkish, so I was quite a novelty! Each day curious onlookers would gather at the house to stare and ask me questions . . . my sisters-in-law, feeling obliged to protect me, would try to shoo them all away. Four-year-old Yucel was persistent: he followed me everywhere while solemnly declaring, "Your eyes are green, your hair is white." When the time came for us to leave, he asked if he could keep me in exchange for one of his toy trucks.

Presents the lives and sayings of some of the most renowned figures in the Islamic Sufi tradition, translated into a contemporary American English from the Persian of the poet Farid al-Din 'Att'r.

This entertaining and insightful retelling of the Nasruddin corpus by a noted anthologist and lifelong Nasruddin devotee brings the beloved Persian folk hero into the 21st century. With more than 343 stories, this collection easily becomes the definitive English anthology of Mullah Nasruddin's wit and wisdom.

Islam in Historical Perspective provides readers with an introduction to Islam, Islamic history and societies with carefully selected historical and scriptural evidence that enables them to form a comprehensive and balanced vision of Islam’s rise and evolution across the centuries and up to the present day. Combining historical and chronological approaches, the book examines intellectual dialogues and socio-political struggles within the extraordinary rich Islamic tradition. Treating Islam as a social and political force, the book also addresses Muslim devotional practices, artistic creativity and the structures of everyday existence. Islam in Historical Perspective is designed to help readers to develop personal empathy for the subject by relating it to their own experiences and burning issues of today. It contains a wealth of historical anecdotes and quotations from original sources that are intended to emphasize its principal points in a memorable way. This new edition features a thoroughly revised and updated text, new illustrations, expanded study questions and chapter summaries.

A fictional account of the New Testament story of the times surrounding the life of Jesus of Nazareth.

Nasreddin Hoca, also known as Mullah Nasruddin, is an eight-centuries-old “wise fool” character originating in Turkey and the Levant, and the subject of thousands of funny, wise tales, jokes, and anecdotes told across the Middle and Far East, and retold today around the world. Extensively researched and carefully chosen from beloved authentic sources by an award-winning author, these pithy stories and folk tales are certain to bring readers a smile, nod, or chuckle of self-recognition on every page. More than one hundred of Nasreddin Hoca’s most endearing, enduring stories, gathered here by an award-winning author, will amuse, illuminate, and captivate readers of all ages with Hoca’s ageless, unique humour and universal humanity.