id love to help. dont know if im any good though. or if im old enough lol

This day and age such book is well required in my opinion, however there is a conflict itself about the sunni, shia and wahabi views. It is something you would have to consider, if i was the author i would be displaying islam in a sunni aspect clearly because the Kalimah mentions Muhammed PBUH so above any other branch it would be make sense to address too, also you can include different sections of the book relating to what shia and wahabi believe in so there is no confusion for the readers as everyone has their own beliefs.

It should be a book that is understandable and related very closely to the issues and topics of nowadays social, cultural and personal boundaries. The topics that would make it a must buy in my opinion should be bold where it strictly explains the views of ISLAM and what ALLAH swt has to say on the issues whilst still adding the hadith. Everything that is discussed in the book must have evidence of some sort for it to be taken serious.

Topics to include:
- education and careers, as there are myths and cultural expectations that don't have islamic backing. For example, healthcare careers where a women/men are seeing bodily parts of the other sex as professional vice versa for patients of both sexes.
- having friendship with the opposite sex and spending time with them.
- women's clothing and make up etc vice versa for men.
- sins that are forbidden and their severity (refer to the one's mentioned by the prophet and allah )
- sex (before and after marriage) and sexuality (lesbians, gays, transgenders ), contraception, abortion, adoption (both adopting and giving child for adoption), rape, oral sex, anal sex.
- family relations and any rules around certain relatives such as uncles, aunties etc.
- marriage (forced, arranged, love, under circumstances), suitability accepted by islam such as religions, race, culture, drug dealers, prostitutes, non virgins.
- jinn and black magic, taveez, wazifas etc.
- bad habits such as drinking, smoking, drugs, sheesha, clubbing.
- plastic surgery and non surgical procedures.
- fake tans, hair extensions, nails, wigs etc

All these are topics that aren't discussed openly yet scholars and sayed's do explore in religious/private gatherings. These days the islamic views are blurred out by cultural misconceptions, this book is a chance for you to touch the heart of these debates and make it easier for young muslims to understand as well as use as a form of evidence for daily life when cultural beliefs are favoured more.

I am willing to participate in the questionnaire.
Use books that are relevant but keep it very much point, evidence and explanation.
No one will read this book or buy it if it is not backed up 100% precisely with evidence from the quran and hadith/ in sunni case what the prophet has mentioned!

good luck i hope this helped, i have no intention of offending any muslim sect but just explaining my own view and opinion on the book!

-

I don't think many of the major issues can be dealt with in a compendium type book - the issues will be glossed over and the content jingoistic in nature as opposed to really dealing with the issues.

If they can be dealt with properly, then that is a good thing.

Also, audience is important - content and context need to be different for parents as compared to kids.

An issue worth exploring is the lack of self esteem that the muslim community suffers on a personal and a communal level. This hinders us as as it lets people grow negative ideas about themselves and islam and puts them on a back foot, apologetic for merely existing.

Could you do it as part of a trilogy?
Divide all the topics into 3 groups and write three books dealing with them?

You cannot possibly cover everything in one book, you need a consistent theme otherwise it would look silly including certain topics and not others than relate. You need a focus.

If you’re going for a Muslim encyclopedia then I guess that doesn’t matter as you can cover everything in a few volumes. < But that is a huge task.

Question:
Have you read this?
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Young-Muslims-Guide-Modern-World/dp/1567444768

or this:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/American-Muslim-Teenagers-Handbook/dp/0979253128

@sehari, what's your def of a wahabi?

What about gender issues?

I mean you could talk about the roles of each gender in Islam and the importance of keeping within those limits. I mean there aren't a lot of limits - I'm obviously not talking about the cultural stuff where girls are sometimes seen inferior can't work etc, and boys are superior treated like kings or whatever - oh you could mention how that's wrong too.

But you could talk about the argument about the importance of nurture and its link to homosexuality. People do say that it can be down to the way the individuals are brought up and also it being almost a norm in society may make it widely accepted by Muslims too. (Just like gf/bf is no longer seen as a big deal, but almost expected by a lot of people) Therefore it is important to emphasise the importance of the role of each gender to make sure people realise what's wrong about it.

Also there's the argument that the dominance of dopamine in males make them naturally more aggressive etc, whereas the dominance of norepinephrine make females more empathetic, motherly or whatever. This (among other things) reinforces the message that men and women just aren't the same therefore there shouldn't be a question of 'equality' (in the sense of everyone being the same/being allowed to do the same) but that we should understand we are made complimentary to each other.

yep, defo include the above!

TheRevivalEditor wrote:

I haven't read it, but I heard good things about it.
i think it tries to show the links between modern issues and ancient Scripture.