Author: Lakhdar O'Barret

Mr. O.Barret has taught English, French, Arabic, American Civilization, Humanities, African Literature, Folklore, and Islam at colleges and universities in the San Francisco Bay area, Paris, and Madison, Wisconsin. He is the author of Truth Jihad: My Epic Struggle Against the 9/11 Big Lie and the editor of 9/11 and American Empire: Christians, Jews and Muslims Speak Out. Barrett grew up in a Christian family. He reverted to Islam in 1993. He has appeared in several documentary films, lectures widely on Islam and social and political issues and hosts three radio programs on three different networks, as well as a daily news show on Pacifica Radio.

What is Right with Islam

I HAVE SOME good news and some bad news. The good news is that since September 11th, Islam has gotten plenty of attention in the Western media. The bad news is the kind of attention it’s getting. Honest, balanced portrayals of Islam’s…

The Discipline of Allah

SOMETIMES MANY PARENTS express their mixed feelings about discipline by telling their child: “This is for your own good.” And if they resort to spanking a child, they sometimes say: “This hurts me a lot more than it does you.” Allah’s discipline, like…

The Ethical Monotheism of Islam vs Unethical Monotheism

ISLAM, LIKE CHRISTIANITY and Judaism, is commonly described in Comparative Religion textbooks as an ethical monotheism. That is, it asserts that there is only one God, and that recognition and worship of that one God carries grave ethical implications and imposes profound…

Read! Why We Should Pay More Attention to Books

Recite in the name of your Lord who created–created man from a clinging substance. Recite and your Lord is most Generous Who taught by the pen—taught man that which he knew not. [Surat Al-‘Alaq, 96:1-6] THE FIRST QUR’ANIC revelation begins with the…

American Family: An Endangered Species

THROUGHOUT HISTORY, in all known cultures, the family has been the basic building block of society. Our web of family relations, more than any other factor, mediates our relations with our fellow human beings. Human beings need families as much as they…

Time for Islam

HUMAN EXISTENCE IS a struggle with time—for time—in time. Time should end—will end—must end—in surrender to Allah, Lord of the Worlds, Creator, Sustainer and Cherisher of all that is, including the end of time and the space that occupies and infuses it.…

Quantum Islam: How Physics Confirms the Qur’anic Worldview

THE QURAN, IT has been argued, is unique among the scriptures of the major world religions in its compatibility with the shifts in world-view that have accompanied major scientific discoveries. Surviving the Storms of Scientific Discoveries When Copernicus argued that the earth…

Is Television Haram?

EVEN NON-MUSLIM Americans are often amazed at Islam’s ability to inspire reverts to give up harmful habits. Experts on the American prison system admit that conversion to Islam in prison is the single most powerful indicator of likely rehabilitation. Nothing else –…

Deconstructing Riba

DEEP DOWN INSIDE, we all want something for nothing. We love delicious fruits and vegetables, but don’t want to have to grow and pick them ourselves. We want a nice house, but don’t want to have to sweat for it. We want…