Ibn Warraq
Ibn Warraq, a name meaning son of a
scribe and with strong
schismatic connotations from early
Islamic history, is the
pseudonym of a
Muslim apostate writer and teacher currently living in Europe. Among the few personal details known about his life is that he was born in
1946 in Rajkot,
India to Indian-Muslim parents who soon emigrated to
Pakistan, and that he studied at the
University of Edinburgh under the Orientalist scholar Montgomery Watt.
Ibn Warraq has written several books, some of which are polemical and strongly inveigh against Islam, and some of which are more scholarly and gather together critical research on such topics as the origins of the Qur'an and the life of Muhammad. Since there is much in such scholarship which contradicts orthodox Muslim belief, the latter books can be seen as continuation of Ibn Warraq's mission of weakening fundamentalist Islam and promoting secular humanist values among Muslims.
Works of Ibn Warraq
- Leaving Islam: Apostates Speak Out, edited by Ibn Warraq, Prometheus Books, 2003, hardcover, 320 pages, ISBN 1591020689
- What the Koran Really Says: Language, Text, and Commentary, edited and translated by, Ibn Warraq, Prometheus Books, 2002, 600 pages, ISBN 157392945X
- Quest for the Historical Muhammed, edited and translated by Ibn Warraq, Prometheus Books, 2000, hardcover, 554 pages, ISBN 1573927872
- Origins of the Koran: Classic Essays on Islam's Holy Book, edited by Ibn Warraq, Prometheus Books, 1998, hardcover, 420 pages, ISBN 157392198X
- Why I Am Not a Muslim, Ibn Warraq, foreword by R. Joseph Hoffmann, Prometheus Books, 1995, hardcover, 428 pages, ISBN 0879759844
External links