Books like Living out Islam by Scott Siraj al-Haqq Kugle

Few issues divide our country more dangerously today than does the question of homosexuality and the conflict between the concept of family values and the individual rights of gays and lesbians. Families are divided, careers are ruined, lives are lost - all in the struggle between beliefs founded in tradition and those based on personal freedom. Spearheading the fight against the increasingly vocal homosexual community are the leaders of the so-called "religious right," men and women who denounce gays and lesbians from their pulpits and encourage their followers to enact laws against them. Perhaps no one is better qualified to write about these issues and the conflicts they engender than Mel White. He was born into a conservative Christian home and educated in conservative Christian schools and churches. He met his wife there, and together they raised their children to believe in God and to follow a Christian lifestyle. He worked within the church as a filmmaker and writer, and eventually became a ghostwriter of books, autobiographies, and speeches for such noted figures in the religious right as Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson and Billy Graham. But all that time Mel White had a secret. He was gay . In this remarkable book, Mel White looks at his own life in the church and details the struggles he went through to deny and overcome his own natural sexual desires. And in ways sure to anger many of the people he used to know best, he provides a firsthand look at the teachings and workings of the religious right today, showing how they use their power first to politicize their followers and then, using these politics, to spearhead fund-raising efforts. Most specifically, he examines the methods they use to create a campaign of hate and fear against homosexuals. It is a deeply personal story of torment and triumph, as well as a frightening examination of the anti-homosexual tactics of the religious right and a prophetic look at where they might lead our nation. Both autobiography and personal manifesto, Stranger at the Gate is the eloquent and deeply spiritual story of a gay Christian American determined to tell the truth as he experienced it.

Recent political upheavals such as the disintegration of the Soviet Union and international crises such as the Salman Rushdie affair, the collapse of the Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI), the Gulf War and 'ethnic cleansing' in Bosnia raise questions about the nature of Islam and its relationship with the West that need urgent consideration. Islam is the dominant world religion, followed by more than a fifth of the world's population, and Muslims today cover the world, from Samarkand in Central Asia to Stornoway in Scotland. But what is Islam? Its history? Its culture? Its values? Akbar S. Ahmed, one of the world's leading scholars on Islam, answers these fundamental questions. He examines the conflict between Islam and the ideologies of the West and the particular problems Muslims face in the modern world. He considers three great Muslim empires, the Ottomans, the Safavids and the Mughals, and three modern Muslim nations, Turkey, Iran and Pakistan, which are inspired by them. He looks at the pressures, conflicts and practices of Muslims living as minorities, whether in India, Israel, the USA or the United Kingdom, including the impassioned issue of racism. The grounding upon which the Muslim family, the key element in Islamic life, is built, and the biased portrayal in the West of Muslim women's subjugated position, are comprehensively discussed. In the final chapter, he looks at the future of Islam and considers where the key to a more peaceful and co-operative future lies. . Living Islam is a deeply thoughtful and accessible book which will help to dispel Western prejudices and lead to a much greater understanding of and respect for Islam.

John Boswell’s comprehensive study traces how Western Christianity from antiquity to 1500 treated homosexual individuals, revealing how church attitudes and institutional practices shaped early societal norms.

The Stranger Next Door examines how economic decline in a small Oregon town fueled a clash over gay rights, exploring how fear drives communities to oppose LGBTQ civil liberties.