The Faith Club: A Muslim, A Christian, A Jew-- Three Women Search for Understanding | 
 enlarge | Authors: Ranya Idliby, Suzanne Oliver, Priscilla Warner
Publisher: Free Press
Category: Book
List Price: $14.00
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Avg. Customer Rating:  73 reviews
Sales Rank: 1965
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 416
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 8.3 x 5.5 x 1.1
ISBN: 0743290488
Dewey Decimal Number: 201.5
EAN: 9780743290487
ASIN: 0743290488
Publication Date: June 5, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: SHIPS FAST! via UPS(AK/HI Priority Mail) within 24 hours/ used sticker on back/some highlighting
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Product Description
A groundbreaking book about Americans searching for faith and mutual respect, The Faith Club weaves the story of three women, their three religions, and their urgent quest to understand one another. After September 11, Ranya Idliby, an American Muslim of Palestinian descent,faced constant questions about Islam, God, and death from her children, the only Muslims in their classrooms. Inspired by a story about Muhammad, Ranya reached out to two other mothers to write an interfaith children's book that would highlight the connections between Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. After just a few meetings, however, the women realized that they themselves needed an honest and open environment where they could admit -- and discuss -- their concerns, stereotypes, and misunderstandings. After hours of soul-searching about the issues that divided them, Ranya, Suzanne, and Priscilla grew close enough to discover and explore what united them. A memoir of spiritual reflections in three voices, The Faith Club has spawned interfaith discussion groups in churches, temples, mosques, and other community settings. It will make you feel as if you are eavesdropping on the authors' private thoughts, provocative discussions, and often-controversial opinions and conclusions. As the authors reveal their deepest beliefs, you watch the blossoming of a profound interfaith friendship and the birth of a new way of relating to others. And this new edition provides all the materials you need for forming your own Faith Club, including sections in Hebrew and Arabic. Pioneering, timely, deeply thoughtful, and full of hope, The Faith Club's caring message will resonate with people of all faiths.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 68 more reviews...
 Down-to-Earth, yet Profound October 6, 2008
As someone who considers myself Omni-religious (altho I do belong to one specific church, I can be found at many many others), I think this is an exceptional book about three women -- good friends, who take a long hard look at one another's faith systems, personal religious beliefs and the realities of their life experiences as these experiences relate to or are affected by... religion.....
As the three women authors themselves realized -- this book was not what they had started out to create in the first place. But they certainly achieved and recieved much more in the bargain, by staying together and discussing their belief systems, their concerns and their joys -- and in the process, enlightening and inspiring one another (and the reader).
The book is revealing, profound, and as the discussions continued, the kid gloves come off and feelings. emotions, epiphanies, disagreements, anger, confusion -- all come to the surface.
As a child who was raised as a (First Generation Italian) Roman Catholic, as a toddler I always thought that only Italians could be ROMAN Catholics and all the "other Catholics" were "just plain Catholics" (LOL). As a 13 yr old, who was raised in a Jewish-Italian neighborhood of the Bronx,(back in the Pre-Ecumenical days), I caused my mother to hit the ceiling one day when I went up to her and said "I want to remain Catholic but I also want to become Jewish and I want to be Mitzvahed".
I could never understand why people I repected would favor their religion and say that everyone else was going to hell. So I was VERY happy when the First Ecumenical Council was convened. And many churches now, so it seems, have carried this ecumenism forward and have never looked back. "The Faith Club" is another continuing facet of Ecumenism - an ongoing person-to-person, one friend to another, hearts and souls bared, no holds barred, frank, sometimes very emotional, heart wrenching discussion.
As I read the book, I could identify very much with Suzanne's feelings towards her Catholic religion -- once I realized how little I identified with it (altho I am forever grateful for the beautiful rituals and the ambience of my Bronx neighborhood church, St Lucy's) I too became baptised and confirmed as an Episcopalian (one week before my birthday-- a great gift!!!), and I never looked back.
AS a child of a non-practicing Moslem father, I find great insight and comfort in Ranya's love and knowledge of her religion -- none of which was demonstrated by my Dad. But I owe my Dad a great deal -- because of HIS brand of secular ecumenism, I am able to converse (to a limited extent) with my Middle East neighbors in their language and understand some of their customs, and this too is a way to open the doors of communication -- with a smile.
I also thought Ranya, whose family had lost so much, had the coolest head, the sharpest mind, and was the most "worldly-wise" of the three; I had the utmost respect for her knowledge base.
Because of the many tensions and problems inherent in all of our daily lives today, I feel we need to reach out more to try to understand one another, to opening up constructive dialogue -- and there should be MORE discussion groups like the one that Priscilla, Ranya, and Suzanne have now made so famous.
This book made me wonder -- "How would I have fared in the middle of such discussions?" Would I have been turned off by Priscilla's temper? Would I have been upset by Suzanne's embarassment of being seen in a Temple? (I whave always loved being part of a Temple service). If I had been subjected to Ranya's coming-out-of-nowhere withering attack on my principles, would I have shrunken into the sofa cushion?
These three women bared their very souls and dared one another to reach into their hearts and souls and lay it all on the table, despite temper tantrums, or personal travail, and I think we are all the better for having read this book.
 Read this book. August 31, 2008
This book is worth your time. It is an honest open discussion about the three faiths. From if you want to learn more, to those who think you know it all, this is a great place to start.
Faith Club August 29, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I found this book to be wonderfully readable with a huge message that needs to be shared by millions. It is such a profoundly simple way to move to peace. Not only do they share their personal experiences they give guidance as to how each of us can use their model and transform the world!
The Faith Club August 24, 2008
This book is very informative and gives one good insight into the three faiths and how they compare. It does get a little tedious here and there but is still worth the time it takes to read it.
One of my favorite books of this year August 17, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I initially read this book for my book club and really enjoyed it. I truly related with Ranya in her universalist beliefs. I was disappointed in my book clubs discussion, because a couple of the women weren't willing to see that other religions besides there could be "right". So, I lead a discussion for a Sunday service for my religion. I am a Unitarian Universalist, so the topic is very relevant to our spiritual search. My second read was all the better as I was able to really get to know the diversity of paths and willingness of these women to step out of their comfort zones and really put themselves on the line with each other and with their peers in their own religious and social groups. I still felt very clost to Ranya, but also started relating with Priscilla much more as a person who speaks her mind, not always to her own benefit. These are 3 women I would like to have dinner with and become a fourth in their group!
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