American author urges PM Imran’s followers to buy original book

CHICAGO: American author and researcher Firas Al-Khateeb has warned readers to beware of a fake version of his book, Lost Islamic History, that misrepresented historical facts and had been circulating on the internet.

In a message shared on social networking platform Twitter, the author said that the fake version of his book was entirely inaccurate and Islamophobic. He urged readers to purchase the original version from the publisher or e-commerce giant Amazon instead of indugling in piracy.

“PSA for people now interested in my book on @ImranKhanPTI ’s recommendation: there is a free pdf claiming to be my book online that is entirely inaccurate & Islamophobic. This is NOT my book. If you want to read Lost Islamic History buy from the publisher or from Amazon, please,” he wrote.

PSA for people now interested in my book on @ImranKhanPTI’s recommendation: there is a free pdf claiming to be my book online that is entirely inaccurate & Islamophobic. This is NOT my book. If you want to read Lost Islamic History buy from the publisher or from Amazon, please.

— Lost Islamic History (@LostIslamicHist) May 11, 2020

Prime Minister Imran Khan had recommended the youth to read the famous book by Firas Alkhateeb in order to engage in insightful and enlightening reading during the lockdown. In a tweet, the prime minister said that the book elaborates on the rich history of Islamic civilisation.

“A great read for our youth during lockdown days. An excellent brief history of the driving force that made Islamic civilisation the greatest of its time and then the factors behind its decline,” he said.

Firas Alkhateeb is an American researcher, writer and historian who specialises in the Islamic world.’Lost Islamic History’ stresses on how Islam and Muslims around the world cultivated peace, promoted universal values, and dialogue among civilisations. It aims to present historical facts that have been disregarded or downplayed by other scholars.

READ MORE: PM recommends youth to read ‘Lost Islamic History’ during lockdown

“Islam has been one of the most powerful religious, social, and political forces in history. Over the last 1400 years, from origins in Arabia, a succession of Muslim polities and later empires expanded to control territories and peoples that ultimately stretched from southern France, to East Africa to South East Asia. Yet many of the contributions of Muslim thinkers, scientists, and theologians, not to mention rulers, statesmen and soldiers, have been occluded,” said a review of the book.

On May 1, the Focal Person on Digital Media to Prime Minister Imran Khan, Arsalan Khalid, had shared a free version of the book on his Twitter page, urging users to download the electronic book and read it as per the recommendation.