The obvious solution is for Muslims to have their own publishing houses and printing presses. The only two I can think of (and I am ignorant) are Amal Press and, the much loved and lamented (wherefore art thou Ruslan Moore?) al-Baz who produce work of top notch quality with high production values. Much of the translation work by us is still in the "noble intentions but production quality is horrible and garish" stage.
I think Fons Vitae books have excellent production values. They are relatively expensive (still good value imho) because translated Sufi texts from Arabic and Farsi are a VERY small market in terms of potential readership and these will mainly be expected to be sold to University students/researchers working in Middle Eastern Studies or Islamic Studies departments. Hence the mark-up. Persian miniatures did have images of Huzoor Paak and the angels but usually with a halo of light around the face so the face itself was not drawn. Same for Turkish and Mughal miniatures.
Haha. I was the one who warned about Scott Kuggle the homosexual, may Allah guide him. Nevertheless that is an issue about a translator. If you leave the entire organization, you are missing out on Mustafa al-Badawi's translations which are some of the most accurate and reliable translations out in the market!
I think Wadood has highlighted some valid concerns about Fons Vitae. It's easy to say "look at the translator, not the publisher", but that doesn't guarantee that all its books are safe for consumption. Couple of years back, I purchased the title "Subtleties of the Ascension" online. I made my usual checks about the original text (by Abu ‘Abd al-Rahman Sulami) and the translator (Frederic Colby). I'm not qualified to comment on the translation itself, but the book has been produced without an iota of thought for muslim sensibilities. The book has more a dozen colour plates with paintings/illustrations on Miraj. The holy Prophet (sallaLLahu wassallam) is depicted alongside various other Prophets (alayhis salaam). Although the colour plates are created to give an impression that these are classical persian miniature paintings, in reality they are no more than a recent artist's attempt to copy persian painting style. I wonder what prompted Fons Vitae to include these highly sacrilegious paintings. The original text is in no way supported by these paintings, so why include other than to simply offend muslims? I understand that it is usual for orientalist publishing houses to include a "classical" painting on the cover page, but this book sneakily has more than dozen between the covers. I don't think Fons Vitae was set up only to publish Islamic texts, nor is their governing/advisory/editorial boards manned by only muslims. Another good reason to avoid Fons Vitae is that their titles are extremely expensive (way beyond what the production quality can justify). They do have dodgy characters like Scott Kugle translating works like ibn Ata'Allah's Kitab al-Tanwir. Had I not been forewarned about Kugle's open homosexual beliefs on this forum, I might have bought that title as well. Boycotting will not yield anything; may be writing to protest against a poor production would be more useful. Suffice is to say that if you are making an online purchase of a Fons Vitae title, without the benefit of browsing, be warned it may not be safe. Caveat Emptor!
Aslaamulikum My dear brothers this is what I have been trying to tell you all along,Wadood is losing the Plot.I think he also believes he is the 20th century Imam Ahle Sunnat.Please Wadude you need to seek HELP urgently,I will pray for your Mental State after Fajr Prayer.Get Well Soon!!!
Why would it be about the publisher? Surely it would be the translator you should be worrying about? So you are saying that we should boycott Mustafa al-Badawi's books too?
assalamu 'alaykum Fons Vitae is certainly a perennialist publishing house. It is not an orthodox Sunni publisher let alone an authorized Muslim one. This makes it very dangerous for us Muslims, in my opinion. Some reasons: 1) Their board of advisors include unknown/unauthorized people, including perennialists, orientalists, non-muslims, and dodgy people. Would you trust our works of tasawwuf translated by these unknown people and desemminated among our muslim readers? 2) They publish christian and yahoodi books 3) They publish hindu, budhist works to reconcile them with Islamic ones, find common points among these religions for 'dialogue purposes'; while, at the same time, no where have they condemned all these false religions. They do not hold Islam supreme at all, no emphasis on shari'ah except which is in the books within. But the danger is they do it under the garb of 'spirituality'. How many of our youth in the English speaking world go after 'sufi' books? 4) They mix Islamic symbols with christian, yahoodi, and other non-Muslim symbols everywhere. There is no respect for true Islamic art.
