Michael Muhammad Knight, “Tripping with Allah: Islam, Drugs, and Writing” (Soft Skull Press, 2013)Michael Muhammad Knight, “Tripping with Allah: Islam, Drugs, and Writing” (Soft Skull Press, 2013)
New Books in Drugs, Addiction and Recovery
Michael Muhammed Knight writes this book from a first-person perspective, as a piece of creative non-fiction. The book includes a liberal amount of swearing and sexual references, and Knight’s writing style is raw, sometimes jarring,
1:04:26•13 Jun 2017
Michael Muhammad Knight on Islam, Drugs, and the Art of Writing
“It really calls attention to the problem of the search for the real Islam, and that's something where I express in a different language in the classroom, because I had this experience, this destabilizing experience that, on the one hand, both authorized my personal subjective encounter with the tradition and also reminded me of just how personal and subjective it was that I wasn't getting plugged into any kind of universal truth or anything.”
What happens when you mix religion, drugs, and a raw writing style? You get Michael Muhammad Knight's 'Tripping with Allah: Islam, Drugs, and Writing'. In this episode of 'New Books in Drugs, Addiction, and Recovery', host Marshall Poe sits down with Knight to dive into his provocative book. Knight's work is a blend of personal anecdotes, cultural history, and political commentary, all seen through the lens of Islam and drug use.
From the surprising ban on coffee by early Muslims to the socio-economic dynamics that allowed wine a higher status than marijuana, Knight's narrative is anything but predictable. The conversation takes listeners on a journey through Knight's experiences with ayahuasca, a visionary plant brew, and his quest for what he calls the 'real' Islam. His unfiltered writing style—complete with swearing and sexual references—adds a layer of authenticity that many authors shy away from.
Whether you're intrigued by the intersection of religion and drugs or just love a good page-turner, this episode promises to challenge your perspectives and keep you engaged. Tune in to hear about Knight's background, his teaching experiences, and what he's working on next.
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