 Welcome to my website! My aim is to make a modest contribution to the world
of books by offering old books in my
CATALOG, by offering a selection of new
books in my STOREFRONT and by introducing and discussing historical works.
(Click here for my GALLIPOLI feature.) I have also published a comprehensive
DIRECTORY of secondhand bookshops and auctioneers in New Zealand. Another feature,
although it is not part of my site, is the memorial page of my late English teacher, BRIAN
MERRIKIN HILL, who died in 1997. He taught me English at WENNINGTON SCHOOL,
Wetherby, Yorkshire, from 1953 to 1959.
YOUR HOST
I was born in Birmingham, England, in 1940, and grew up in Warwickshire. I
have been a sub-editor at the MANAWATU EVENING STANDARD,
Palmerston North, New Zealand, since 1972. From 1964 to 1972, I was a sub-
editor at The Japan Times in Tokyo. I have been listed in Contemporary Poets of
the English Language and the International Who's Who in Poetry. (See my collection of
poems, UNLIKE OTHER BOYS.) I have been active in the Schizophrenia Fellowship,
Action on Smoking and Health, the Palestine Human Rights Campaign and Muslims Against
Domestic Violence. (See my personal TESTIMONY.) In 1990, I went to Makkah for Hajj,
visited Madinah and travelled widely in Turkey. (See ADVENTURES IN ISLAM.) I live in
Palmerston North with my wife, Taeko, and daughter, Elaine. I can be contacted directly by
either
FORM MAIL
or E-MAIL. You can also catch up with me at BLOGSPOT.
PALESTINE GALLERY
To view a historic collection of engravings, depicting Palestine in the late 1870s,
go to GALLERY. The engravings are from The Land and the Book (1881), by
William M Thomson, a missionary for 45 years in Syria and Palestine. He
describes Jerusalem as "the common property of the whole Christian world", but
admits that, "on approaching the Holy City, you enter upon an arena of great uncertainty and
endless controversy. Nearly every author who has written about Jerusalem has some special
theory in regard to questions Biblical, theological, topographical, or legendary, which he seeks
to explain and defend. With the exception of the general outlines of the city, there is scarcely
an identification which has not been disputed, and the discussions about them have not only
been earnest but long, and often acrimonious."
PALESTINE ARCHIVE
Peruse my ARCHIVE of historical material on Palestine from before and shortly
after the Zionist conquest of the country in 1948. This anthology has been
compiled in response to numerous requests I have received for such contem-
poraneous information, much of which is no longer readily available. As a
secondhand book dealer, I have been collecting old books on Palestine for more than 15
years, in an attempt to preserve the past from the depredations of those who have a vested
interest in either destroying or distorting it. I strongly urge all my Muslim friends, and Arab
friends in particular, to do likewise.
NEWS AND VIEWS
Autumn Leaves is more than a bookshop. It is also a FORUM for the discussion
of issues of interest to Muslims, and for the publication of press releases, news
reports, book reviews and poems. If you are interested in these issues, please
consider subscribing to my MAILING LIST. Visitors are also welcome to ask me
questions, using the ASK ME facility below. If you ever wondered what the Sykes-Picot
Agreement was, or how many Jews were massacred in Granada in 1066, or where Albert
Einstein really stood on the state of Israel, I may be able to help you. I request, though, that
questions about religious belief or practice be directed to those more competent to answer
them. (See ASK THE IMAM.)
EDUCATION
Visitors to this site are encouraged to consider the many opportunities it offers in
the field of education. Many of the courses advertised are free, and of a simple,
introductory nature. There is, for example, the ONLINE COURSE ON ISLAM,
which can be taken through Islam101. Most of the course materials are based on
articles published by The World Assembly of Muslim Youth (WAMY), the Institute of
Islamic Information and Education (III&E) and the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA).
Other free courses are provided by STUDYING ISLAM. Information on other sites can
be found in my OTHER LINKS section.
DESIGN
Too many websites -- even "professionally" produced ones -- have essentially the
same design: There is a panel across the top of the page, including the title, and a
panel of clickable buttons on the left. On this and subsequent pages, I have tried
to do things differently, by turning my index into a feature in its own right, and by
introducing each topic with a motif. These motifs -- the door detail above, the dish below, and
the ewer on some other pages -- are from ISLAMIC ARTS AND ARCHITECTURE, which
I would encourage anyone with an interest in Islamic art to visit. The colourful autumn leaves
scattered about these pages are from About.com's site for PORTLAND AND SOUTHERN
MAINE, to which I am also very grateful.
Arabic calligraphy from Suite101.com
MOSQUE VANDALS JAILED: Manawatu Standard, November 30, 2005
 Two young men who pleaded guilty to vandalising Auckland mosques in the wake of the London bombings earlier this year were yesterday sentenced to imprisonment for their "outrageous desecration". Jason Paul Molloy, 19, of Nelson, and Ross Baumgarten, 18, of Auckland, were sentenced in Manakau District Court to one year each on seven charges of intentional damage. To read the complete article, click here.
To go to the index of the Autumn Leaves Newsblog, click here.
Sign my guestbook
View my guestbook
(This guestbook is shared with my Schizophrenia website at nzsf.com)
Alan (Adil) Ireland. PO Box 2052, Palmerston North Central 4440, New Zealand
http://www.adilbookz.com
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