I have this one coworker, an older guy (50s? 60s?) who's generally well-meaning but also very opinionated, and there was one time last year when I was helping him with something, and I forget what the larger discussion was, but it ended with him saying, "It seems to me that Islam is one of the more violent religions in the world..." naturally this got me riled up and I tried to explain to him why that was super not true, but I ended up not getting very far, mostly bc he had basically no knowledge of Islam, and so to do the whole explanation of Islam as a religion of peace was too much for him to want to listen to... (also I'm even worse at verbally articulating arguments than normal when I'm emotional/upset)
...fast forward to today, he has this discussion group he meets with once a month, and apparently this month's topic of discussion is ISIS, and he came to me to ask for "intro to Islam" recommendations! websites mostly, since he doesn't have the time for like books and documentaries and stuff, but I found a handfull, some on the basics of what exactly Islam is, and some that go further into detail on issues like jihad and relations with non-Muslims, with the offer to answer any questions he might have or provide any other links etc.
so anyway, as gross as ISIS is as a "book club topic," I'm really happy that he's trying to learn more!
