VENTURA, CALIFORNIA (ANS) -- Don Richardson, author of Peace Child, Lords of the Earth and Eternity in Their Hearts, has been studying the Muslim world for over 30 years. He and his wife, Carol, spent 15 years among the Sawi, a Stone Age tribe of Irian Jaya.

Cover artwork for Secrets of the Koran.

Now he has learned that the Malaysian Internal Security Ministry has banned eleven books, eight in English and three in local Malay language, for misrepresenting Islam by linking it to terrorism and the mistreatment of women. Included in the list is Richardson's Secrets of the Koran: Revealing Insights into Islam’s Holy Book (Regal, 2003).

According to the ministry's Quran Publication Control and Text Division Secretary Che Din Yuson, the ban order was issued on January 17 under the Printing Presses and Publications Act of 1984.

In his book, Richardson takes a look at the root of the Islam religion and its prophet, Mohammed, to help readers grasp the plans followers of Islam have in the twenty-first century.

A media release says Richardson is no novice when it comes to Islam. He spent fifteen years in Indonesia (the world’s most populous Muslim country) and has studied Islam for thirty years. Far from being an offbeat group, networks like al-Qaeda actually represent true Islam.

Richardson identifies 109 Koranic verses, which encourage war, violence, and destruction. Instead of branding Islam as a “peace-loving religion” hijacked by fanatics, he believes we need to see recent atrocities as a by-product of its belief system.

“The mere fact that more than one billion Muslims esteem the Koran as divinely inspired makes it an extremely important book, even if a majority of mankind finds it implausible,” said Richardson.

The Koran, second only to the Bible, is honored by 1.6 billion people for its potential to influence human affairs from a religious perspective. Secrets of the Koran will serve to educate Western Christians and leaders about the truth concerning the Islamic religion, beginning with its foundations in the Koran.

Said Reza Safa, an ex-Shiite radical Muslim and author of Inside Islam: “We must have the facts because the lives of millions of people depend upon our assessment. The Islam that Mohammad proclaimed in the seventh century is something for all of us to take a closer look at because that version of Islam is more violent and has more resolve than what many might think.”

Secrets of the Koran concludes by detailing a plan to reach Muslims with truth. “I prefer to say, ‘Let’s wage truth on Islam -- because truth is the doorway to genuine peace,’” says Richardson.

His ultimate interest is in communicating the truth of the Gospel to those blinded by the massive deception of Islam. “We have no alternative but to win Muslims back into the human family under God.”

While in Irian Jaya, Richardson designed an alphabet suited to the Sawi language, authored 19 primers, taught the tribesmen to read in their native tongue and translated the entire New Testament. More than half of the Sawi accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

Since 1977, Don has served as ambassador-at-Large for World Team, a mission organization. Don, holds an honorary Doctorate of Literature from Biola University in La Mirada, CA, is an ordained pastor and speaks at more than 40 church conferences each year.

Headquartered in Ventura, California, Regal is the publisher of the best-selling titles Moments Together for Couples, Victory Over the Darkness, What the Bible Is All About, and The Unquenchable Worshipper, is a book imprint of Gospel Light, and is committed to providing effective resources for evangelism, discipleship, and spiritual renewal.

Regal has a distribution facility in Cincinnati, Ohio. Visit Regal at www.regalbooks.com.

Secrets of the Koran
General Interest • ISBN: 0830731245 • US $17.99
Hard Cover • 196 pages

** Michael Ireland, Chief Correspondent of ANS, is an international British freelance journalist who was formerly a reporter with a London newspaper and has been a frequent contributor to UCB Europe, a British Christian radio station. Michael's involvement with ASSIST News Service is a sponsored ministry department -- Michael Ireland Media Missionary (MIMM) -- of ACT International at: Artists in Christian Testimony (ACT) International. His weblog appears at: Michael Ireland Media Missionary.