Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus

This is two books in one. It's a book of apologetics where Qureshi lays out the cases for belief in Christianity and Islam, showing why and how he came to change his beliefs. It is also a memoir of Qureshi's life, as a young Pakistani Muslim boy growing up in the West, the culture clashes he faced, and the emotional struggles he underwent as he went through the process of rethinking his faith.

Similar to Josh McDowell and Lee Strobel, Qureshi set out to disprove Christianity. Unlike those two, however, for Qureshi, this was deeply personal. He didn't just want to win an argument. He wanted to show his Christian friends the proper way to worship God, he wanted to honor his family, and most importantly, he wanted to be sure about the state of his own soul.

Because it's too kinds of books in one, it isn't quite as strong in either as it would have been if he had picked one. The apologetics are more thorough and convincing in his later book, “No God But One: Allah or Jesus.” And the memoir about his life and struggles with faith would have been more powerful if not interrupted by long debate scenes.

Even so, this is a powerful book and a must read for anyone interested in the topic. The last few chapters had me repeatedly alternating between tears of joy and tears of sadness, so that's pretty impressive writing.

This book was pretty incredible. It gave me insights into the mindsets of Muslims and how they learn, argue, respect, and love their beliefs that I had not known before. It was also a really excellent look for me, as a Christian, to understand why people question it. This book was honest, funny, exciting, nerve-wracking, emotional, and engaging. I kept wanting it to go longer, and I could see re-reading it again in the future.