Publications

Introduction 
Written by Dr. Bilal Philips
Wednesday, 12 July 2006

Dr. Bilal Philips has authored over 30 authentic Islamic books and edited over 50 Islamic books and Insha Allah he will continue his work to provide English speaking Muslims with the Islamic knowledge they need to live according to the commandments of Allah and his Prophet (pbuh).

It has come to our attention that Muslim organizations and bookstores in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, South Africa and Australia have been intentionally selling pirated copies of his books for the past 8 - 9 years. Not only have they done this with Dr. Bilal Philips' books, but also with other Islamic books produced by Muslim publishers.

These Muslim organizations have gone to publishers in India and asked them to print up cheap copies of these books. They then import them in bulk to locations in the United States, and elsewhere.

In April 1999, the Islamic Publishers Association in London teamed up with other Muslim publishers in the United Kingdom and Saudi Arabia to try to bring a case against India publishers who have been printing their books illegally. We were informed that they have taken legal action against pirators in the United States.

One of the main importers/distributors of these pirated books in North America is al-Manar Bookshop. The owner, Shaykh Mazahir Hasan, was approached and requested to stop selling these pirated books, but he insisted on continuing. He even spoke to Dr. Bilal on the telephone and said that he wasn't the importer of these pirated books from India, but we have been shown evidence that he was involved in piracy.

Piracy poses a real threat to the future production of Islamic literature. That is because the people who bear the costs of producing the literature are robbed of the benefits of their labor. People who produce nothing steal the profits that would otherwise go to the producers of beneficial literature. We have even found some piraters charging more for inferior copies of our publications than our retail prices. English language Islamic book publishers serve a relatively small market with thin profit margins. When they lose a substantial percentage of their revenues to rip-off artists, their very existence is threatened.

The council of scholars known as Majma' al-Fiqh al-Islaamee issued the following fatwaa in their fifth session in Kuwait, Dec. 10-15, 1988: "After reading the research papers prepared by its members and experts on the subject of intellectual property rights and after hearing the discussions of the issue, the Council affirmed the following: 'Trade names, logos, trademarks, authorship, inventions and designs are the rights of their owners. These things have acquired commercial value in the modern business environment because people make money from them. The Sharee'ah recognizes such rights, so they should not be violated.' (Al-Fiqh al-Islami wa Adillatuh, Wahbah Al-Zuhayli, 7:5160).

We currently have no influence to stop this piracy, but we would ask you to help us in our struggle to provide Islamic literature. If you have copies of any of Dr. Bilal's books that have been printed in India, please inform us of the Indian printing company as well as the Muslim bookstore or organization that you purchased the book from. We would also ask that you inform others of this un-Islamic act, as well as inform the Muslim organization that the books are pirated. If they already know and continue to sell the books, please inform others not to purchase the books from them, as well as inform us so that we can inform others that they are pirating.