Tripping with Allah: Islam, Drugs, and Writing

by Michael Muhammad Knight

If Tripping with Allah is a road book, it’s a road book in the tradition of 2001: A Space Odyssey , rather than On the Road . Amazonian shamanism meets Christianity meets West African religion meets Islam in this work of reflection and inward adventure. Knight, the “Hunter S. Thompson of Islamic literature” seeks reconciliation between his Muslim identity and his drinking of ayahuasca, a psychedelic tea that has been used in the Amazon for centuries. His experience becomes an opportunity to investigate complex issues of drugs, religion, and modernity.

Though essential for readers interested in Islam or the growing popularity of ayahuasca, this book is truly about neither Islam nor ayahuasca. Tripping with Allah provides an accessible look into the construction of religion, the often artificial borders dividing these constructions, and the ways in which religion might change in an increasingly globalized world.

Finally, Tripping with Allah not only explores Islam and drugs, but also Knight’s own process of creativity and discovery.

Genres: Islam, Nonfiction, Religion, Drugs, Spirituality, Memoir, Biography

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

Michael Muhammad Knight (born 1977) is an American novelist, essayist, and journalist. His writings are popular among American Muslim youth. The San Francisco Chronicle described him as "one of the most necessary and, paradoxically enough, hopeful writers of Barack Obama's America," while The Guardian has described him as "the Hunter S. Thompson of Islamic literature," and his non-fiction work exemplifies the principles of gonzo journalism. Publishers Weekly describes him as "Islam's gonzo experimentalist." Within the American Muslim community, he has earned a reputation as an ostentatious cultural provocateur.

He obtained a master's degree from Harvard University in 2011 and is a Ph.D. student in islamic studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Reviews

[Tim · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m fascinated by Knight not so much from the detailed descriptions of his drug trips and other adventures as from his ability to put into writing his very human wrestling with what it means to be a Muslim. He’s the eccentric who can look at the system and point out the bullshit not as an outsider but as someone who identifies with and loves it in his own way. He calls it being a part of the underground (in Islam) and compares it to those underground people in America who are just as American as anyone else. After all, our traditions tell us that it’s the outsiders who Muhammad and Jesus gravitated towards in the first place. “Islam and drugs both say so much about America and the nature of America” (location 314-315). Knight takes us through some of his history, politics and mental progress leading up to his one big trip on ayahuasca, where he sees Allah in the female form as Fatima. But drugs aren’t really the point, it’s simply interesting to watch his progression from book to book - there’s change and an evolution of thought but also an underlying thread or essence.

[hajrah ♡ · Rating 5 out of 5]

bruh

[Ernest Hogan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just what I needed for the quarantine: A wild ride through worlds I was unaware of. Ayahuasca. Islam. Professional wrestling. 21st century countercultures. Knight has been called "the Hunter S. Thompson of Islamic literature." Thompson and William S. Burroughs are evoked early. This is what's been happening in the new millennium. Got this old guy feeling hip. Maybe psychedelic Islam will help us into the post-COVID-19 reality . . .

[Emily · Rating 1 out of 5]

Where do I even start? This book is painfully self-obsessed and self-indulgent. The author literally just wanders through whatever he wants to talk about and prove his knowledge in for a given section. There doesn't seem to be any kind of real thread beyond vaguely relating everything to "drugs", which here includes everything from hallucinogens to coffee to body-building and masturbation. References to 80s cartoons and science fiction are as numerous as references to Islam, and professional wrestling becomes a cornerstone for understanding the world. It all culminates in his drug trip and his interpretation thereof, before becoming a meditation on writing and the author's next book.

It also seems to be purposefully trying to shock, full of graphic sexual scenes and language. Combine that with the absolute revelry in drug use of just about every kind, the glorification of self-destructive behaviors, weighty misogyny disguised as being some kind of new-wave feminist, and the snide condescension for nearly everyone, and you will end with a thorough distaste for this author.

[Moose · Rating 2 out of 5]

i am a sufi muslim and have been working with ayahuasca in peru for over a year now. while that does not qualify me as an expert, i can say that hands-down, knight's book is mostly fluff with little substance. he spends the vast majority of the book on bullshit and only gets to his experience with the medicine at the very end.

so while the title is catchy and controversial the work inside is not. skip this one.

[Elias Khan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Why'd you have to get all academic on me :'(

[Ahmad M Bohindi · Rating 1 out of 5]

Aside from the useful historical analysis of drug use in Islamic history, this book has nothing to offer. The rest is personal accounts of body building, sexual activites, and cheap philosophical conversations with stoners. 'Ya Haqq' for some reason had to be said in every other sentence in the dialogues, sometimes even multiple times in the same sentence. Had to read through it for no reason other than wanting to know about his trip. When the fillers ended and the trip began all I learned was that I've wasted my time and money. The purpose of it appears to be to stir controversy, and it does little more than that.

[Kia]

This is really just a book about gender and masculinity and it’s awesome


Fyi for anyone interested im half convinced this was tao lin’s inspo for trip. I haven’t read trip but I will someday, maybe

[Adam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Riveting capture of self-discovery, drugs, writing, and expression in modern Islam.

[John Krajewski · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really intense, hilarious, multilayered book. As someone up on here said, it was nothing like what I was expecting. I don't know really know what kind of person could/would expect something like this. I'm not really sure what "this" is. I don't really think Knight does either as he spends most of the book grappling with what the book is. As he says he set out to write "the great islamic drug book" or something like that. What it turns into is a really bizarre, self-referential kind of awkward journey through Knight's stream of consciousness.

I understand the negative reviews on here, although I loved the book. Knight is a polarizing kind of character. He's obsessive and hyper-intelligent and prone to rambling and switching focus on the drop of a dime. He grapples with his critics and himself on the page. He compares his writing to an addiction towards the end of the book and it feels like that kind of obsession is unfolding when you're reading it. In spite of this I found his intensity refreshing and surprising. If you're looking for an new age-y psychedelic journey type of book this isn't that, but you should probably read it anyway.

[KD · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's dangerous to write a review of Knight's work because it might end up in his next book. But I really like this, especially the ayahuasca Fatima and Ali chapter, Knight's meditations on writing, and his worries about becoming too academic after grad school. I'm looking forward to discussing this with my progressive Muslim group.

[Lydia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted so bad to read the ayahuasca trip but it was gross ? And by the end of the book I just didn’t care as it sat on my trunk for weeks. This guy is v odd, and the book wasn’t what I wanted it to be. No glossary or index he’s just saying stuff and I have no idea what’s true.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reminded me early and often of the book report song from "You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown"

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

While his rants on history are a bit polemic and simplistic, it's digestible and his personal writing makes up for it.

[Joey Gamble · Rating 1 out of 5]

"The Hunter S. Thompson of Islam"? More like the Tucker Max of Islam. Except that associating him with Islam does a disservice to the myriad Muslim writers who are actually good.

[Tilde Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have issues with how the author talks about whiteness and masculinity without fully being accountable for his own.

[Daniel Khan · Rating 3 out of 5]

DNF.
Not really my cup of tea. It reads like a stoner trying to connect his vague ideas from his trip to whatever media he's seen or random tid bit of history off the top of their head. Transformers, Space Odyssey, professional wrestling, the history of coffee and how it's sourced, American history and drug usage, there are so many references but I don't find anything that sticks. I was waiting and waiting for the trip but apparently it's not until near the end of the book. Also this is a white guy, so really changes the lens I view this book.
There are some insights which allow me to reconsider my beliefs though. Active intelligence and how we've put a "seal" on prophethood to further ourselves from spirituality and Shamanism. The interesting parts were when we got to connect drugs and Islam, as the title of the book suggests, so I'm left rather disappointed we branch away from that idea so often.
As Knight himself suggests,
"I am a Muslim, a writer, something of a scholar, the son of a schizophrenic, American, white, male, and a chronic masturbator... with a head full of pro wrestling and Transformers and wrists injured at the incline bench. A chronic masturbator with injured wrists."
Perhaps I came in with a preconceived notion that this book would have the thesis of tying Islam and drugs and making sense of drug use in the context of the Quran. This reads more adjacent as an autobiographical, stream of conscience style prose that touches on everything Knight identifies with. It's an interesting read, but not for me.

[Tacy Pearce · Rating 4 out of 5]

I keep finding myself bringing this up in conversation. The divine finding humans and healing us is a major theme of this book, as is the quandary: why are some chosen to receive revelations while others are not? I went back to reread his chapter about the philosophy of revelation because I found it so fascinating.

This needs some trigger warnings, but otherwise I found it thought provoking in a good way, making me think about things I’ve never thought, learned or read about ever before. If you are in the mood for this type of stretching and can give him the benefit of the doubt on several counts, you might appreciate some of his quirky insights on Islam and ayahausca.

[akim willems · Rating 3 out of 5]

Een paar interessante zaken gelezen/geleerd over de geschiedenis van de islam en het soefisme.
Een paar keer bedenkelijk de wenkbrauwen gefronst bij de vergezochte Transformers-analogieën - iets minder weed en iets meer schrappen hadden het boek wellicht sterker gemaakt.
Ik kocht het boek nadat iemand de titel liet vallen als antwoord op de vraag "Wat is het meest bizarre boek dat je ooit las?" - dat viel dus behoorlijk tegen in mijn ogen.

[Michael Nguyen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good read. A good gonzo journalism book with academic inspired infodumps in there. Gets into the history of coffee, marijuana, the Santo Daime religion. The book's main focus is the author's journey taking ayahuasca and his encounter with Fatima as the divine feminine. There is an erotic psychedelic experience at the end which was very interesting and enlightening to read.

[Sophie Mueller · Rating 2 out of 5]

Micheal Muhammad Knight is a white dude.

[Master Shake · Rating 5 out of 5]

I still think about this book nearly two years later. An incredible journey through the history of drugs and their relationship with different religions. Incredible.

[Ashur · Rating 4 out of 5]

Following Michael Muhammad Knight's spiritual and intellectual paths of exploration never fail to interest me. I probably need to re-read Why I Am a Salafi since it's a follow-up to this book; I don't think I actually finished it. Magic In Islam and William S. Burroughs vs. the Qur'an are next!

[Boots · Rating 4 out of 5]

So far, this book is really, really funny. Harvard student Michael Knight examines his own identity while tripping out on ayahuasca. Favorite quote thus far (on page 3, by Jove): "Not even my Muslim friends who do coke want to join me for ayahuasca, but they're not doing coke for the sake of spiritual growth. Coke is fun, and ayahuasca is anti-fun. Coke is for people who like to party, and ayahuasca is for people who like throwing up and shitting themselves and seeing Muhammad flying through space on a jaguar. I guess it's understandable that these experiences attract different crowds." I just started reading this book, and plan to review it for the publication for which I'm interning. Wish me best of luck and cross your fingers for me in case I decide to "try this at home".
Here's my review: http://citybookreview.com/2013/04/tri...

[afra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Weird, weird book. The beginning reads like an adventure story, the middle reads like a random assortment of excerpts from history textbooks, and the end of the book is exactly the drug-saturated hallucinogenic climax one would expect from the title... except about 9 times scarier. I have to confess that I skipped the entire middle of the book because I was unable to muck through 140 pages of rantings about obscure elements of Islamic history and politics. Was still a fun read, and the ending, though definitely not for the faint-hearted, brought up some provocative questions about the ways one's experience of faith can be shaped by personal demons and blind acceptance of rigid cultural norms.

[Ellen Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

i don't know what to say. arrogant self-absorbed hipster or astute observer of cultural history? I was ready for him to just get on with the ayahuasca trip, already but I forgave him stringing us along when I found that , as typical for mystical experriences, he didn't have much to say afterward because he saw that words are bullshit, especially theology, I might add. some truly amazing sentences.

[aj · Rating 5 out of 5]

This books is a trip of its own. While reading the more academic portion, I recommended it to all my friends who care about drugs or Islam. Then I got into the trip, and I became more cautious in my recommendations. Just like a drug-induced trip, it's good to prepare yourself mentally before the plunge.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

http://muslimahmerican.com/tripping/

[Shane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heartfelt review in the works...

[John Melvin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Useful Trip

Knight's drug journey uniquely takes us not only to a flip-out but also to an insight to the foundations of religious life.