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[Review]Islam Our Choice: Portraits of Modern Amer

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[Review]Islam Our Choice: Portraits of Modern Amer
jannah
12/10/03 at 06:18:02
Islam Our Choice: Portraits of Modern American Muslim Women
Edited by Debra L. Dirks & Stephanie Parlove

I bought this book by accident. The first day at ISNA I saw this interesting looking book cover about Muslim women and theology. I asked the booth owner how much it was and he said it was a display book but was willing to sell it to me for $12… but since it was the first day and I didn't want to carry the book around the rest of the day I told him I'd return later. I did return, but the book was nowhere to be found -- probably sold. So I was kicking myself for not coming back earlier and wandered over to some other booths and found this book about American Muslim Women for the same price.. so I thought well I'd set aside this money for a book so might as well get it.

The book contains narratives from 6 women on their lives and journeys to Islam. They range from Arabian horse breeder to former NOI wife. The interesting thing is that the autobiographies start from childhood or birth and detail the women's lives all the way up to the present. One thing I liked is that these were all written after 9/11. It gives me hope that these women don't let that event negatively affect their belief in Islam.

One thing to note is that this book is not for conservative people who are really only into the rituals of Islam. (Which seems to be a lot of us these days.) Like poetry you won't understand this book. You have to go in with an open mind or I'd say even more than that: a blank slate. It's not a comfortable book (it is way too honest), but it is something that has a profound effect and makes you re-think a lot of things.

It is just amazing to me when I think of how these women came to Islam from the unlikeliest backgrounds. How the littlest things brought them to Islam and how much the people around them affected them. In a time when Muslims are thinking to change their names to make lives easier for them one writes,

"She would explain in great detail about Islamic customs, and about how Islam taught or had influenced this or that. From the very beginning, I loved her approachability and strong belief in God. She would not do anything that was against her Islamic teachings. She did not set aside her beliefs just because they were sometimes inconvenient in our American culture. …. I had lived so long with my own questioning of the Christian faith that it was refreshing to see someone who really could believe in her own faith."

Would that we could all be like that.
12/10/03 at 06:19:57
jannah
Re: [Review]Islam Our Choice: Portraits of Modern
Stephanie
12/22/03 at 01:18:33
[slm]

Alhumdillallah
I know many of these women from my community and they have shown me so much love and kindness since my shahadda.  In fact, Debra Dirks was the one that helped me during the time that I was preparing for my shahadda and Khadija Beruni is one of my best friends!!  I can't wait to tell them that their book has reached so far.  Wow this post really made my day.
[wlm]
sister Steph
:-)
Re: [Review]Islam Our Choice: Portraits of Modern
swsis570
12/27/03 at 01:27:02
This is  a good thing. We need more Muslims writin' and
fightin'.


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