Muslim and American: Two Perspectives
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The Butterfly Mosque
Author: G. Willow Wilson
ISBN: 0802145337
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In this satisfying, lyrical memoir of a potentially disastrous clash between East and West, a Boulder native and Boston University graduate found an unlikely fit living in Cairo, Egypt, and converting to Islam. Wilson embarked on a yearlong stint working at an English-language high school in Cairo right after her college graduation in 2003. She had already decided that of the three Abrahamic religions, Islam fulfilled her need for a monotheistic truth, even though her school did not include instruction in the Qur'an because it angered students and put everybody at risk. Once in Cairo, despite being exposed to the smoldering hostility Arab men held for Americans, especially for women, she found she was moved deeply by the daily plight of the people to scratch out a living in this dusty police state tottering on the edge of moral and financial collapse; she and her roommate, barely eating because they did not know how to buy food, were saved by Omar, an educated, English-speaking physics teacher at the school. Through her deepening relationship with Omar, she also learned Arabic and embraced the ways Islam was woven into the daily fabric of existence, such as the rituals of Ramadan and Friday prayers at the mosque. Arguably, Wilson's decision to take up the headscarf and champion the segregated, protected status of Arab women can be viewed as odd; however, her work proves a tremendously heartfelt, healing cross-cultural fusion.
G. Willow Wilson
G. Willow Wilson is an American author and essayist who divides her time between Egypt and the US. Her articles about modern religion and the Middle East have appeared in publications including Washington Post, the Atlantic Monthly, the New York Times Magazine and the Canada National Post. Her memoir,
The Butterfly Mosque, was named 'Best Book of the Year 2010' by Seattle Times, and her DC/Vertigo comic book series, Air, was nominated for an Eisner Award. She has also written Cairo, an original graphic novel by Vertigo, as well as Vixen: Return of the Lion, a DC miniseries.
To learn more about Willow, visit her website
gwillowwilson.com
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REVIEW FROM PUBLISHER'S WEEKLY |
In this satisfying, lyrical memoir of a potentially disastrous clash between East and West, a Boulder native and Boston University graduate found an unlikely fit living in Cairo, Egypt, and converting to Islam. Wilson embarked on a yearlong stint working at an English-language high school in Cairo right after her college graduation in 2003. She had already decided that of the three Abrahamic religions, Islam fulfilled her need for a monotheistic truth, even though her school did not include instruction in the Qur'an because "it angered students and put everybody at risk." Once in Cairo, despite being exposed to the smoldering hostility Arab men held for Americans, especially for women, she found she was moved deeply by the daily plight of the people to scratch out a living in this dusty police state tottering on the edge of "moral and financial collapse"; she and her roommate, barely eating because they did not know how to buy food, were saved by Omar, an educated, English-speaking physics teacher at the school. Through her deepening relationship with Omar, she also learned Arabic and embraced the ways Islam was woven into the daily fabric of existence, such as the rituals of Ramadan and Friday prayers at the mosque. Arguably, Wilson's decision to take up the headscarf and champion the segregated, protected status of Arab women can be viewed as odd; however, her work proves a tremendously heartfelt, healing cross-cultural fusion.
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DISCUSSION QUESTIONS (THE BUTTERFLY MOSQUE) |
Questions provided by LitLovers,
litlovers.com
- What first drew G. Willow Wilson to Islam? What explanation does she offer for her conversion, and does it satisfy you? In what way did her religious, or non-religious, background influence her decision to convert?
- Comment on this passage from the book: "Religion was taboo in my family, and Islam was taboo in my society - these pressures are not easily shaken off, and I sometimes felt as guilty as if I had committed a crime." What precisely makes her feel guilty?
- What are the challenges she has faced, particularly after 9/11, in accepting Islam as her faith?
- What distinctions does Wilson make between fundamental Islam and "true" Islam? She says that Islam is an "antiauthoritarian sex-positive faith." Did you disagree at the outset of the book...and did you change your mind by the book's end? Or not.
- Discuss Wilson's struggles to reconcile Egyptian culture, once she has moved to Egypt, with her own values and expectations.
- How easy would you find it to integrate yourself into another culture, especially one so very different from Western culture as Egypt's?
- Do you agree - or disagree - with this statement by Wilson: "Cultural habits are by and large irrational, emerge irrationally, and are practiced irrationally. They are independent of the intellect, and trying to fit them into a logical pattern is fruitless; they can be respected or discarded, but not debated.... Culture belongs to the imagination; to judge it rationally is to misunderstand its function."
- Talk about her condemnation of American and Canadian behavior she witnesses in the marketplace. What most disturbs her about their behavior? Do you think she over-generalizes...or makes an astute observation? As a Westerner, how do her criticisms make you feel?
- Discuss Wilson's anxieties on becoming engaged to Omar, especially when she writes that she "was terrified. There are few things more overwhelming than love in hostile territory."
- What do make of the fact that Wilson dons a headscarf. What are her reasons? What does the headscarf mean to her?
- How does Wilson defend Islam's patriarchal attitude toward women? What does she find comforting?
- Follow-up to Question 11: Wilson says at one point that a woman in the Middle East "is far less free than a woman in the West, but far more appreciated. When people wonder why Arab women defend their culture, they focus on the way women who don't follow the rules are punished, and fail to consider the way women who do follow the rule are appreciated." Do you think her point is valid?
- What new insights into the Middle East, Muslims, and Islamic life does Wilson present? Has reading this book altered your views of Islam? In what way does the book challenge the stereotypes portrayed by the media?
- Do you feel this is a book that those in government - or anyone involved with foreign relations - should read?
- What is the significance of the book's title?
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The Muslim Next Door
Author: The Muslim Next Door:
ISBN: 0974524565
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Since 9/11, stories about Muslims and the Islamic world have flooded headlines, politics, and water-cooler conversations all across the country. And, although Americans hear about Islam on a daily basis, there remains no clear explanation of Islam or its people.
The Muslim Next Door offers easy-to-understand yet academically sound answers to these questions while also dispelling commonly held misconceptions. Written from the point of view of an American Muslim, the book addresses what readers in the Western world are most curious about, beginning with the basics of Islam and how Muslims practice their religion before easing into more complicated issues like jihad, Islamic fundamentalism, and the status of women in Islam. Author Sumbul Ali-Karamali's vivid anecdotes about growing up Muslim and female in the West, along with her sensitive, scholarly overview of Islam, combine for a uniquely insightful look at the world's fastest growing religion.
Sumbul Ali-Karamali
Sumbul Ali-Karamali grew up in California, balancing her South Asian, Muslim, and American identities. Often the only Muslim her acquaintances knew, she had ample practice answering questions about Islam and Muslims. ("What do you mean you can't go to the prom because of your religion?") While working as a corporate lawyer, she was repeatedly asked to recommend books on Islam, so she decided to write a book that was both academically reliable and entertaining to read. Consequently, she moved to London and earned her L.L.M. in Islamic Law from the University of London's School of Oriental and African Studies. She served as a teaching assistant in Islamic Law at SOAS and a research associate at the Centre of Islamic and Middle Eastern Law in London, and then she wrote
The Muslim Next Door for everyone who ever asked - or wanted to ask - a question about Islam.
To learn more about Sumbul, visit her website
muslimnextdoor.com
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REVIEW FROM BLOGCRITICS MAGAZINE |
"Sumbul Ali-Karamali's exceptional
The Muslim Next Door: The Qur'an, the Media, and That Veil Thing is a conversational piece of work that illuminates numerous facets of the Muslim faith in terms and language that the average reader can understand. Ali-Karamali's book illuminates what it means to be a Muslim and what it means to live with honour and dignity. She is academic, yet never exclusive, in her approach to the subject matter. Always kind and credible, Ali-Karamali delivers point after point of intelligibility and authority.... Sumbul Ali-Karamali's
The Muslim Next Door should be required reading (along with a Qur'an) for anyone interested in the subject of Islam and its many misconceptions among Westerners. While we aim for a future in which harmony prevails and justice and compassion are tantamount, we must remember to combat the most portentous demon of them all: misinformation. Ali-Karamali's book does that beautifully."
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DISCUSSION QUESTIONS (THE MUSLIM NEXT DOOR) |
- What is religion? What is the purpose of religion? What is the difference between religious doctrine and what religionists do in practice?
- What is culture? How is it intertwined with religion? Is it so intertwined in the United States? Why or why not?
- What was your perception of Islam before reading this book and has it been transformed or confirmed after reading The Muslim Next Door? In what ways, if any, has it transformed?
- What information or argument or perspective in the book did you find especially surprising or compelling?
- Did this book inspire you to read more about the history of Islam and Muslims? Is there anything you learned about this history that you wish to investigate further?
- Samuel Huntingdon and others insist that a "clash of civilizations" is inevitable. What do you think?
- Do you adhere to a religion that has a religious text? If so, how old is that text? Do you know what every word means? Would you take every word literally? If not, why not?
- The author claims that we in the United States grow up with the white, Western viewpoint. Do you agree? Give examples supporting your view.
- Why does the Muslim head covering provoke such reflexive reactions in many non-Muslims? Is it different from nuns' habits? Jewish orthodox head coverings? What are the issues involved in religious dress?
- What are the parameters of dress and modesty in our own world, religious or non-religious?
- Are the words "objective," "apologist," and "biased," appropriate to a discussion of religion? How are they used in the public discourse? Is there an objective view or only different points of view?
- Can you think of aspects of your own traditions or cultures or religions that could be misunderstood or that other people could point to in a negative light?
