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A review by mnstucki
The Proudest Blue: A Story of Hijab and Family by Ibtihaj Muhammad
5.0
The Proudest Blue is beautiful and touching. I found myself getting teary-eyed as I read it and wanting to revisit it for my own sake, not because I wanted to share it with my husband or my students, which is usually why I re-read picture books these days.
I have heard some people say that members of my faith (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints) and those who practice Islam have quite a bit in common. In the general sense of both groups being very misunderstood I have always felt that to be true. In recent years I have started to see more of the nuances of similarity. Both religions have a code of conduct related to food and health. Both religions have offshoots that have broken away and twisted and abused their doctrine to justify the abuse and oppression of women. Both are missionary churches (it wasn’t until my early adult years that I realized not all faiths actively seek converts). Both faiths have codes of conduct regarding dress and modesty and even have special religious garb that they wear daily. Because of many of these similarities I could very much connect with the story of these young girls, and the story of how their mother taught them to be strong in the face of ridicule from those who don’t understand their beliefs.
I’m kicking myself for not holding on to the library copy of this book long enough to include a couple of my favorite lines in this review, but there’s a good chance I am going to end up buying this book, so perhaps I will just add them later.
I have heard some people say that members of my faith (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints) and those who practice Islam have quite a bit in common. In the general sense of both groups being very misunderstood I have always felt that to be true. In recent years I have started to see more of the nuances of similarity. Both religions have a code of conduct related to food and health. Both religions have offshoots that have broken away and twisted and abused their doctrine to justify the abuse and oppression of women. Both are missionary churches (it wasn’t until my early adult years that I realized not all faiths actively seek converts). Both faiths have codes of conduct regarding dress and modesty and even have special religious garb that they wear daily. Because of many of these similarities I could very much connect with the story of these young girls, and the story of how their mother taught them to be strong in the face of ridicule from those who don’t understand their beliefs.
I’m kicking myself for not holding on to the library copy of this book long enough to include a couple of my favorite lines in this review, but there’s a good chance I am going to end up buying this book, so perhaps I will just add them later.