Scan barcode
indahmarwan's reviews
112 reviews
The Beauty of Your Face by Sahar Mustafah
4.0
It’s been almost a month since I finished this book. I refrained myself of writing the review firstly because I was emotionally affected in reading it and secondly because I joined a book club discussing about the book a few weeks ago, so I needed the validation of all my emotions. It’s definitely one of the best non-fiction I read in 2020!
Diving into the book without knowing about the storyline, I was fascinated since the very beginning. It started with a scene where a woman was trapped inside a school for Muslim girls in Chicago on a murderous shooting.
That woman is Afaf, a Palestinian American whose life drawn in the book early in her childhood when her teenage sister mysteriously disappeared and tore her family apart. The book flows into navigating Afaf’s life in her search for identity and a place where she fits in. The stories inside cover extensive themes: second generation immigrant identity crisis, complex family relationship, mental health, addiction, the loss of family member, the longing of homeland, and the after effect of 9/11 (radicalisation, Islamophobia, etc.).
I felt the warmth when Afaf firstly came to the Muslim community but my heart sank when I got to Afaf’s pilgrim story. All of the drama within the family really made me jumbled up in emotions but not quite so in the return of Afaf’s long lost sister, Nada. The response of Afaf and his brother was not what I expected them to have and the story of Nada while she disappeared was a cliché. The conversation between Afaf and the shooter too was not enlightening as I thought the moment should be life-changing even for the shooter too.
Despite all, Sahar Mustafah has shown a remarkable debut. She successfully brings the Muslim/Islamic story in a simple, unapologetic storytelling. I personally think this book is a contribution to the positive conversation of Muslim and the West so equally important for both Muslim and non-Muslim readers. She has all of my support for her subsequent books!
Diving into the book without knowing about the storyline, I was fascinated since the very beginning. It started with a scene where a woman was trapped inside a school for Muslim girls in Chicago on a murderous shooting.
That woman is Afaf, a Palestinian American whose life drawn in the book early in her childhood when her teenage sister mysteriously disappeared and tore her family apart. The book flows into navigating Afaf’s life in her search for identity and a place where she fits in. The stories inside cover extensive themes: second generation immigrant identity crisis, complex family relationship, mental health, addiction, the loss of family member, the longing of homeland, and the after effect of 9/11 (radicalisation, Islamophobia, etc.).
I felt the warmth when Afaf firstly came to the Muslim community but my heart sank when I got to Afaf’s pilgrim story. All of the drama within the family really made me jumbled up in emotions but not quite so in the return of Afaf’s long lost sister, Nada. The response of Afaf and his brother was not what I expected them to have and the story of Nada while she disappeared was a cliché. The conversation between Afaf and the shooter too was not enlightening as I thought the moment should be life-changing even for the shooter too.
Despite all, Sahar Mustafah has shown a remarkable debut. She successfully brings the Muslim/Islamic story in a simple, unapologetic storytelling. I personally think this book is a contribution to the positive conversation of Muslim and the West so equally important for both Muslim and non-Muslim readers. She has all of my support for her subsequent books!
Bird Summons by Leila Aboulela
4.0
This is my first book of Leila Aboulela and I chose blindly to read it as it passed my Instagram scroll. I knew nearly nothing about the book except the background story of the first British woman to make a pilgrimage to Mecca, Zainab Cobbold. So, I was just curious about her.
Apparently, as I started reading it, the characters in the story are three Arab Muslim women who live in Britain make their way to visit the grave of Zainab Cobbold in Scottish Highlands, Inverness. So, the life of Zainab Cobbold is just a background and appeared in line as they make their trip.
Those three main characters and their own problems, reality and experiences hooked me on rushing to finish the reading.
Salma, the woman in charge, would’ve been a doctor in her origin country in Egypt if she weren’t married to a convert Scottish man, and she is reconnecting to her ex in Egypt and imagining what kind of life she would have if she were married to Amir.
Moni, a devoted mother of a disabled son whose husband demands her to join him in Saudi Arabia but there is not much help for her son so she keeps defying and it almost breaks their marriage apart.
Iman, is in her early 20s and already with her third husband, left her native country Syria and whose first husband was killed in the war. While everyone admires her beauty, she is characterised as lazy and brainless.
The plot where the hoopoe is communicating with Iman and sharing stories to her was something I didn’t anticipate. I didn’t think that the book would be a fairy tale. While I get the point which the women would learn from the lesson but I could do it without the hoopoe. What was delighting at that moment was coincidentally I was in the read along which in the week we were talking about the story of Bilqis. So I get the points why Leila Aboulela pick the hoopoe as the plot device.
Leila Aboulela’s writing is simple as the characters and their problems are interesting: it is something that happens in the reality of Muslim women, the Muslim women live in Britain and not in any of the Middle East countries, she focuses on the voices, thoughts, feelings and lived experiences of the women.
If you’re not into fairy tale you might want to skip this book. But if you don’t mind and you want to read about Muslim women bu Muslim woman author you might want to read it.
Apparently, as I started reading it, the characters in the story are three Arab Muslim women who live in Britain make their way to visit the grave of Zainab Cobbold in Scottish Highlands, Inverness. So, the life of Zainab Cobbold is just a background and appeared in line as they make their trip.
Those three main characters and their own problems, reality and experiences hooked me on rushing to finish the reading.
Salma, the woman in charge, would’ve been a doctor in her origin country in Egypt if she weren’t married to a convert Scottish man, and she is reconnecting to her ex in Egypt and imagining what kind of life she would have if she were married to Amir.
Moni, a devoted mother of a disabled son whose husband demands her to join him in Saudi Arabia but there is not much help for her son so she keeps defying and it almost breaks their marriage apart.
Iman, is in her early 20s and already with her third husband, left her native country Syria and whose first husband was killed in the war. While everyone admires her beauty, she is characterised as lazy and brainless.
The plot where the hoopoe is communicating with Iman and sharing stories to her was something I didn’t anticipate. I didn’t think that the book would be a fairy tale. While I get the point which the women would learn from the lesson but I could do it without the hoopoe. What was delighting at that moment was coincidentally I was in the read along which in the week we were talking about the story of Bilqis. So I get the points why Leila Aboulela pick the hoopoe as the plot device.
Leila Aboulela’s writing is simple as the characters and their problems are interesting: it is something that happens in the reality of Muslim women, the Muslim women live in Britain and not in any of the Middle East countries, she focuses on the voices, thoughts, feelings and lived experiences of the women.
If you’re not into fairy tale you might want to skip this book. But if you don’t mind and you want to read about Muslim women bu Muslim woman author you might want to read it.
Love for Imperfect Things / The Things You Can See Only When You Slow Down by Haemin Sunim
4.0
“If you’re sad, it’s okay to acknowledge your sadness. If you have pain that leaves you at a loss, it’s okay to talk about your pain. The reason we have difficulties is that we are unable to accept the things that cannot be changed. Let them be and see what happens.”
2020 is definitely our happiest year. I too had a hard time in the beginning of the year amidst the pandemic and lockdown. Then I came across this book several time in my Instagram scrolling. I decided to read the book as I thought this book would ease my emotions.
It’s my first Haenim Sunim’s book and I’m hooked by how light yet peaceful his writing is. I just returned to reading and it’s my second book I read this year. I really enjoyed it, as it is not only comforting but also therapeutic.
He begins each chapter with related stories and ends it with poetic words of wisdom which I found contemplative.
What’s more beautiful from this book is the illustrations that comes in it, not only aesthetic, they are also calming and deepening the sense of peace while you are reflecting on Sunim’s words.
By reading it, I learn to have compassion and emphaty to myself, to deal with what’s been hurting me, to listen to my inner voice, to accept this version of me and love my imperfections. All of which I considered as my difficulty I hardly addressed before. I definitely will reread this self-help book as it is very simple and practical.
2020 is definitely our happiest year. I too had a hard time in the beginning of the year amidst the pandemic and lockdown. Then I came across this book several time in my Instagram scrolling. I decided to read the book as I thought this book would ease my emotions.
It’s my first Haenim Sunim’s book and I’m hooked by how light yet peaceful his writing is. I just returned to reading and it’s my second book I read this year. I really enjoyed it, as it is not only comforting but also therapeutic.
He begins each chapter with related stories and ends it with poetic words of wisdom which I found contemplative.
What’s more beautiful from this book is the illustrations that comes in it, not only aesthetic, they are also calming and deepening the sense of peace while you are reflecting on Sunim’s words.
By reading it, I learn to have compassion and emphaty to myself, to deal with what’s been hurting me, to listen to my inner voice, to accept this version of me and love my imperfections. All of which I considered as my difficulty I hardly addressed before. I definitely will reread this self-help book as it is very simple and practical.
If the Oceans Were Ink: An Unlikely Friendship and a Journey to the Heart of the Quran by Carla Power
4.0
Inside the book, Carla Power begins a yearlong journey with Sheikh Mohammad Akram Nadwi on the highly debated topics in the Quran. Carla Power coming from a secular American journalist background and Sheikh Akram with his madrasa training recognize that the Quran teaches peace instead of mass murder, respect for women and not oppression. Two different worldviews are challenged through debates and clarification of controversial verses in various occasions: tea time, family gatherings and at packed Cambridge University lecture halls. They travel from London to Mecca and to India to discovered enlightening perspectives, debunking long-held myths and uncovers anxious connections between the worlds.
To be honest, this book took me the longest to finish. I put it off several times before I managed to finish the last couple of weeks. I found the conversations in the book are basic yet fundamental knowledge of Islam that I know of. But I urged myself to pick up the book again because they were refreshing somehow. The friendship is indeed unlikely but unique and both Carla and Sheikh Akram are very engaging in every discussions they have. I love how Carla Power takes a step back of reflection as Sheikh Akram explains the Quran’s message and meaning topics like peace and violence, gender and veiling, religious pluralism and tolerance. Her background of growing up in Egypt and seeing Muslim community I believe has helped Carla Power to have this kind of interfaith understanding. This book is profound to the interfaith dialogue between Islam and the West.
To be honest, this book took me the longest to finish. I put it off several times before I managed to finish the last couple of weeks. I found the conversations in the book are basic yet fundamental knowledge of Islam that I know of. But I urged myself to pick up the book again because they were refreshing somehow. The friendship is indeed unlikely but unique and both Carla and Sheikh Akram are very engaging in every discussions they have. I love how Carla Power takes a step back of reflection as Sheikh Akram explains the Quran’s message and meaning topics like peace and violence, gender and veiling, religious pluralism and tolerance. Her background of growing up in Egypt and seeing Muslim community I believe has helped Carla Power to have this kind of interfaith understanding. This book is profound to the interfaith dialogue between Islam and the West.
"Believing Women" in Islam: Unreading Patriarchal Interpretations of the Qur'an by Asma Barlas
5.0
This is the first book in gender in Islam I finally managed to finish with the help of Sofia who organised the readalong with each week goal of one chapter. Every Sunday for 8 weeks, the group discussed what we thought or questioned about the book when reading it. It wasn’t an easy read indeed, so I was so happy to join each zoom call hearing others experience in comprehending Prof. Asma’s arguments and explanation. Those 8 Sunday’s are the best ones I had during this uncertain time.
I remember came across this book (the 1st ed) when a friend of mine sent his compilation of ebooks on women and Islam as I spoke to him about my dissertation of Islamic feminism. I ordered a copy from Amazon and I read a few first chapters but didn’t finish it.
When I did the readalong, I read the book from the start and I had awe moments with me for so many times. I decided to share the highlights of the first chapter in my instagram stories too.
I personally think in this book Professor Barlas successfully read the Quran in non-patriarchal interpretations. Earlier in the book, she defines what patriarchy in a narrow and a broad sense that makes her explanation through the rest of the chapters comprehensive.
What is different in the second edition of the book is it divided into three parts with two additional chapters.
I’m with @sofiareading that the most mind-blowing part of the book is when she offers a new perspective in reading Ibraham’s (AS) sacrifice story in the Quran. My favorite quote in which I think summarises the chapter is “in order for God’s will to be done, believers must submit to it voluntarily. And since God is not Father, one cannot view God’s rule (monotheism) as a divine surrogate for father’s rule (patriarchy).”
The last chapter is dedicated to respond to the critique she has faced since she published the first edition in which I think she used it to underline her position in the midst of secular/-feminism/liberal accusation to people who promote egalitarian readings of the Quran.
This is the kind of books I need to read twice (or more) to get the hang of it.
I remember came across this book (the 1st ed) when a friend of mine sent his compilation of ebooks on women and Islam as I spoke to him about my dissertation of Islamic feminism. I ordered a copy from Amazon and I read a few first chapters but didn’t finish it.
When I did the readalong, I read the book from the start and I had awe moments with me for so many times. I decided to share the highlights of the first chapter in my instagram stories too.
I personally think in this book Professor Barlas successfully read the Quran in non-patriarchal interpretations. Earlier in the book, she defines what patriarchy in a narrow and a broad sense that makes her explanation through the rest of the chapters comprehensive.
What is different in the second edition of the book is it divided into three parts with two additional chapters.
I’m with @sofiareading that the most mind-blowing part of the book is when she offers a new perspective in reading Ibraham’s (AS) sacrifice story in the Quran. My favorite quote in which I think summarises the chapter is “in order for God’s will to be done, believers must submit to it voluntarily. And since God is not Father, one cannot view God’s rule (monotheism) as a divine surrogate for father’s rule (patriarchy).”
The last chapter is dedicated to respond to the critique she has faced since she published the first edition in which I think she used it to underline her position in the midst of secular/-feminism/liberal accusation to people who promote egalitarian readings of the Quran.
This is the kind of books I need to read twice (or more) to get the hang of it.
The Fall of the Imam by Nawal El Saadawi
3.0
There is always a problem in reading a piece in its translated languages. Yet I did enjoyed reading this piece. It focuses on the corruption of the imam, the highest clerics and the highest authority. How religion is used as a camouflage of evil and how women are seen in traditional religious society with the negative influence of the imam to it, is really a critique for Islamic society. Nawal el-Shaadawy tries to bring the facts hidden in Islamic society and at the same time bring out the feminist voice in her thoughts, criticising her own religious society.