Infidel: a non-believer , not a Muslim.This single word title is at the heart of this book. Growing up Muslim, Ali learned you embrace Islam or you are an Infidel with all of its consequences. Ali takes the reader on her life’s journey from North Africa to Holland to America. Having survived war, oppression, extreme poverty, and persecution, Ali maintains an optimism that is breathtaking . She shows no resentment or ill feelings towards the people in her life who have wronged her;instead she tries very hard to understand the why of their behavior. At the root of Ali's discontent as a Muslim female is this statement: “ Because I was born a woman, I could never
become an adult. I would always be a minor, my decisions made for me. “ As an adult she makes it her mission to free Muslim women from the tyranny of oppression that she herself experienced in childhood and young adulthood. She had no idea of the serious ramifications this would evoke in her life and all those who cared about her. For two thirds of this book, Ali writes in a very detailed non-emotional manner. She describes her childhood matter a factly, even when horrific events happen. Her familial love shines throughout the book as does her loyalty to her clan. This book does not whitewash growing up a Muslim in North Africa . To put myself in her shoes- not literally-she did not own shoes as a child- for the first time I understand what extreme poverty feels like. The last third of the book chronicles her life as a young adult isolated and alone in a strange country. As she experienced life in Holland as a young adult, she began to write in an emotional manner, perhaps because of what challenges she encountered in this country when she found her voice for Muslim women’s rights.Her stark realization that she alone could not bring freedom to the Muslim women of the world caused the entirety of her pent up emotions bottled up since childhood to percolate and explode outward. Cast out of Holland, she seeks a new life.The reader is left hanging at the end hungry for the next chapter of her life in a new country.
This book is an uncomfortable read for those who do not wish to step into the culture of this Muslim child/woman's shoes. This book is filled with events that oppress Muslim women and worse.It is written with integrity and full disclosure of the author's failures as she perceives them. What strikes me most about this author is her unending love for her family and her Muslim clan even in the face of hostility. I would highly recommend this book for anyone who wishes to experience choosing love of family and friends when seemingly insurmountable odds are against them.
Great review! For your final sentence I wouldn't say that it is uncomfortable for anyone who doesn't want to be in a Muslim woman's shoes. I would direct it more towards not wanted to read about the lifestyle and how wrongly treated they are. Direct it more toward the event and not the people :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for your thoughtful comments. The entire book was about 100's of events that Ali went through as a Muslim child and young woman. I think I will change it to "into the culture of this Muslim child/woman's shoes" It has to be about the people- that was the entirety of the book.
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