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reviews:
Publishers Weekly
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War
on Error
Real Stories of American Muslims
Melody Moezzi
Foreword by Abdullahi Ahmed An-Na'im
Fresh voices, setting the record
straight
"Engaging
and well-written."
—Publisher's Weekly
"A thoughtful and moving effort to come to terms with
being an American Muslim from a positive and proactive perspective.”
—From the foreword
"These voices should be heard and these stories must
be told.”
—Suzanne Blum, coauthor of Translating Culture:
A Rhetoric for Ethnographic Writing in the Composition Classroom
War
on Error brings together the stories of twelve young
people, all vastly different but all American, and all Muslim.
Their approaches to religion couldn’t be more diverse:
from a rapper of Korean and Egyptian descent to a bisexual
Sudanese American to a converted white woman from Colorado
living in Cairo and wearing the hijab. These individuals,
whether they were born to the religion or came to it on their
own, have made their own decisions about how observant they’ll
be, whether or not to fast, how often to pray, and what to
wear.
Though each story is unique, each is also seen through the
searching eyes of Melody Moezzi, herself an American Muslim
of Iranian descent. She finds that the people she interviews
are horrified that, in a post-9/11 world, they have seen their
religion come to be represented, in the minds of many Americans,
by terrorism. These thoughtful and articulate individuals
represent the truth about the faith and its adherents who
are drawn to the logic, compassion, and tolerance they find
in Muslim teachings.
Moezzi, ever comfortable with contradiction and nuance, is
a likable narrator whose underlying assumption that “faith
is greater than dogma” is strengthened as she learns
more about her religion and faces her own biases and blind
spots. This fresh new voice, combined with the perceptions
and experiences of her fellow American Muslims, make for a
read that is both illuminating and enjoyable.
Melody Moezzi is a recent graduate of the
Emory University School of Law and Emory University Rollins
School of Public Health, and she is the founder of Insha’Allah,
an Atlanta-based group devoted to peace, noncompulsion in
any faith, and the recognition of equality across race, gender,
and sexuality.
Abdullahi Ahmed An-Na’im is Charles
Howard Candler Professor of Law, Emory University School of
Law.
December
6 x 9, 150 pages, index
$19.95 (s) paper
ISBN 978-1-55728-855-4 | 1-55728-855-0
$54.95
(s) cloth
ISBN 978-1-55728-854-7 | 1-55728-854-2
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