The Love & Lies of Rukhsana Ali by Sabina Khan

The Love & Lies of Rukhsana Ali by Sabina Khan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Rukhsana is an average American teen with makeup, crop tops, a girlfriend, and a desire to become a scientist, all of which must be hidden from her strict and traditional Muslim parents.

POTENTIAL SPOILER ALERT (THOUGH THIS IS ALL IN THE BOOK SUMMARY): 

When her mother catches Rukhsana kissing her girlfriend, things go from bad to worse, and her parents pack her up and sweep her away to Bangladesh for what is supposed to be a 2 week visit to her ailing grandmother but instead turns into a 2 month stay in order to force her into an arranged marriage with a proper man.

This is a fascinating and layered read, full of Bengali culture, generational family history, angst, drama, and determination. I liked it a lot.

Pages: 336

The Butterfly Mosque by Willow Wilson

The Butterfly Mosque by Willow Wilson

In this memoir, Willow Wilson, who was raised by atheist parents, describes her search for religion after a serious illness. She was a college student when she fell ill, and as she began to investigate religions, she decided that she was a monotheist.  Islam seemed to her to be the choice she would be most comfortable with. She began to take college courses in Islamic Studies and other Middle Eastern courses.  After she graduated, she talked a girlfriend into moving to Cairo, Egypt with her to teach in an   English-language high school.

She converts to Islam once there, and begins to immerse herself in the culture and religion. It is a lot more difficult than she anticipated. She meets Omar, a young man who resents Western influences in his country. They forge a fast friendship, and begin to spend most of their time together.  In that culture, men and women do not date, so their relationship is challenging as they try to navigate the two cultures. Eventually they marry. Wilson records her struggle to forge a “third culture” that will accommodate her values without compromising them or alienating her friends and family at home, or those she comes to value in Egypt.

She offers insights into Islamic culture, distinguishing carefully between the radical fundamentalists who hate the West and the majority of peaceful Muslims. An interesting look at an often misunderstood and polarizing faith.

320 pages