Synopses & Reviews
In the wake of September 11th, Muslim women in the West found themselves more marginalized than ever by a panicked discourse that did little to promote a true understanding of Islam or the Islamic world. Here, in this ambitious volume that includes essays, poetry, fiction, memoir, plays, and artwork, Muslim women speak for themselves, revealing a complexity of experience and thought that escapes most Western portrayals.
Islam is, as editor Fawzia Afzal-Khan puts it, only "one spoke in the wheel of our lives." In Shattering the Stereotypes, essays by such writers as Ayesha Jalal, the Pakistani-American historian and MacArthur fellow, poems by award-winning poets including Suheir Hammad and Nathalie Handal, journalism from writers such as Barbara Nimri Aziz, and a selection of short fiction and plays that are not just ethnically but attitudinally diverse, together make a more rounded portrait of what it is to be a Muslim woman in the 21st century.
Review
"Shattering the Stereotypes breaks open the poetic, complex, visionary, luscious, surprising, fierce, and uncompromising world of the women of Islam. An illuminating and educating must-read." Eve Ensler, author of The Vagina Monologues
Review
"This is a book that really lives up to the promise of its title." Sally Bland, Jordan Times Book Review
Review
"Ardently creative, the book is at times uneven, but the political and religious passion are real and dramatic, highlighting the complexity and enormity of experiences that defy the dismissive categorization of all Muslims as Arabs or fundamentalists or both....Strongly recommended." Library Journal
Review
"These women, mostly immigrants and first-generation citizens, are articulate, questioning and often humorous. The range of genres assembled in Shattering the Stereotypes serves Afzal Khan's aim of portraying 'the myriad realities and multiple allegiances' obscured by the label 'Muslim Woman,' while amplifying the book's emotional and intellectual impact....For anyone genuinely interested in understanding the diversity of Islam, here is the mind-broadening equivalent of several books, and an enticement to read still more." Maria Golia, Times Literary Supplement (read the entire TLS review)
Review
"These women, mostly immigrants and first-generation citizens, are articulate, questioning and often humorous. The range of genres assembled in Shattering the Stereotypes serves Afzal Khan's aim of portraying 'the myriad realities and multiple allegiances' obscured by the label 'Muslim Woman,' while amplifying the book's emotional and intellectual impact....For anyone genuinely interested in understanding the diversity of Islam, here is the mind-broadening equivalent of several books, and an enticement to read still more." Maria Golia, Times Literary Supplement (read the entire TLS review)
About the Author
Fawzia Afzal-Khan, a scholar, poet, playwright, and singer trained in the North Indian classical tradition, was born and educated in Pakistan. She came to the United States for graduate school and is professor of English at Montclair State University in New Jersey.