The Muslim Next Door: The Qur'an, the Media, and That Veil Thing Paperback – September 1, 2008

I read this book to do a book review for my Diversity in Higher Education Class at NC State. I found the book particularly relevant for anyone in this country to read, particularly for student affairs professionals who want to know more about Muslim students. Here's my review:The Muslim Next Door is a captivating glimpse at what life is like living as a Muslim in America. Sumbul Ali-Karamali describes the long shared history of major world religions, where they diverged, and the hostilities (or perceived hostilities) that have existed between them. In a post-9/11 world, the need for a book that describes the differences between culture, religion, and extremism in a Muslim context has been answered by this very interesting text. In The Muslim Next Door, Ali-Karamali describes the foundations of Islam, the life of the prophet Muhammad, and the misconceptions that Americans have of Muslims based on incomplete interpretations of the Qur'an. This powerful novel makes the reader empathize with the plight of Muslims and the discrimination faced by these people every day as American citizens. One very powerful aspect of the book is the way that the author explains the hypocrisy shown by the American people, specifically Christians. Ali-Karamali used the example of a study that was conducted in which pictures were shown to participants and they were asked to describe what types of feelings that the pictures elicited for them. The first photo was of a nun, to which participants most often described feelings of piousness, chastity, and modesty. When shown a picture of a Muslim woman wearing a hijab (head scarf), people shared feelings of oppression and stupidity (129-130). This particular example really made me think about the misconceptions that I had about the religion and about the people who practice it. For in this very example, I realized that there is absolutely no difference between a nun wearing a habit and a Muslim woman wearing a hijab. They both represent exactly the same thing in two different religions. Another strength of the book is that the author goes deeply into the differences between religion and culture. Muslims come from several different countries throughout the world just as believers of other religions. The experiences of a Muslim in Pakistan are very different than the experiences of Muslims in Egypt, Iraq, Turkey, or Saudia Arabia (to name a few). The most popular misconception surrounds the treatment of women who practice Islam. Many of the views on women are perpetuated by the media, who only show images of the women who wear burqas or are stoned in the town square. What I learned from this book is that Islam is not the reason that this happens. In fact, Islam gave women more rights than they had in the 7th century when the Qur'an was written. The Qur'an gave women the right to own property and granted that women be given a share of a passing relative's estate, which was much more than could be said for much of Europe at the time (150-151). The Qur'an also gave women the right to include a clause in the marriage contract that prohibited their husbands from taking another wife (140). While not outlawing polygyny, which at the time might have caused people to turn away from the religion, the Qur'an actually gave women much more power than they previously had. These are just two examples of how Islam gave women a more powerful place in this world. One part of the book that I saw as critically important was the chapter on Jihad and Fundamentalism. The American media perpetually uses the term Jihad to be interpreted as meaning "Holy War" when in fact, there are several steps to be taken in Jihad before combat is even considered. Islam as a religion preaches that a Muslim cannot enter into combat unless attacked first. Some extremist groups have used the excuse that the America has threatened the sanctity of Islam and that is why it is justified to attack America. Through the book, I have learned that this is rejected by the majority of Muslims in the world. In fact, the actions of the Taliban and other extremist groups are in direct violation of Muslim beliefs. Often Americans ask why Muslims themselves are not speaking out against these actions. In actuality, Muslim leaders have spoken out against the actions of extremists; however the media does not air or print these interviews (167-197). It was important for me to learn the meaning of Jihad and how it has been inappropriately used by extremist groups to justify their actions. One of the weaknesses of the book is self-described by the author. Ali-Karamali describes how in Islam, the Qur'an can never be "translated" into English because it loses some of its meaning in the translation. Rather, these "translations" are called interpretations. The author at several points uses verses of the Qur'an interpreted as English. That being said, she does offer insight into how certain words could be interpreted in several different ways since the Arabic language itself has changed since the 7th century (65-66). She does not claim to have a better interpretation than anyone else, however I believe that for certain parts of the book, it was completely necessary to make an attempt to interpret lines for the Qur'an in order to prove her point. This book was meant to reach a broad audience, and I believe it to be very important in today's society that we all gain a better understanding of who Muslims are and where they fit in American society. Of particular interest, are the growing numbers of Muslim students attending higher education institutions throughout the country. Administrators, faculty, staff, and students alike would all be served well by reading this novel. While some people may have a vast knowledge about Islam and its practitioners, I learned that I knew very little about the religion and what I did know was clouded by media perceptions. The book is a very easy read and entertaining, which explains why it was part of Oprah's Book Club. If we all took a little time to learn more about Muslim students, we would find better ways of accommodating diversity and embracing the differences that do not make us so different after all. By reading The Muslim Next Door, I learned about the long history that has taken Islam from its beginnings to where the religion is today. I did not know that Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all have the same historical roots and then divided along the way. Muslims actually have a deep respect for Moses and Jesus, and see them as prophets of the religion, although Jesus is not their savior or God-like in any way. I also learned that Allah is not Islam's own God, but rather just the Arabic word for God; the very same God worshiped by Christians and Jews alike. The book helped me overcome misconceptions that I had come to know about the religion and taught me about how to be a better student affairs professional. Very few calendars encompass the Muslim holidays. It is important to offer prayer rooms for students to pray the five times a day that is mandated by the Qur'an. Muslim students also need better halal food options. While many institutions provide food options for Jewish students, the same needs to be done for Muslim students. Students, administrator and faculty need to be educated about what it means to be Muslim and it should not have to be done by Muslim students all the time. It is important for administrators to educate themselves in order to be prepared to be part of a diverse campus. Spiritual diversity is largely ignored by student development theories (Love & Talbot, 153). Spirituality and religiosity can be a huge part of a student's identity. Love & Talbot go on to explain how important it is for students to have a place to talk about their spiritual development outside of campus ministry offices (154). College students are forced to balance religious identity with the other identities that they are trying to embrace at the same time (gender, race, sexuality, etc.). The model proposed by Jones & McEwen attempts to explain how salient different aspects of identity are for different people (409-410). It is important as student affairs practitioners that we understand that for Muslim students, religion could play an important role in other aspects of identity development. McMurtrie goes on to describe the balancing game that Muslim students play while trying to adhere to their religious beliefs and feel like a part of the American college student experience. In her interviews with students, she found that many of them feel marginalized by one or both communities in the struggle to maintain dual identities (McMurtrie, 4). While we have yet to discuss the importance of religious identity in class, it is clear from the readings that particularly for Muslim students, trying to find a balance between multiple identities can be confusing and complicated. Many of the beliefs that Americans hold about Muslims are what was portrayed in the media following the September 11th attacks. After reading The Muslim Next Door, it is clear to me that like many other Americans, I knew very little about what it means to be a believer of Islam in America. Ali-Karamali in her heart-warming tale, tells not only of the struggles, but the triumphs of the Muslim people. By reading her novel, I was able to gain a greater understanding of the differences between culture and religion. I also was able to resolve the misunderstandings that I had about Muslims and feel like I will be a better practitioner and person because of it.

There is so much information and misinformation about Islam out there right now and my knowledge was definitely spotty. I kept feeling like I needed to get to the bottom of it all to be able to engage in intelligent, pertinent conversations. Finding this book was a godsend. Sumbul Ali-Karamali is clearly a scholar but knows how to not take herself too seriously (as is self evident from the great title). As the back of the book says, I felt like I got to sit down with a fellow mom and learn all about what I wanted to know. Ms. Ali-Karamali seems to have the ideal mix of Muslim and American values which she seamlessly shares with her readers. I learned about overall concepts and values as well as how individuals live within them in the modern world (and how this is eminently possible). As with Christianity and Judaism, as one of the world's major religions it felt important to have a more robust understanding of Islam and now I do. Thank you Ms. Ali-Karamali.

This is a book about an important topic that won't be read by the people who need to read it. And for the people who are open to the topic, they'll find it was written by the wrong author.Ali-Karamali says she was encouraged to write the book because most Americans are complely ignorant on Islam and Muslim viewpoints. I can't disagree with her, but if this is your only introduction to that world, the odds are you'll stop a few chapters in and just give up. I finished it because it was for one of my book clubs, and actually thought the later chapters were more interesting.Part of the problem is that the basic information she starts with wasn't anything new to me, but the bigger problem is that Ali-Karamali is just as provincial in her viewpoint as the Americans she hopes to educate. The book is full of sweeping generalizations, special pleading, and fallacy upon fallacy. Have you ever heard of the "No True Scotsman" argument? You've probably heard it before: if a person representative of a group does something bad, it's because he's "No True Scotsman," so therefore you can't condemn that group. You'll find that argument and many others more commonly found with Christian apologetics.And apologetics is the right word, because any problematical issue, event, or behavior is excused on some grounds or other. If there's a phrase in the Qu'ran that a non-Muslim points to, she'll say it's being taken out of context. If a large group of Muslims have a practice others object to, she'll say that wasn't what Mohammed meant and they're misinterpreting his words. And yet Ali-Karamali herself decides she'll skip the Islamic law about giving her son twice as large a share of her estate as her daughter, because, after all, times change.I would have gotten more out of the book if she'd condensed the first 6 chapters or so into one. And she leaves so little of herself in the book. The few intriguing scenes, such as when her high school history teacher made a claim the Qu'ran said something and she interrupted him to say it wasn't in there, stops with that exchange. What was her relationship with that teacher like the rest of the year? Did he single her out because of his Islamic animus, or did he actually learn something from the student who had read the Qu'ran when he was just repeating some ignorant "fact" he'd heard? We never know, because she never mentions it again.And for such a highly educated person, Ali-Karmali is rather ignorant of the rest of the world's religions. Look, I have a lot in common with her, growing up in a minority religion when the default is Christianity. I have a reason to pull for her, but her writing a book about religion and assuming all the readers are Christian is the same error that she so chafed against growing up! She doesn't mention any other religions comparatively, and she doesn't have that firm an understanding of all the different variants of Christianity either. Look, you can't write a religious information book for Americans if you don't understand what you're contrasting the new information with! She claims Arabic is unique, yet its qualities are so similar in Hebrew that I often understand the concepts in some Arabic phrases because the words are so similar and work the same with way. Again, she's no language expert, but puts herself out there as if she is.For some reason this book was chosen as this year's Silicon Valley Reads entry. The topic is important, but there's got to be a better way to get the information out there. It needs an author who knows what she doesn't know, and isn't trying so hard to prevent us from getting to know more about herself.