DesiLit Daily

Sunday, March 27
4:00 pm
BOOK PARTY/DISCUSSION

Shattering the Stereotypes:
Muslim Women Speak Out

Fawzia Afzal-Khan & Other Contributors

"This is an important book because it helps the reader understand how the term ‘Islam' is being bandied about to cover up, rather than to reveal, the truth of the global injustices that have created a culture of violence on this precious earth. I salute these women for their courage!" —from the foreword by Nawal el-Saadawi
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.

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.

Suggested donation: $6/$10/$15