From The MuslimMatters Bookshelf: Our January Picks

From the MuslimMatters Bookshelf is a monthly column from MM staff members on their latest reads – the good, the bad, the intriguing, and the Islamic. Let these book reviews guide you to adding new titles to your own reading list!

Here are our January picks:

 – Minaret by Leila Aboulela (Genre: Adult fiction)

I love that this book is more than just another novel about a tough-as-nails Muslim woman with something to prove. Instead, Najwa is soft and broken and complicated – the daughter of a Sudanese politician, exiled to London upon a political coup and her father’s death. A”modern girl” who finds herself working as a maid and walking into the masjid… and unexpectedly, falls in love with a zealous teenage boy she can never truly be with.

Najwa’s story is filled with different types of heartache and longing, but filled with tenderness and faith and so much more. Islam plays a powerful role in her development as a character and the trajectory of her life choices; it is her faith that guides her towards an inner strength that gently but firmly determines her ultimate destiny.

What makes this book even more impressive is that it was published in 2005 – long before Muslim representation in fiction was something most of us were actively looking for – and yet, it is such a rich and beautiful example of Muslim representation. There is no pandering to the non-Muslim gaze, and does not fall into any of the common tropes found within contemporary Muslamic fiction.

 – Islam: The Empowering of Women by Aisha Bewley (Genre: Islamic non-fiction)

“Islam: The Empowering of Women” by Shaykha Aisha Bewley is an old but gold gem – written in 1998, though this is the first time I’ve ever read it. It is a very short book, divided between a preface and 3 chapters: The Scholarly Woman, The Political Woman, and The Spiritual Woman.

The book is impressive from page one: Ustadha Aisha immediately calls out the obsession with “Islam and women” books that fixate on how Islam doesn’t oppress women, but at the same time endlessly go on about Muslim women’s inferiority in comparison to men. She calls out how early Islamic history is filled with stories of powerful Muslim women, and how this dramatically changed later on in Muslim history. The author critiques obsessions with Muslim women’s dress code at the expense of considering Muslim women holistically, while grounding the entire discussion firmly within an Islamic framework. The entire preface demonstrates a powerful awareness of inter-Muslim gendered issues, and was clearly ahead of its time.

The Scholarly Woman and The Political Woman are excellent chapters, detailing examples of female Islamic scholarship and politically influential Muslim women in history. She references the biographies of incredible female scholars, starting with A’ishah bint Abi Bakr and including eminent individuals such as Shaykha Nafeesa bint al-Hasan (best known as Imam ash-Shafi’i’s teacher), Fatimah bint Khalil (a teacher of Imam Ibn Hajar), Nana Asma’u, and others. In her discussion of political women, Ustadha Aisha sets her paradigm for political involvement, and encompasses examples of Sahabiyyaat (female Companions), as well as later individuals such as Razia Sultana, Shajarat ad-Durr, and numerous others.

Unfortunately, Chapter 3, The Spiritual Woman, takes a wild turn by arguing the necessity and superiority of Sufism, slamming Salafiyyah, and recounting wild stories about Rabia al-Adawiyya and her magic carpet (yes, it is that bizarre). I have chosen to completely ignore this chapter in favor of the rest of the book.

 – Rethinking Muslim Women and the Veil by Dr. Katherine Bullock (Genre: academic)

Dr. Katherine Bullock’s book “Rethinking Muslim Women and the Veil: Challenging Historical and Modern Stereotypes” is an amazing resource for hijab-related discourse, specifically countering Western Orientalist/ secular feminist propaganda of hijab and Muslim women. She is a convert, and her dedication towards defending the deen is clear in her work.

She delves into historical takes on hijab/ forced de-hijabing (Algeria, Iran)/ re-veiling around the world; experiences of Muslim women in Canada putting on hijab; in-depth critique of Western propaganda about hijab/ Islam/ Muslim women; perceptions of hijab from Muslim women themselves. Most valuable to me is her brilliant and detailed rebuttal of Fatima Mernissi’s garbage takes on hijab.

While this was published in the early 2000s, almost all of it remains extremely relevant…and far better done than your usual Muslamic hijab talks/ discussions. An updated version would have to include the emergence of hijabista fashion trends and how they have been responsible for projecting sexualized beauty standards even onto hijabi fashion, but those are already discussions that have been had in many other areas of academia, the Muslim community, and the Internet overall.

Dr. Bullock’s work is a must-have resource for anyone involved in da’wah, for its critical engagement and analysis of secular propaganda, as well as its recognition of non-utopian realities amongst Muslims.

Do you have any book recommendations or suggestions for our staff to pick up and review? Leave your comments below!

Related reading:

– From The MuslimMatters Bookshelf: Our December Picks

From The MuslimMatters Bookshelf: Our December Picks

– Navigating Muslim Representation In Books: The Good, The Flawed, And The Ugly

Navigating Muslim Representation In Books: The Good, The Flawed, And The Ugly