Online Book Club - The Muslim Next Door, Week 4

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For February 2012, our new Online Book Club is discussing The Muslim Next Door: The Qur'an, the Media, and that Veil Thing, by Sumbul Ali-Karamali. This is one of the books chosen for the community reading program, Silicon Valley Reads, which this year focuses on the theme "Muslim and American."

Each week, we'll put forth a different question to prompt reflection on the book and its ideas. We hope you will participate in the discussion by leaving comments below!

For Week 4, we'd like to ask:
What was your perception of Islam before reading this book and has it been transformed or confirmed after reading The Muslim Next Door?

Years before reading The Muslim Next Door, I read a translated interpretation of the Qur’an as a college assignment. I remember being surprised by how similar it was to the Bible. I grew up in a small town that wasn’t particularly friendly towards non-Christian ideas, so it was a transforming experience to learn about different religions and discover that I could to relate to them. As a result of my college education, my perception of Islam prior to reading The Muslim Next Door was that the religion is strikingly similar to Christianity, but largely misunderstood (and even feared) in America. Ali-Karamali confirmed this perception.

Despite my (admittedly cursory) study of Islam, I was surprised to learn in The Muslim Next Door that nuances of the Arabic language allow for a large degree of gender neutrality in the Qur’an. The English interpretation of the Qur’an that I read defaulted to male pronouns. This choice may have been intentional, or it may simply have been the interpreter’s generic use of so-called gender neutral English. Either way, according to Ali-Karamali, English interpretations of the Qur’an feed into the idea that Islam is a male-centric religion. Though I have never subscribed to the stereotype that Islam was an inherently sexist religion, I was surprised to learn that the Qur’an was actually quite feminist for its time.

What was your perception of Islam before reading this book and has it been transformed or confirmed? Let us know!

See our Online Book Club page for more information about this book and to preview the next weeks' questions

Posted by Madeline Walton... on Feb 22, 2012 | Comments: 9 |

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Comments from our readers...

The truth about THE MUSLIM NEXT DOOR

Submitted by themuslimnextdoor.info (not verified) on Mon, March 26.

It is very interesting that Ali-Karamali in her book THE MUSLIM NEXT DOOR has simply said what most of the western Muslims have been saying since 9/11. However I have came across a new book with the same title but different author. The author was born and raised in Pakistan same culture as Ali-Karamali comes from, he was educated in Pakistan (Masters in Science and Masters in Business Administration) and in the US he started his education all over again from undergraduate degree-PhD in leadership from Liberty University, VA. themuslimnextdoor.info Dr. Alfonse Javed provide a wonderful analysis of the Western Islam and the Eastern Islam.

Thanks for participating!

Submitted by tim reif on Wed, February 29.

As we reach the end of the month I want to thank everyone who has participated so far in the weekly discussions on The Muslim Next Door for our new Online Book Club! Of course, the discussions don't need to end. Anyone can continue to comment on the weekly topics - they're not going anywhere!

Also, if you've been participating in Silicon Valley Reads, and have read or are currently reading The Butterfly Mosque, the Online Book Club is discussing it during March. Check it out here:

www.sjpl.org/ebookclub/2012-03

Interesting Week in the Muslim World!

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, February 28.

It's been quite a week in the Muslim world! First, the media has been covering the burning of copies of the Qur'an by U.S. military personnel on a base in Afghanistan. Staff on the base claim that the books in question were being used to transmit messages among some detained extremists, but the act raises plenty of questions and, understandably, feelings of hurt among Muslims. Days later, Iran was recognized with the Best Foreign Film of the year at the 2012 Oscars! Iranians have been using their win as an opportunity to tell the West that Iranians are much more than we give them credit for. They are modern societies full of culture and educated, peaceful people. Ali-Karamali's discussions have made me think about and question media stories concerning Muslims.

Winning the best foreign film academy awards!

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, February 28.

I'm so very glad that finally Iran was able to win the best foreign film academy award this year,so now we all might get a chance to watch something interesting from a muslim point of view hopefully if the library buys it after spending so much of our resources on American muslims who seem to have no conflicts whatsoever.I'm also glad that the week 2 comments have been reposited so some practicing muslim might throw some light on the questions even if the two authors do not do so.

New appreciation of diversity in Islam

Submitted by Anonymous on Fri, February 24.

While I have always had a vague idea that there were a variety of groups, viewpoints and beliefs among Muslims, it was enlightening to learn about differing interpretations, and the role that local culture plays. It was interesting to learn that unlike Catholicism there is no central Muslim authority figure (such as the Pope). I had never thought of this before, and it changed the way I view Islam.

I didn't realize Islam had no

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, February 27.

I didn't realize Islam had no central authority figure, either! Did it seem to you like the author was suggesting that there should be a central body that can respond to issues that affect Muslims?

Week4 question!

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, February 29.

Could the author focus so strongly on pro-feminist,pacifist,undogmatic interpretations of Islam because her formative years were spent with prosperous,educated Indian-Muslim parents in American suburbia?Had she much direct contact with Middle Eastern Muslims or fundamentalists of any type?How many Muslims share her outlook?Has anybody tried to find out before the discussion draws to a close!

I have to preface my response

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, February 28.

I have to preface my response by saying that I didn’t get all the way through the book (I read maybe 2/3 of it). That said, I think she seemed to appreciate that there is room for a variety of viewpoints and scholarly debate. In some practical matters such as the date for celebration of holidays, or the selection of Imams she may have desired a little more structure.

P.S. - the reposted comment

Submitted by tim reif on Fri, February 24.

Hi Anonymous - thanks for reposting your Week 2 comment! It's back on the Week 2 blog. Please see our replies there. Because we don't need the same thing in two places, we removed the duplicate one here in Week 4. Thanks!