Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Nine Parts of Desire

Comments from the Tuesday Evening Book Club

Nine Parts of Desire: the hidden world of Islamic Women
by Geraldine Brooks

As a reporter for the Wall Street Journal, Geraldine Brooks covered events in the Middle East during the religious resurgence in the 1980's. Everyone in our book club enjoyed her writing and thought that she framed the narratives well with political & religious background. Throughout the book, Brooks compares the oppressive rules with the text of the Koran and in many cases reveals a different interpretation. Her background as a reporter was helpful in presenting a fair & balanced approach throughout the book.

What we found interesting was the fact that the men had more to say than the women. The truth was the women were horrified by the fact that women were enforcing these rules upon women. From female circumcision to social isolation, the women were creating a world based on fear for themselves & their families. This book is a real eye opener about how ideas based on fear can take hold & alter a belief system.

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