‘Shattering the Stereotypes breaks open the poetic, complex, visionary, Luscious, surprising, fierce, and uncompromising world of the women of Is lam. An illuminating and educating must-read’
Eve Ensler, author of The Vagina Monologues
In the wake of September 1 Muslim women in the West found themselves more marginalised than ever by- a panicked – discourse that did little to promote a true understanding of Islam or the Islamic world, In this ambitious volume various Muslim female voices are brought into dialogue with one another in the hope that something new and dynamic will emerge from the shared space and trajectory — despite differences of outlook, culture, temperament, expression and the different relationship each have to the concept of Islam.
In Shattering the Stereotypes, essays by writers such as Sara Suleri, the Pakistani-American memoirist and scholar, poems by poets including Suheir Hammad and Nathalie Handal, journalism from writers such as Barbara Nimri Aziz, and a selection of short fiction and plays come together to enlighten readers, both Western and Muslim, about the wide array of thought and behaviour embodied in the concept ‘Muslim Woman.’
Fawzia Afzal-Khan, a scholar, poet, playwright, and singer trained in the North Indian classical tradition, was born and educated in Pakistan. She is a Professor of English at Montclair State University in New Jersey.
‘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 in all parts of the world. I salute these women for their courage!’
from the foreword by Nawal el-Saadawi
