Geraldine Brooks', Nine Parts of Desire: The Secret World of Islamic Women is a captivating report on the lives of various Muslim women in various countries where Islam is the predominant religion. In her journeys to diverse countries in the Middle East from the fundamentalist Islamic Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Islam, to the more modern and liberal state of Jordan, she encounters a variety of women of all ages, from all walks of life and all with differentiating ideologies about Islam and their place in the religion spread by the Prophet Mohamed. In each country she discovers a new way of looking at Islam and an increasingly complex aspect of women's role in an Islamic Society. In Egypt she works with a woman, who from one day to the next sheds her western clothing to wear the hijab at the encouragement of her veiled Koranic study teacher. The most notable and commendable quality of her descriptions, is the fact that she rarely either condemns or condones her experiences, the people she encounters or the teachings of Islam themselves. Rather, her writing allows the reader to form his or her own opinions. Brooks' tales of struggles and triumphs of Muslim women are at the same time, uplifting and full of hope as well as frustrating and tragic. The complexity of Muslim women's issues are neither diminished nor exaggerated, but are seen in their true light. Though this book was published approximately 10 years ago, I feel much of what Brooks reported still has value and continues to hold true for many "Islamic" countries today. This book speaks on many long held ideas that those outside Islam have, as well as commenting on the views and traditions some Muslims uphold. I would certainly recommend this book to those interested in Women's Studies, Islam, the Middle East, or those who would merely like to learn more about a world outside of their own.
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Alrighty, now I am going to talk about a film that is not the newest, but not the oldest. Because, you see, in this world there are two kind of people, those who have not seen Bunty Aur Babli and those that have. Me, I belong to the second kind. Yes people, yours truly FINALLY saw B&B!! And all I can really say is that I loved it! The dialogue was never too drawn out or too dramatic. The movie doesn't slow down and keeps up the pace all the way through, keeping you guessing. Abhi and Rani, made a very cute couple and the Big B himself gave an interesting performance. I really enjoyed seeing Abhishek and him act opposite each other.Naturally the fact that real life father and son were playing cat and mouse, planted itself into some of the dialog. I enjoyed all the songs, though seeing Big B rap was a bit strange, lol, and the matchy-matchy outfits that were going on in Nache Baliye.......not so good. But, there may be some who will disagree, so check out the vid below and leave comments as to whether or not this was Hit or Shit!
Much Love & Till Next Time,
Elizabeth
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