If the Oceans Were ink : : an Unlikely Friendship and a Journey to the Heart of the Quran

Locations
Call Number: Adult Book / Nonfiction / Religion & Spirituality / Islam / Power, Carla, 297.092 Po
On Shelf At: Pittsfield Branch

Location & Checkout Length	Call Number	Checkout Length	Item Status
Pittsfield Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Nonfiction / Religion & Spirituality / Islam / Power, Carla	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Downtown 2nd Floor 4-week checkout	297.092 Po	4-week checkout	Due 04-29-2024

A map for the journey -- The origins. The Quran in twenty-five words ; An American in the East ; A Muslim in the West ; Road trip to the Indian madrasa ; A migrant's prayer mat -- The home. Pioneer life in Oxford ; Nine-thousand hidden women ; The little rosy one" ; Veiling and unveiling ; Reading "The women" -- The world. A pilgrim's progress ; Jesus, Mary, and the Quran ; Beyond politics ; The pharaoh and his wife ; War stories ; The last lesson -- Everlasting return.

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COMMUNITY REVIEWS

Conversations with a Muslim submitted by willow on June 27, 2015, 9:35am This book has a fairly narrow outcome as it is really the study of one imam (her co-worker) and his family, and any attempt to extrapolate life for all Muslims or Islam is rather strained. She also wants to fit everything others do (including Islamic belief) through the prism of her own beliefs. The focus of this book is very much the life of Muslim immigrants and their families in urban Britain, which is different from life in the U.S. It is interesting but the idea that his interpretation of Islam is the (only) correct one is not particularly helpful in understanding world events or the religion. However, he is a genuinely interesting scholar, particularly because he wrote several books about the history and importance of women scholars in Islam.

I do not know why this book has been assigned the subject heading "Muslim converts -- Biography," as Carla Powers was raised in a liberal Jewish/Quaker family and, although she enjoyed her study of the Quran, Powers does *not* convert to Islam (nor is the profiled imam or anyone in his family a convert).