The Face Behind the Veil: Extraordinary Lives Of Muslim Women In America
Donna Gehrke-White
Language: English
Pages: 317
ISBN: 0806527218
Format: PDF / Kindle (mobi) / ePub
For years, the image of the Muslim woman in America has been clouded with secrecy, as mysterious as the face behind the veil. Is she garbed in the traditional hijab and chador? Is she subservient to a male-dominated culture and religion, with few rights and little freedom? Does she grocery shop, do her nails, go to college, have sex? Who are these women?
In this extraordinary and moving book, journalist Donna Gehrke-White provides a rare, revealing look into the hearts, minds, and everyday lives of Muslim women in America—a fast-rising population—and opens a window on a culture as diverse as it is misunderstood. Here, in their own words, are the many different voices of doctors, soccer moms, rebels, reformers, former political prisoners, survivors, activists—women of faith, courage, hope, and change—all Muslims, all Americans.
There are women like Sahar Shaikh, who grew up on Girl Scouts and rock and roll in suburban Miami but felt that something was missing from her life until she took up the veil and returned to her spiritual roots; like Zainab Elberry, an Egyptian activist insurance executive in Nashville who sees no need for the hijab and no conflict between her feminism and her Muslim beliefs. We meet Cathy Drake, a convert from
Virginia who could be the perfect Republican red-state mom, home-schooling her kids and driving a minivan, except that Cathy wears the traditional scarf and converted to
Islam after 9/11. There’s Salma Syed, who escaped the religious intolerance, terror, and violence of her Indian homeland to find peace and security in the American suburbs. And there are pioneers like Sarah Eltantawi, who are trying to advance women’s rights in the mosque, and W. L. Cati, a once obedient housewife who left both her abusive husband and her faith in order to help other women escape similar fates.
Candid, moving, fascinating, and ultimately inspiring, The Face Behind the Veil is a remarkable chronicle of identity and faith, a celebration of women who are changing the face of America and Islam, even as America influences who they are and what they believe.
saying a book like this needs a nurturer, and I thank Kensington’s editor in chief, Michaela Hamilton, for her excellent suggestions. I want to thank her for sharing my excitement about these fascinating Muslim women and for her patience in working with me as I sorted through my research and interviews. This book simply wouldn’t exist without my agent, Agnes Birnbaum. Everyone should have someone like her in their lives. Thanks, Agnes, for always inspiring me. Finally, thanks to Miami Herald
allowed to keep the family land—“I think how beautiful it is when we go there”— that remains within Israel’s borders. 50 The Face Behind the Veil Today, Areej’s family—three brothers and five sisters—are separated. Two half-brothers remain on the family land in Israel, two sisters live in the Palestinian area, and the others are in Jordan. The half-brothers have not seen their siblings in Jordan for years since they are not allowed to enter that country. Areej is grateful that she has an
conference of Muslim leaders that included discussions on how Muslims could help stop violence worldwide. Attending was an eye-opener for Edina. Other Muslims from around the world pounced on her to tell how they despised the United States for sending troops to Iraq and causing thousands of deaths of civilians there. Edina took pains to explain that many Americans agreed with them and were against the Bush administration’s war policy. Now that she has joined the Muslim Public Affairs Council in
number of mosques in the country. In Canada, where the government does include religion in its national census, 2 percent are Muslims. If that same percentage would hold true for the United States, then about six million Muslims now call this country home. Indeed, Ihsan Bagby, an associate professor of Islamic Studies at the University of Kentucky, who has conducted surveys on mosques, believes the number of U.S. Muslims is five to six 4 The Face Behind the Veil million. If those numbers are
the fact that they were observing Islamic holy days and praying the required five times a day while attending services at a church that sponsored them as immigrants. Emma Al-Aghbhary, of the Chicago suburbs, finds the United States a better place to practice Islam than her native New Zealand. In her opinion, Americans are more tolerant than New Zealanders, even in spite of incidents of harassment in the wake of 9/11 and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Introduction 11 “I have worn the hijab,