Standing Alone In Mecca: An American Woman's Struggle For The Soul Of Islam (2005) - Plot & Excerpts
Oscar Wilde said God's law is love. He asked the eternal question why is there separate rules for men and women? The title of this book is a woman's struggle for the Soul of Islam, it may be more accurate to say a woman's struggle for her soul within Islam. For the generation of young people in Islam that where either in North America or Europe as small children or where born there raises many issues and conflicts. Many governments cry that all citizens should declare alliance to nationalisation first and religion second and any affinity with their parents or grandparents homeland as a distant third at best. The usual questions since the civil rights began assimilation to a melting pot where mixed cultures and heritage is dismissed or separate but equal status? Does Asra Nomani mention or handle any of these necessary questions in her book? Not really. Only in around about way that the generation born in her life time in similar circumstances haven't studied their faith or when they grew up forgot their learning. In Asra Nomani's case she continually sought affirmation from Man and not Allah. The judgements of Man, although brutal, was the only thing that gave meaning to her life. She only mentions the love of God briefly as a after word at the end of the book. No where in the thrust of the book does she turn to the love of God, the teachings of the Sufis, who get scant mention or the affirmation that only Allah can give. Later on she admits pleased that no lightening bolt or thunder descended, however, she doesn't say but of course God wouldn't send those things as I have not sinned. They do not sin at all those that sin for love, another Oscar Wilde quote and there is no sin except stupidity, all from a man who was not religious in the way it is termed by modernists. Asra Nomani works hard for women to pray next to men equally in her hometown mosque. God's work again or still seeking confirmation among Man for who she is? In the end she could easily have another mosque for men and women to pray in and learn and meditate than the ascribed mosque. The fight against ignorance is knowledge, but what do you do with wilful ignorance? Wilful ignorance in my mind is people that deliberately not hear or heed the voice and word of knowledge. You can teach ignorance knowledge if a person is willing and keen. But you can't force wilful and intended ignorance until the person is open within themselves. It is human nature of course that we look to others to be confirmed, parents, peers, the community and sometimes law enforcement, we look to others when we are very young, to be assured. When are we ever sure of ourselves before we need assurance by others? When we learn to feed ourselves at our mother's breast, when we crawl on the floor to get where we need to go. After that? We need the guiding hand of a parent or guardian when we learn to walk, ride a bicycle, we think we need assurances on the steps of life. Asra Nomani looked for reassurances about who she was. American first or Muslim? One or other it couldn't be both for a long time. What was her identity? Her parents couldn't provide it because they were not in her shoes, she panicked, she rebelled, she withdrew and became afraid, there are countless others like her. Countless others that deem Islam's breaking point (in the world or at home) was defined in the latter period of 2001. Nothing else in the world to do with Islam existed before this one date in the history of humanity. But these Muslims and others in North America and Europe should ask Muslims of Palestine, Sudan, Rwanda, of the Pacific part of the world if anything dramatic altered for them on this mind searing date? Yes many innocent lives were lost needlessly on this date, but more so to AIDS, to the massacre to Rwanda, the deaths is Kosovo, I don't seek to play the numbers game, these are human lives. But to constantly use this date as a stigma to say the world had changed. For countless lives in the world things didn't and have not changed. Poverty, sickness and death to millions of children still happen everyday as they have for countless generations needlessly. Women, in some aspects of Muslim households as with other faiths or non faiths are treated as second class citizens, a certain date in 2001 didn't alter this one way or another. As a whole this book is well written, well worth a read regardless of the reader's faith or not having a faith. We must do what Asra Nomani lightly touches on. We must learn about each other, ourselves for a better understanding of the world and who and what makes up this world. You don't have to be an academic or have intense training to be a scholar of the world and what lies within it.
"Standing Alone in Mecca" is an autobiography of a Muslim, raised in the United States who has a child out of wedlock and travels to Saudi Arabia with her baby for the hajj to find herself. Asra Nomani does a good job of it too. Her writing is easy to read. The typography is inconsistent but that is a technical point and more a criticism of the publisher than anyone else.My wife met the author recently and picked up the book. I read it. It reminded me a lot of Blu Greenberg's book "On Women and Judaism: A View from Tradition" where it is not only autobiographical but teaching what one's religion says about a woman's role and how it got all mucked up by men... essentially. I think Blu makes a better case than Asra but that might be because Blu has a larger background in the technical aspects of Judaism than Asra has about Islam. For example, it seems clear that Asra does not understand what "Fear of G-d" means... in Hebrew: Yirat Hashem. The problem is with English which does not have a corresponding word for "yirat". Most translators use the word "fear" but that is misleading. It is more like awe... like... you respect someone so much that you are afraid you will disappoint them. You are NOT afraid they will hit you. See what I mean? I presume Arabic has the same problem in translating into English... Hebrew and Arabic share many language roots.She also delves briefly into the Palestinian/Israeli controversy. I don't think she understands the nuances there either, but she doesn't dwell upon it. She mentions it and moves on.Her view of Pakistan matches my own but her view is more authoritative born of experiencing Pakistan. Mine is just from reading about Pakistan. And because I've read about Pakistan, when she makes veiled criticisms of Pakistan, I know what she is talking about.So... overall, good book. I think her thrust to get women's rights recognized in American mosques is a good one. Where I think she is incorrect are minor points anyway... to me. Of course... I'm not a Muslim. Muslims will have to figure this out on their own, but Asra's main points are good ones and well founded. I hope she makes it work.From a Jewish perspective I can see how some Jewish women could draw a parallel with how women are treated in Orthodox Judaism. I can see some parallels but a solution is not parallel. Where Asra finds clear precedence in Islamic religious texts, none are so clear in Jewish texts. They do exist, however and can be found in Blu Greenberg's book mentioned above. You can read the book yourselves to see if they are compelling.For example: I have no problem creating equal spaces in the synagogue for women. During study sessions, women should be included as equals. Although I think that men and women should be separated during prayer, the floor seating ought to be equal. I think men should lead the prayers, but if women wish to start their own prayer group, I have no problem with that being led by women. (I have good technical, legal reasons for thinking this is all OK which I won't mention here. I'm not just saying this to kiss someone's backside.)I remember speaking to a board member of a Conservative synagogue, asking that they put up a mechitza (a separation between men and women in prayer.) She asked me scornfully, "If we put up a mechitza in the back of the synagogue, would you stand behind it?" (She meant like the women are forced to do in some Orthodox synagogues.) I replied, sincerely, "I would." She dropped the subject immediately and we never spoke of it again. I don't want people to think negatively of her. Even if she agreed with me and wanted to do this, I doubt it would have happened. She was just one board member, but I did ask and I was sincere. I would have stood at the back of the synagogue and prayed.
What do You think about Standing Alone In Mecca: An American Woman's Struggle For The Soul Of Islam (2005)?
“Wow, what a brave, strong, and spirited woman.” I just had to get that said. From the first page, I was drawn in and touched by Asra Nomani in the book Standing Alone in Mecca. In the preface and first chapter, I connected with her - a woman my own age - and her stated quest: “sorting out the contradictions about religion.” She completes this task and educates and inspires us along the way. Asra Nomani immigrated from India to a college town in eastern U.S. when she was a child. She was raised Muslim, and as many thoughtful young people do, she felt frustrated at times with her religion and questioned its limits and traditions. Nomani became a successful journalist and traveled extensively throughout the world. But her most meaningful journey is with her family to Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia to experience hajj, the Islamic holy pilgrimage, possibly the largest gathering of humanity in the world. I am grateful that I can know so intimately what the hajj could be like from her detailed and heartfelt account. She takes us with her to the embassy to secure a visa, onto the bus, into the massive crowds — in 2003, over two million pilgrims were completing the hajj when Nomani was there — and to all the holy sites. She journals the highs and the lows of the hajj and reveals her spiritual development which informs the second half of the book. Back at home in the US, Nomani encounters sexism and prejudice within her local mosque that was not present during the hajj in the conservative Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Confused and hurt, she begins a search for truth in Islam. Her exploration, revealing a downside of religion when holy texts are interpreted as a means of power and control, leads her to take a stand against oppressive male domination within her religion, and in doing so, she empowers not only herself but all women, of all faiths, or none. Standing Alone in Mecca will encourage anyone who would like an equitable world to stand up, and speak out, for positive change. Some of my favorite lines: “It started becoming clear to me that the world was desperate to hear the voices of Muslim moderates.” “But I had never really set forth my views about…well…anything. Now all of a sudden I had to speak, and my words were causing a stir. I was shocked. So many people stay silent because they believe, as I did, that others know more than they do or that their thoughts are irrelevant. When I realized that my own thoughts were not only relevant but well informed, it occurred to me that many people have important things to say but remain silent because of their fears.”
—Sandy
I connected with Asra Nomani in her search for spirituality through the exploration of several religions and practices that she describes in this book. I learned a great deal about Islam at its core and some of the teachings of the prophet Muhammad that promote peace and tolerance which often doesn't come through in the way Islam is practiced in certain countries or talked about in the mainstream media. Nomani reiterates frequently that it is the silent moderate majority in Islam that is allowing extremists and fundamentalists to define the religion to the world. Additionally, this was my first exposure to the stories of Hajar and Aicha- two important women in Islam's history. And, the concept of ijtihad- critical thinking- and tawhid- oneness-in Islam. This was also my first time hearing about Wahhabism which opened my eyes as to why Islam is practiced the way it is in certain countries i.e. Saudi Arabia where Wahhabism has created room for a narrow interpretation of the Quran.I was inspired by Nomani's conviction to challenge people who are using Islam to perpetuate hate and intolerance against women and people of other religions, by her introspection and reflection on feminism and spirituality and also very much by the support she received from her parents in her endeavor to take on the religious establishment that was allowing gender inequalities to continue. All in all, this book inspired me to seek out more knowledge about the origins of Islam and its teachings in regards to the treatment of women and their place in society.
—Sheila
A must-read! This is a revolutionary book which sets a small path yet significant toward a peaceful living and better understanding among all humans. It shows the real face of Islam--Nomani said that she could be rated as ´Moslem Generation X´, but I think, indeed, she should be rated as Moslem Generation A: the real one. Because the ones who teach and spread hatred, violence and intolerance are actually the ones who should be called the X-Generation, the ones who misinterpreted and bended the teaching itself in the name of power, such as Osama bin Laden (I consider him as a ´kafir´ because no man had ever spread hatred and ambiguities toward God as he does). I like the critic from BOOKLIST which said: "Ultimately, Nomani´s riveting, cogent, and inspiring account urges the moderate majority in all faiths to rescue their traditions from those who twist religion into a weapon of mass destrustion and terror." -- so true.
—Chadijah Mastura
