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A review by nonfirqtion
Love, InshAllah: The Secret Love Lives of American Muslim Women by Ayesha Mattu, Nura Maznavi
2.0
When I first heard about “Love, InshAllah: The Secret Love Lives of American Muslim Women”, I became extremely curious about it! Woooo! Muslim women talking about their secret love life! Will there be sex? Will there be forbidden love? Will the stories portray Muslim women as normal women who seek intimacy and respect from their own partners?
Instead, the anthology disappointed me.
The book was meant to lift the veil on Muslim women, so I expected more stories that went against the grain of the “good” Muslim. I thought there was going to be more stories about perhaps LGBTQ+ Muslims who struggle with their sexuality and faith, or maybe the trans community. Instead, we only get 1 essay about a lesbian hijabi, who fell in love with a married niqabi (you have to read her story; it was really good and sad). Another story that stood out for me was Aida Rahim’s essay. It was how she met her husband, a liberal, progressive Muslim. Even though they were both Muslims, the way they practiced faith differently became an issue for her. She knew Islam through rule-based doctrine and rituals. While her fiancé was perhaps much more liberal. This was interesting, because it seemed like even within the same faith, faith was still a problem.
The other essays were also about women who struggled with faith in their marriage, perhaps meeting a non-muslim, but at the end of the day the non-muslim always converts. Islam or God somehow comes in to save the day, but it’s not always this way in real life. Non-muslims and muslims do get married, and they do lead a happy marriage together. Also, what about intra-faith marriages between shia and sunnis? Is this an issue in America? I did not feel that the book lifted the veil on Muslim women, enough. There was an essay that promoted and romanticized polygamy… And this clearly did not sit well with me, there are many issues with polygamy and how it has dehumanized many women and broken families as well. A story should be written on that to accompany the polygamy essay. I just wished that there were more essays by the marginalized community, or the “bad” Muslim woman. .
Instead, the anthology disappointed me.
The book was meant to lift the veil on Muslim women, so I expected more stories that went against the grain of the “good” Muslim. I thought there was going to be more stories about perhaps LGBTQ+ Muslims who struggle with their sexuality and faith, or maybe the trans community. Instead, we only get 1 essay about a lesbian hijabi, who fell in love with a married niqabi (you have to read her story; it was really good and sad). Another story that stood out for me was Aida Rahim’s essay. It was how she met her husband, a liberal, progressive Muslim. Even though they were both Muslims, the way they practiced faith differently became an issue for her. She knew Islam through rule-based doctrine and rituals. While her fiancé was perhaps much more liberal. This was interesting, because it seemed like even within the same faith, faith was still a problem.
The other essays were also about women who struggled with faith in their marriage, perhaps meeting a non-muslim, but at the end of the day the non-muslim always converts. Islam or God somehow comes in to save the day, but it’s not always this way in real life. Non-muslims and muslims do get married, and they do lead a happy marriage together. Also, what about intra-faith marriages between shia and sunnis? Is this an issue in America? I did not feel that the book lifted the veil on Muslim women, enough. There was an essay that promoted and romanticized polygamy… And this clearly did not sit well with me, there are many issues with polygamy and how it has dehumanized many women and broken families as well. A story should be written on that to accompany the polygamy essay. I just wished that there were more essays by the marginalized community, or the “bad” Muslim woman. .