Rating: 
Summary: EXACTLY that, it's about crossing borders
Review: I LOVED this book. I have read another book by Leila Ahmed and found it a bit difficult to read, rather dense writing. But this book, ahhhhhh, where to start, what to say. For perhaps the first time ever I've actually wanted to contact the author of a book and thank him/her for the book, for the words, the thoughts, the analysis.... Not only did I thoroughly enjoy reading this book, curled up in bed or on the couch or in waiting rooms, but I learned a lot too. It's full of history and politics, without feeling like you're reading a textbook. And as a convert to Islam living in America, the idea of "crossing borders" really spoke to me and I could relate with a lot that Ahmed wrote, including the idea that you belong no where and yet belong everywhere at the same time. Being a convert in America, you're constantly crossing borders being very different worlds at home, with extended family, in the workplace, with your kids' schools, and when you travel abroad. And you really do belong everywhere and nowhere at once, but this book fleshes out this idea, it delves deeply into it in a way that others can understand.I just LOVED this book and have gotten SO many friends to go buy it, that's the least I can do.....
Rating:
Summary: EXACTLY that, it's about crossing borders
Review: I LOVED this book. I have read another book by Leila Ahmed and found it a bit difficult to read, rather dense writing. But this book, ahhhhhh, where to start, what to say. For perhaps the first time ever I've actually wanted to contact the author of a book and thank him/her for the book, for the words, the thoughts, the analysis.... Not only did I thoroughly enjoy reading this book, curled up in bed or on the couch or in waiting rooms, but I learned a lot too. It's full of history and politics, without feeling like you're reading a textbook. And as a convert to Islam living in America, the idea of "crossing borders" really spoke to me and I could relate with a lot that Ahmed wrote, including the idea that you belong no where and yet belong everywhere at the same time. Being a convert in America, you're constantly crossing borders being very different worlds at home, with extended family, in the workplace, with your kids' schools, and when you travel abroad. And you really do belong everywhere and nowhere at once, but this book fleshes out this idea, it delves deeply into it in a way that others can understand. I just LOVED this book and have gotten SO many friends to go buy it, that's the least I can do.....
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful Memoir of a journey through Egypt, England and US
Review: I recently had the privilege of hearing Ms. Ahmed read from this wonderful book during the Harvard Square Book Festival. I was mesmerized as she described her childhood in Cairo and Alexandria. The writing in this book is so eloquent that you feel you are with her in Egypt, at Cambridge and later in America. All our preconceived ideas regarding various cultures, religion and gender are examined. It is both inspirational and educational.
Rating:
Summary: I love this book for the honest description of Leila.s story
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed reading "A Border Passage" by Professor Leila Ahmad. The book contains an honest downright description of events and environments as experienced by the author through several periods of her life, e.g., as a young girl, as an adolscent, as an adult etc. The author questions the way of life of people around her, their traditions and religiosity. I was particularly impressed where the author examined the day to day practices of traditional Islam in the Egyptian society and questioned the secondary and inconsequential position accorded to the women folk. The situation is very much similar in other Islamic countries also as for example in Pakistan from where I derive my ethnic roots. Her description of oral and aural Islam and men's and women's Islam is so very real. I completely agree with her when she says that the Islam in practice these days is what was interpretted and codified by the medieval muslim jurisprudents. It is outdated and needs reinterpretation to suit the needs and social demands of present time. However who is going to do it and whether such a reinterpretation will generally be acceptable to the practitioners is not easy to understand. I greatly admire Professor Ahmad for her honest narration of her life story.
Rating:
Summary: An eye opening account of what it means to be a Muslim
Review: I thought that this book was amazing. I've read many books about Islam but I think that this book actually gave me a sense of what it means to be a Muslim. Sometimes when reading about religions we often only get an overview of the practices and beliefs of a religion but we rarely hear from believers of a particular religion and how they incorporate the beliefs of their religion into their everyday lives. For me, it was also interesting to read about Egypt during the 40's and 50's because it was something I have never studied before. It was interesting to see the religious diversity in Eygpt and how quickly that all changed with the rise of Nasser. Another thing I had never realized that Egyptians practically had the title Arab forced upon them, but most would never otherwise identify themselves as Arab. I think this book really exposed me to a world and a lifestyle that I had never known existed, and I think this is a must read for anyone who is open to seeing a new perspective on their world.
Rating:
Summary: An eye opening account of what it means to be a Muslim
Review: I thought that this book was amazing. I've read many books about Islam but I think that this book actually gave me a sense of what it means to be a Muslim. Sometimes when reading about religions we often only get an overview of the practices and beliefs of a religion but we rarely hear from believers of a particular religion and how they incorporate the beliefs of their religion into their everyday lives. For me, it was also interesting to read about Egypt during the 40's and 50's because it was something I have never studied before. It was interesting to see the religious diversity in Eygpt and how quickly that all changed with the rise of Nasser. Another thing I had never realized that Egyptians practically had the title Arab forced upon them, but most would never otherwise identify themselves as Arab. I think this book really exposed me to a world and a lifestyle that I had never known existed, and I think this is a must read for anyone who is open to seeing a new perspective on their world.
Rating:
Summary: I relate to this book on so many levels....
Review: I wasn't sure what I would find when I chose this book. But Dr. Ahmed's thoughts on creating her identity and the societal forces that crafted her upbringing are astounding. Her tale of defining herself as a woman, an Egyptian, an Arab, a Muslim, and an American resonated very deeply with me.....
Rating:
Summary: A truely worthwhile book to read
Review: In this book Dr. Leila Ahmed present an intriguing account of various phases of her life beginning with her childhood in Cairo to her journey to the United States. As an immigrant faculty myself, I can sense her story sincerely. The story which comes from her heart and, will certainly, resides in the hearts of the readers. Although the book is designed as an autobiography, she masterfully analyses the critical social and religious issues and incorporates them immaculately into the main story. Especially, her outright distinction between the "oral" Islam, practiced and passed on to her by the women around her, and the "official", textual, man-made, Islam is indeed creative. I believe Dr. Ahmed has earmarked on an important mission of repairing the prevailing militant view of Islam in the west by unveiling the face of a true, pacifist, Islam. I love this book. It tells a story of a woman withstanding constant challenges in her life, her journey across different cultures in search of indentiy and a place in this world, the story of simplicity and real values, and the story of honesty and integrity. The breadth of knowledge demonstrated by the author and her command of the English language, as a non-native speaker, are quite extraordinary.
Rating: 
Summary: Happy with not much
Review: Is it because there are so few professional women who have been successful at crossing borders from the Muslim to the American realm that we apply different (low) standards to the work of someone like Ahmed? And are we applauding her simply for "getting out"? Of *course* her English is "quite good" as someone else wrote in her/his review here; her training was in English literature. How she made the jump from there to becoming an expert in Women's Studies and then to being a historian of the medieval up to the modern Islamic world with no further ado speaks of the state of the field in writing women's history in general but especially about Muslim lands. It appears sometimes that being born into a household where Grandmama spoke Arabic and being an ambitious female is enough to get published widely. Imagine the same thing happening in Jewish Studies. Just because she is a Jewish woman, anyone can write about Talmudic rulings on marriage and Yale will publish it? I don't think so. I realize these comments belong properly with L.Ahmed's _Women and Gender in Islam_ but they have a bearing on the autobiography as well. At least in the autobiography Ahmed is who she truly is. I wish Dr. Ahmed well. Her _Border Crossing_ is a good read for anyone who has lived in Cairo. The elite were very Westernized in the 40-50's. The city was clean and orderly (and servants were cheap). The way she describes her home and the guests who come is vivid; the images are still with me months after reading the book. Dr. Ahmed has been on TV a number of times. She seems uncomfortable with her role as spokeswoman for intelligent Muslim women. When pressed, she (and many other women who formerly practiced their feminism *against* Islam) defends the Islamic tradition. It is refreshing to read about kitchens, families and coming of age in a Muslim country in a pleasant style but I believe another generation will have to come who will be able to write in depth on Islam and gender in history. If those writers are highly trained, brilliant young women who perhaps have made the choice to observe Islam, *that* would be revolutionary.
Rating:
Summary: An insight into a world we need to know
Review: Leila Ahmed's account gives a sensitive, intelligent and insightful point of view about a region that continues to dominate our attention. There is great charm to her account, but also sadness over a world that is no longer and over historical developments that went awry. At times one would wish her to be more forceful -she does not confront Edward Said, for instance, for his failure to criticize Nasser's dictatorship and personal ambition- but, then, it is evident that she comes from a world that she has not been able entirely to leave behind. For those who these days hold opinions that are anti-Arab or anti-Muslim, Ahmed's is a voice of reason and compassion, one that makes us realize that the picture is infintely more complex than we had supposed it to be.
|
