{"id":16,"date":"2008-09-05T07:47:32","date_gmt":"2008-09-05T07:47:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/cityofbrass\/2008\/09\/interview-with-the-author-of-j.html"},"modified":"2008-09-05T07:47:32","modified_gmt":"2008-09-05T07:47:32","slug":"interview-with-the-author-of-j","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/cityofbrass\/2008\/09\/interview-with-the-author-of-j.html","title":{"rendered":"interview with the author of “Jewel of Medina”"},"content":{"rendered":"

Alt Muslim has an exclusive interview with author Sherry Jones<\/a>, of Jewel of Medina fame. It is interesting to note that unlike the Danish cartoonists, it seems that Jones’ motivation in writing her book was to approach Islam from a sympathetic and conciliatory perspective:<\/p>\n

ALTMUSLIM: <\/b>unlike so many other times in our recent history where we are
\nstruggling against people who are really out to vilify us, I sensed
\nfrom the beginning that you were doing this out of appreciation or
\nrespect. I don’t think that has gotten through to a lot of people,
\nregardless of their opinions on the subject matter. Could you elaborate
\non this?<\/b><\/p>\n

JONES: Yes, well I went into my reading with absolutely no preconceived
\nnotions except that Muslims had attacked the World Trade Center and
\nthat the Muslim regime in Afghanistan was very oppressive to its
\npeople, especially women. And so, you might say that my initial
\nimpressions of Islam were negative. <\/p>\n

But as I read – books by Western scholars, Islamic scholars, religious
\nclerics, ancient Arabic poetry – what I gained from my reading was an
\nimpression of Islam being a religion of, primarily, peace. I read that
\nMuhammad admonished his followers to fight in self-defense only. That’s
\nreally what he was doing all those years too. He was constantly being
\npersecuted, assassination attempts, etc. <\/p>\n

You could say that the revealer of Islam, Muhammad, embodied Islam. He
\nlived this incredibly ascetic life – totally unmaterialistic, gave
\neverything away to the poor. He could have lived like a king but he
\ndidn’t. He was very respectful toward women and, actually, I was so
\nimpressed by how he gave women rights that we didn’t even possess in
\nthis country until the early 20th century. He was generous and kind and
\ncompassionate. He forgave people who had done him wrong if they asked
\nhim for it. <\/p>\n

The more I read about Islam at the beginning stages, the more impressed
\nI was. Muhammad endured so much persecution, there was never any doubt
\nin my mind that he was sincere and that he was a visionary. He gave up
\neverything for his belief in God and his, I believe, sincere desire to
\nbring the truth of one God to his own people. <\/p>\n

Having developed that respect, out of all the reading that I did – and,
\nyou know, I read some stuff by older historians who claimed that he
\nwent out and conquered in the name of Islam and forced people to
\nconvert. But the newer stuff that I read, the more recent historical
\nwritings, actually refute that. And the impression I gained of him was
\nof an incredible man and a great, heroic leader.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I think that it is important for muslims to understand the difference here between Jones’ book and actual hate speech of the kind embodied by the Danish cartoons. Jones demonstrates an appreciation for Muhammad SAW that is refreshing. Her interpretation of the relationship between him and his wife is that of a relationship first and foremost. It’s not surprising that she accepts the controversial argument that Aisha was only 9 years old at the time of marriage, since that seems to be the dominant view in the literature, even though it makes no sense when analyzed from historical sources<\/a>. That supposed age discrepancy prodded her curiosity to write the book in the first place, and I think her intention is a valid literary pursuit. Whether the final product is indeed a sensitive treatment or a racy hijab-ripper is of course a different matter, and we can reserve judgement on its literary quality<\/i> later, after we’ve actually read the thing. <\/p>\n

Jones goes on to say, <\/p>\n

I did all this in the service of what I see as a truth. My truth –
\nthis is my vision of what things would have been like based on my own
\nexperiences and my own research and my own intuition and observations
\nof human nature. I’m very sure of the work I’ve done and the choices
\nI’ve made. I know why I did everything I did in that book. Maybe at the
\ntime I was doing it I wasn’t always sure, but I revised this book seven
\ntimes. <\/p>\n

Since this whole thing started, I’ve been accused of Orientalism, and
\nI’ve stopped and I’ve taken a step back to look at myself. How would we
\nfeel if a Muslim wrote a fiction book about Jesus, how would that be
\nperceived? How would Christians feel? It’s hard for me, though I’ve
\ntried, to imagine myself among a group of people who feel discriminated
\nagainst and co-opted already. I can understand why there would be
\nresentment and suspicion of my motives.<\/p>\n

But I’m really aware and conscious of the choices I made. I have felt
\nthat people who didn’t like my book might challenge me and that we
\ncould discuss it.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I agree with her. And I think that it would be a good idea to discuss and challenge her, respectfully and without rancor, on her assumptions and her choices. <\/p>\n

Read the whole interview at altmuslim.com<\/a> – and there’s an extended version coming ot as a podcast next week which I will link to when available. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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The name City of Brass refers to the Story of the City of Brass in the Thousand and One Nights, and the poem by Rudyard Kipling of the same name: Here was a people whom, after their works, thou shalt see wept over for their lost dominion; And in this palace is the last information respecting lords collected in the dust. -- Thousand and One Nights, Story of the City of Brass IN A land that the sand overlays, the ways to her gates are untrod, A multitude ended their days whose fates were made splendid by God, Till they grew drunk and were smitten with madness and went to their fall, And of these is a story written: but Allah Alone knoweth all! -- Rudyard Kipling, The City of Brass (1909)"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/cityofbrass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/cityofbrass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/cityofbrass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/cityofbrass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/165"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/cityofbrass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/cityofbrass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/cityofbrass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/cityofbrass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/cityofbrass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}