June 3, 2009

In the Name of God by Paula Jolin


I picked up In the Name of God at the suggestion of a friend, a friend who reads a whole lot less than I. I knew that if she couldn't put the book down, it must be good.

And that was definitely the case. In the Name of God is a Young Adult book that Paula Jolin wrote to remind us that Middle Eastern teenagers--even those with extreme Islamic views--are more like Western teenagers than not. Of that, she certainly does a good job.

The main character, Nadia, is a 17yo Syrian who struggles with her beliefs and how they clash with her family's. She feels strongly that Muslims should not allow Americans to occupy Iraq (and Israel to oppress Palestinians) and should be fighting back in the name of their god, not working with the American government against fellow Muslims. The only one in her family to hold these views gets arrested, and Nadia struggles with how to react, and eventually makes the decision to do something about it, willing even to give her own life for the cause.

Jolin does a great job of depicting those who hold quite different views than I do in a sympathetic manner. Her years spent studying Islamic studies helps her break stereotypes to get to more important issues. Jolin's writes well and makes it very hard to put down her book.

I think this would be an excellent book to study with teenagers while helping them learn how to discern an author's worldview in literature, as it's clearly spelled out. Even outside of a teaching context, I think this would be a book that can be enjoyed by all.

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