MAZIGH: "Mirrors and Images"

[Oscar]

Kamloops chapter co-sponsors Monia Mazigh book event

[ http://canadians.org/blog/kamloops-chap ... book-event ]

May 16, 2015 - 6:55 am

The Council of Canadians Kamloops chapter recently co-sponsored a talk by Monia Mazigh titled Muslim Women Between Fiction and Reality. The public forum took place at Thompson Rivers University on Wednesday (May 13) and was also sponsored by TRU's Faculty of Arts and TRU Faculty Association's Human Rights Committee.

CBC reports, "Mazigh was first catapulted into public life in 2002. Her husband Maher Arar was deported by the U.S. government to Syria, where he was tortured and held without charge on suspicions of terrorist affiliations. Mazigh launched a tireless campaign for his release, and her first book Hope and Despair is a memoir that details her family's struggle." She is now promoting her second book, a novel, titled Mirrors and Mirages, which "centres around a group of intelligent Muslim women, each coming from different walks of life and whose lives converge in Ottawa." [ http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-c ... -1.3068725 ]

The book's publisher notes, "In Mirrors and Mirages, Monia Mazigh lets us into the lives of six women. They are immigrant mothers — Emma, Samia, and Fauzia — guardians of tradition who want their daughters to enjoy freedom in Western society. They are daughters — Lama, Sally, and Louise, a young woman who converted to Islam for love — university students who are clever and computer savvy. They decide for themselves whether or not to wear a veil, or niqab. Gradually, these women cross paths, and, without losing their authenticity, they become friends and rivals, mirrors and mirages of each other." [ http://houseofanansi.com/products/mirrors-and-mirages ]

In a review of the book published in the Toronto Star, writer and editor Safa Jinje comments, "Mazigh accomplishes something very unique with this novel: a story that bridges the gap between two distinct doctrines that are often considered incompatible: namely, feminism and Islam."
[ http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/bo ... eview.html ]

For more on Mirrors and Mirages, please click here:
[ http://houseofanansi.com/products/mirrors-and-mirages ]


Brent Patterson's blog
Political Director of the Council of Canadians
[ http://canadians.org/blogs/brent-patterson ]