The Invisible Muslim: Journeys Through Whiteness and Islam

by Medina Tenour Whiteman

Overview

Medina Tenour Whiteman stands at the margins of whiteness and Islam. An Anglo-American born to Sufi converts, she feels perennially out of place—not fully at home in Western or Muslim cultures.
In this searingly honest memoir, Whiteman contemplates what it means to be an invisible Muslim, examining the pernicious effects of white Muslim privilege and exploring what Muslim identity can mean the world over—in lands of religious diversity and cultural insularity, from Andalusia, Bosnia and Turkey to Zanzibar, India and Iran.
Through her travels, she unearths experiences familiar to both Western Muslims and anyone of mixed heritage: a life-long search for belonging and the joys and crises of inhabiting more than one identity.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781787383029
Publisher:	Hurst
Publication date:	12/01/2020
Pages:	288
Sales rank:	1,056,316
Product dimensions:	5.30(w) x 7.90(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

Medina Tenour Whiteman is a writer, poet, translator and musician. She is the author of a collection of poetry, Love is a Traveller and We Are its Path, and Huma's Travel Guide to Islamic Spain. She lives near Granada, Spain, with her husband and three children.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements
Prologue

Introduction

1. 'Mzungu!': Kenya and Tanzania

2. Where Many Others Have Prayed: Muslims in Tibet and Ladakh

3. Swallows and Rats: Summer in a Turkish Fishing Village

4. A Tale of Two Eyebrows: Norouz in Iran

5. Distant Enough for Intimacy: Mostar and Sarajevo

6. A Blessed Tree: Digging for Andalusian Roots

7. The Strangers, At Home: Muslim and British in the UK

8. Love in a Lacuna: Sex and Marriage

9. Hiding in Plain Sight: On Hijab and Invisibility

Notes

Index

Editorial Reviews

"An important contribution to the conversation about diversity that deserves to be widely read. A rare perspective-peaceful, balanced, lucid and attractive. It might well be a glimpse into the future of a British Islam, confident in its identity, at ease with its setting."—Leila Aboulela, author of &IBird Summons, Minaret and The Translator

"Medina Tenour Whiteman has approached a unique, complicated branch of Muslim identity with sensitivity and nuance. This book shows that faith is more than adherence to ritual-it is also a means to find oneself." — Hussein Kesvani, author of Follow Me, Akhi

"A bold and beautifully written memoir of searing honesty and warmth. Whiteman gracefully grapples with the complex layers of identity, whiteness and culture as she maps out the landscape of her life, all the while drawing in history and belief in her uniquely eloquent style.' - Remona Aly, journalist and broadcaster

"The Invisible Muslim... does the necessary work of interrogating the nuances and complexities of identity and faith." - Fatima Farheen Mirza, author of A Place For Us

"A sincere and nuanced reflection on race, identity and the author's experiences as a white Muslim. ... [with] beautiful prose and equally beautiful analogies." — The New Arab

"A remarkably balanced, well-researched account of the Muslim world, with nine pages of resource material expanded upon at the back of the book. Each chapter in her book is a mini travelogue comprising of life and historical events crafted with eloquent writing and sharp-witted humor." — The Daily Star

From the Publisher