I Speak for Myself: American Women on Being Muslim (I SPEAK FOR MYSELF, 1)

I read this book in the context of a book study with Christian and Muslim men and women. It prompted much discussion and was very timely( for having been written several years ago). The stories confirmed the experiences of many of my new Muslim women friends - all of whom are immigrants and are not Muslim/American like the authors in the book. The essays give us a brief view of what it is like to be "other" in your own country - to make personal and political decisions based on faith and religious beliefs. A valuable read and I wish more non-Muslim Americans were aware of the conflicts that arise in the Muslim community ( in the US and abroad) between the teachings of Islam and the Muslim cultural identity.

I found this book by "cruising the internet" and selected it as our THIRD book for study in our church ladies' group, Disciples Women's Ministry, (First Christian Church) for the coming year. It follows our reading The Faith Club and Half the Sky, and brings us full circle in our program "learning for understanding". Our ladies are retired professionals for the most part, average age is about 75, and they still love to learn and participate.I Speak For Myself will make you chuckle, will make you laugh, and you might sometimes feel a little sad. You will not be offended and there is no violence (important to us as we finish Half the Sky). It made me think and have new awarenesses as I just read it for the fourth time in preparing for our studies.

This was a wonderful collection of essays by different Muslim-American women, and touched on a lot of different topics, from the veil to arranged marriage, to leaving the religion, to more secular application of it, to just traveling or finding oneself...some of the stories were light-hearted, and others brought me to tears. All of them though had a note of hope that one day we can all try to understand and accept each other, and I'm just so impressed by all of these women for their courage, as Muslims but also just as American women. Sometimes it's so hard to go against the grain and stand up for your beliefs--especially now when our country seems so polarized. All of these women are great role models, no matter what your faith.

This is a good book in that it shares the stories of various women and their identity as Muslim, but the personal narratives are short and do not really go into depth with each person. If this book is used for class, there might be a need to redirect the students on making a purpose for reading the short narratives, otherwise it's more so just stories of persons daily lives who happen to be Muslim.There certainly are a few good ones in which they talk about their choices, their family, and how they identify, but that is only a few of the stories; whereas the others become somewhat mundane.

I really enjoyed reading all these ladies' stories. Many Americans have never met a Muslim and only have the image of Muslims presented by the news media and movies. This book allows you to meet and get to know many different American women who are Muslim, yet do not fit the cookie cutter mold of "oppressed, abused girl" that some would like you to believe. They have different histories, varied interests, and unique personalities, just like any other American you know! But they share a belief in ISLAM, which you will also get to know by reading this book.The essay format makes this such a quick and easy read. Highly recommended!

"I Speak for Myself" has arrived at the absolute perfect time for our society. I could not put it down. The stories that the Muslim-American women in this book have shared are heartwarming, eye-opening and at times, riveting. Each woman writes about their very personal reality and everyone reading will find someone to identify with.Above all, "I Speak for Myself" reinforces the fact that, at our very cores, we are all citizens of humanity. I highly recommend this book not only for leisure reading, but as a supplement in the classroom. Choose it for a book club selection. The more copies of "I Speak for Myself" that find their way into the hands of Americans, the sooner we will be on our way to true diversity, in both our hearts and minds.

I love this book. In my interest in Islam was reaffirmed after I reading this book. It gave me a great idea of how Muslim women from different cultures live. From the outside looking in people think that Muslim women are oppressed and that they live their lives locked away. This couldn't be further from the truth and this book proves that. I was afraid that being a Muslim woman would change change me as a woman and after reading this book I do not have that fear.

So often in Western societies, everyone tries to speak for Muslim women. People may think we are helpless or forced to wear certain things and behave in certain ways. So many people have spoken "for us". But we don't need that. We can speak for ourselves and we are a diverse group of women, too. A must read.