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If the oceans were ink : an unlikely friendship and a journey to the heart of the Quran /

By: Contributor(s): Material type: SoundSoundPublisher number: ZPbsr8 | Blackstone AudiobooksPublisher: [Ashland, Oregon] : Blackstone Audio, Inc., [2016]Copyright date: �2016Edition: UnabridgedDescription: 10 audio discs (12 hr., 30 min.) : CD audio, digital ; 4 3/4 inContent type:
  • spoken word
Media type:
  • audio
Carrier type:
  • audio disc
ISBN:
  • 1504700597
  • 9781504700597
  • 9781504700610 :
  • 1504700619 :
Subject(s): Genre/Form: DDC classification:
  • 297.092 B 23
LOC classification:
  • BP80.P69 P695 2016ab
Contents:
Introduction: a map for the journey -- The origins -- The Quran in twenty-five words -- An American in the East -- A Muslim in the West -- Road trip to the Indian madrasa -- A migrant's prayer mat -- The home -- Pioneer life in Oxford -- Nine-thousand hidden women -- The little rosy one" -- Veiling and unveiling -- Reading "The women" -- The world -- A pilgrim's progress -- Jesus, Mary, and the Quran -- Beyond politics -- The pharaoh and his wife -- War stories -- The last lesson -- Conclusion: everlasting return -- Author's note -- Glossary.
Read by Kate Reading.Summary: Carla Power's eye opening story of how she and her longtime friend Sheikh Mohammad Akram Nadwi found a way to confront ugly stereotypes and persistent misperceptions that were cleaving their communities. Their friendship, between a secular American and a madrasa trained sheikh, had always seemed unlikely, but now they were frustrated and bewildered by the battles being fought in their names. Both knew that a close look at the Quran would reveal a faith that preached peace and not mass murder, respect for women and not oppression. So they embarked on a yearlong journey through the controversial text.
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Holdings
Item type Current library Home library Collection Call number Copy number Status Date due Barcode Item holds
Standard Loan St Maries Library Book on CD St Maries Library Audio - Book on CD 297.092/POWER (Browse shelf(Opens below)) 1 Available 50610020331190
Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Hailed by the Washington Post as mandatory reading, and praised by Fareed Zakaria as intelligent, compassionate, and revealing, this powerful journey will help bridge one of the greatest divides shaping our world today.

If the Oceans Were Ink is Carla Power's eye-opening story of how she and her longtime friend Sheikh Mohammad Akram Nadwi found a way to confront ugly stereotypes and persistent misperceptions that were cleaving their communities. Their friendship-between a secular American and a madrasa-trained sheikh-had always seemed unlikely, but now they were frustrated and bewildered by the battles being fought in their names. Both knew that a close look at the Quran would reveal a faith that preached peace and not mass murder; respect for women and not oppression. And so they embarked on a yearlong journey through the controversial text.

A journalist who grew up in the Midwest and the Middle East, Power offers her unique vantage point on the Quran's most provocative verses as she debates with Akram at cafes, family gatherings, and packed lecture halls, conversations filled with both good humor and powerful insights. Their story takes them to madrasas in India and pilgrimage sites in Mecca, as they encounter politicians and jihadis, feminist activists and conservative scholars. Armed with a new understanding of each other's worldviews, Power and Akram offer eye-opening perspectives, destroy long-held myths, and reveal startling connections between worlds that have seemed hopelessly divided for far too long.

Compact discs.

Introduction: a map for the journey -- The origins -- The Quran in twenty-five words -- An American in the East -- A Muslim in the West -- Road trip to the Indian madrasa -- A migrant's prayer mat -- The home -- Pioneer life in Oxford -- Nine-thousand hidden women -- The little rosy one" -- Veiling and unveiling -- Reading "The women" -- The world -- A pilgrim's progress -- Jesus, Mary, and the Quran -- Beyond politics -- The pharaoh and his wife -- War stories -- The last lesson -- Conclusion: everlasting return -- Author's note -- Glossary.

Read by Kate Reading.

Carla Power's eye opening story of how she and her longtime friend Sheikh Mohammad Akram Nadwi found a way to confront ugly stereotypes and persistent misperceptions that were cleaving their communities. Their friendship, between a secular American and a madrasa trained sheikh, had always seemed unlikely, but now they were frustrated and bewildered by the battles being fought in their names. Both knew that a close look at the Quran would reveal a faith that preached peace and not mass murder, respect for women and not oppression. So they embarked on a yearlong journey through the controversial text.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Library Journal Review

What happens when a secular, feminist journalist spends an entire year studying with and interviewing an Islamic scholar? This memoir-style narrative addresses this question, as journalist Power documented her year with Sheikh Akram Nadwi, who resides in Oxford, England. Yet this story is not just about the interactions between two people from very different backgrounds and belief systems. It also, through the experience and the insights from the Sheikh, provides an introduction to Islamic thought and practice. With clarity and wisdom, the Sheikh responds to difficult questions, such as ones concerning Islamic Jihad movements in Palestine as well as the Prophet Muhammad's marriage to a nine year old. One is struck by this conservative Sheikh's ability to address such questions and Islam in general in a thoughtful, perceptive manner. Interestingly, while Powers did not, after the year spent with the Sheikh, convert to Islam, she did come to deeply respect him and his religious perspective. VERDICT Readers interested in Islam or cultural studies will find this an informative and engrossing work. [See Prepub Alert, 10/20/14.]-John Jaeger, Dallas Baptist Univ. Lib. (c) Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

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