The Printed Page

Welcome to By the Chapter. This week’s featured book is Mother of the Believers: A Novel of the Birth of Islam by Kamran Pasha. Sharing hosting duties with me this week is Nicole from Linus’s Blanket.

***

If you’re not familiar with Mother of the Believers: A Novel of the Birth of Islam here’s a little background on the book fromFSB Associates:

Deep in the desert of seventh century Arabia, a new prophet named Muhammad has arisen. After he beholds a beautiful woman in a vision and resolves to marry her, the girl’s father quickly arranges the wedding. Aisha becomes the youngest of Muhammad’s twelve wives and her feisty nature and fierce intelligence establishes her as his favorite. But when Aisha is accused of adultery by her rivals, she loses the Prophet’s favor—and must fight to prove her innocence.

Pardoned by her husband after a divine revelation clears her name, Aisha earns the reluctant respect of Muslim men when their settlement in Medina is attacked and she becomes a pivotal player on the battlefield. Muhammad’s religious movement sweeps through Arabia and unifies the warring tribes, transforming him from prophet to statesman. But soon after the height of her husband’s triumph—the conquest of the holy city of Mecca—Muhammad falls ill and dies in Aisha’s arms.

A widow at age nineteen, Aisha fights to create a role for herself in the new Muslim empire—becoming an advisor to the Caliph of Islam, a legislator advocating for the rights of women and minorities, a teacher, and ultimately a warrior and military commander. She soon becomes one of the most powerful women in the Middle East, but her passionate nature leads to tragedy when her opposition to the Caliph plunges the Islamic world into civil war. The women of Islam view her as a hero, but Aisha is filled with uncertainty and regret whenever she considers her legacy.

***

Before I even started this book my interest was piqued beyond my usual love of historical fiction because I’d received an email from Fauzia Burke, President of FSB Associates thanking me for featuring Mr. Pasha’s book. I found this intriguing and thought there must be more to this particular book than meets the eye. After visiting the author’s website and reading some of the posts there I began to gather that Mother of the Believers might be a book to spark discussion. Because Mr. Pasha has chosen to write about Islam and Muslims, a religion and people steeped in controversy, he has stated that he expects there will be readers and scholars who will take issue with his portrayal of these events. OK interesting so far and maybe a bit daunting but most certainly not deterring. For me knowing this is a time and place in history peopled with characters that I have only the vaguest familiarity with I gave very little thought to his concerns. While I could certainly try to understand them I didn’t feel that I should let those concerns interfere with my reading. For more read his blog post, Why my novel might shock you.

I think Mr. Pasha might able to offer a unique perspective on these events. When authors are writing historical fiction they must rely on available documentation of the events and interpret such to fit their story. While this is the case for Mr. Pasha he also can offer the readers something the vast majority of writers in this genre cannot and that is a solid grounding in his subject matter. As stated by Mr. Pasha in the Author’s Note:  For the record I am a believing and practicing Muslim. Theologically I consider myself a Sunni, and spiritually I am drawn to Sufism, the mystical heart of Islam.

***

I’m approximately a third of the way through the book. To this point the story has focused on the beginning, or birth, of Islam and a young female child, Aisha, who is destined to be the future wife of the Prophet Muhammad, may God’s blessings and peace be upon him. The Muslims have been persecuted and driven from the city of Mecca by Quraysh tribal leaders (it was the tribe to which the Islamic Prophet Muhammad belonged, as well as the tribe that led the initial opposition to his message) who fear that the teachings of Islam will bring down their way of life. The background of Islam is interesting and the author does a nice job of framing the story for what is to come later.

It may be because I’m not really into the heart of the story yet but I haven’t come across any subject matter that I would consider controversial. I’m really just enjoying the story and absorbing the events surrounding the first Muslims. As with any topic at hand in the world today you will have your hardliners gracing either end of the spectrum. You’ll also have fanatics, conservatives, liberals and those who fall somewhere in middle. My lack of knowledge may be a blessing in this case as I can just sit back and read without any prejudices and presupposed ideas to hinder my journey. I’m looking forward to reading more about Aisha, as she assumes the role of Mother of the Believers. It appears that her odyssey won’t be easy and she’ll falter along the way.
 
***

If you’ve read, or are currently reading, Mother of the Believers: A Novel of the Birth of Islam please share your thoughts with us.

***
This week’s reading scheduling:
Monday: The Printed Page
Tuesday: Nicole from Linus’s Blanket
Wednesday: The Printed Page
Thursday: Nicole from Linus’s Blanket
Friday: The Printed Page/Nicole from Linus’s Blanket

***