A group of Muslim American women has embarked on a quest they have long considered overdue. Feeling neither heard nor understood, they told their stories in a collection of essays which encapsulates an overarching challenge they face daily – how to find a balance between staying true to their faith and navigating established societal norms in a country partly accepting, yet also partly weary of Islam.
Compiled and co-edited by Maria Ebrahimji and Zahra Suratwala, the book – “I Speak for Myself” - contains first-person narratives by 40 Muslim women born and raised in the United States who, as the editors point out, have been “negotiating a dichotomy of Islamic and Western values since birth.”
Representing many walks of life, the women point out that the book is not intended as a response to existing stereotypes nor as a pontification about a post-9/11 world, but is simply an attempt to provide others an honest and unfettered glimpse into their lives.
VOA Middle East spoke to the book’s editors and some of its contributors.
‘I Speak for Myself’ – US Muslim Women Tell Their Stories
A collage taken from the book "I Speak for Myself" depicting women who contributed their stories to the compilation