The Booksmith Presents
LOVE, INSHALLAH: The Secret Love Lives of American Muslim Women with Ayesha Mattu, Nura Maznavi, Leila Khan, & Zahra Noorbakhsh
- When
- Thu Feb 9, 2012
- Where
- The Booksmith
- Time
- 7:30 pm
- Tags
- Literary Arts
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Description
Romance, dating, sex and – Muslim women? In this groundbreaking collection, 25 writers sweep aside stereotypes to share their search for love and reveal what it means to be a Muslim woman in America today. The writers represent a broad spectrum of ethnicities, races and religious practice and speak openly for the first time about love, relationships, sexuality, gender, identity, homophobia, and racism.Come hear from the editors of this collection, Ayesha Mattu and Nura Maznavi, about their intentions and purpose of the book and the road to publication, and meet two of the contributors reading excerpts from their stories. Plus: a spirited question and answer session where audience members can pose the questions they've always wanted to ask a Muslim woman -- but were too afraid to ask!
Everyone seems to have an opinion about Muslim women, even (especially!) those who have never met one. Co-‐editors Ayesha Mattu and Nura Maznavi thought it was about time we heard directly from Muslim women themselves. You’ll be captivated by these moving, funny, provocative and surprising stories, each as individual as the writers themselves.
Ayesha Mattu is a writer, editor and international development consultant. Her writing has appeared in the International Museum of Women, Religion Dispatches, and The Huffington Post. She was selected a Muslim Leader of Tomorrow by the UN Alliance of Civilizations and the ASMA Society in 2009. Ayesha is working on a memoir about losing faith and finding love, which is excerpted in Love, InshAllah. She lives with her husband and son in Northern California.
Nura Maznavi is a civil rights attorney. She has worked with migrant workers in Sri Lanka, on behalf of prisoners in California, and with a national legal advocacy organization leading a program to end racial and religious profiling. She is working on a screenplay and several short stories. Nura’s third love—after food and traveling—is California, where she was raised and currently lives.
Leila N. Khan (pen name) lives and works in Northern California. She enjoys Italian films, classical music, and spending time in her kitchen. Her favorite places in the world are Strasbourg, Dubrovnik, and Maui.
Zahra Noorbakhsh is a writer, actor and stand-up comedian, whose one-woman shows All Atheists Are Muslim and Hijab and Hammerpants have appeared at the New York International Fringe Theater Festival, San Francisco Theater Festival, and Solo Performance Workshop Festival, with widespread critical acclaim. She is a graduate of the UC Berkeley in Theatre & Performance Studies. Though she began as a stand-up comic, her love of storytelling drew her into the world of theater and ultimately the art of short story writing.
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