Recommended Reading

I'm getting ready to teach a class on Africa and the Middle East next block, and thought I'd pass along a suggestion for any of you are interested in gaining a little better insight about Islamic culture. Naguib Mahfouz is an Egyptian novelist whose works have often been included in my course reading list (though not this time as I'm trying something a little different). The one that has generally been best received by students is pictured above. It's a picaresque account of the title character's travels through several different societies, each a slightly-veiled version of some recognizably real place, where Qindil Ibn Fattouma ("son of Fattouma") has his core beliefs and expectations (religious and otherwise) challenged by the prevailing customs. The story unfolds as a fable, but is rich in human drama and, I think, offers a western reader ample opportunity to empathize with a perspective that is definitely Muslim, but more to the point, eminently human. That's not an opportunity that's all that common in American media and popular culture these days, despite the obvious need for that level of understanding, given our country's heavy involvement in places like Iraq and Afghanistan. It's a great book, and I bet you can find a copy at your local library.