For book club this month, we read Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali. What a book. It is harsh and blunt and ugly. With very vivid description, I felt like I was taken into the Muslim world. The view is complex, unpleasant, and incomprehensible. It was very uncomfortable to get a glimpse of the ugliness that exists in the world today. I found myself squirming becuase of the pampered, easy life that is mine. For a week after I finished this book, I had a hard time feeling good about myself. I know that I could not even begin to endure what she was asked to endure. Yet, after all of the suffering, she still had a strength inside of her that caused her to flee the persecution and become who she wanted to be. Ayaan paints Islam as "brutal, bigoted, [and] fixated on controlling women." This is completely portrayed by events she shares in this book.
Religion is a central theme throughout the book. Because of her inner turmoil with an oppressive religion, my thoughts constantly were pondering my own religion and my belief in God. I do not know the God that Ayaan was taught to believe in. I do not know a God that wants one group to have it all and another to have nothing, a God that punishes truth and rewards opression, or a God who commands brutality to those who don't comform. In contrast, the God that I believe in is my Father in Heaven. He cares for me and He knows my name. He wants me to be happy, not only after my life is over, but here and now. He wants me to be educated and to seek for answers through study and prayer. He wants me to have my own testimony and urges me to ask and recieve. After finishing this book and thinking and thinking, I am more than ever grateful for the Gospel that I know. I am grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who loves all of His children. He loved us all so much that He sent His only Son to live and die for us. How much I wish that all of us understood the depth of our Father's love. Ayaan's story is a sad one, it is one that I probably won't ever forget. But, I understand why it was chosen for book club and am glad for the time to reflect on my own beliefs and deepen the most important ones.
5 comments:
I loved your comments on this post. That book sounds very intense but good at the same time. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. ;)
Do you own this book or did you borrow it from the library? I'd like to read it. *sigh* You amaze me. Thanks for sharing your thoughts, testimony, and way of life. Love you!
Hey, I just have to quickly comment on your sweet little Jill and her "Jillybutton." I have thought about her doing that a few times this week since church and I just start cracking up. What a doll she is.
That sounds like a challenging book to read. It is so sad that people aren't taught about a loving God. We are blessed!
You summed up the book perfectly. I felt the same way after I was done reading the book. Yes, we are very lucky to have been brought up in the gospel. Just print out your summary and read it at book club...:)
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