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If the Oceans Were Ink: An Unlikely Friendship and a Journey to the Heart of the Quran cover

If the Oceans Were Ink: An Unlikely Friendship and a Journey to the Heart of the Quran

Carla Power

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If the Oceans Were Ink: An Unlikely Friendship and a Journey to the Heart of the Quran

If the Oceans Were Ink won the Pulitzer Prize and was a National Book Award finalist. An eye-opening story of how Carla Powers and her longtime friend Sheikh Mohammad Akram Nadwi found a way to confront ugly stereotypes and persistent misperceptions that were cleaving their communities. Their friendship--between a secular American and a madrasa-trained sheikh--had always seemed unlikely, but now they were frustrated and bewildered by the battles being fought in their names. Both knew that a close look at the Quran would reveal a faith that preached peace and not mass murder; respect for women and not oppression. And so they embarked on a yearlong journey through the controversial text. A journalist who grew up in the Midwest and the Middle East, Power offers her unique vantage point on the Quran's most provocative verses as she debates with Akram, conversations filled with both good humor and powerful insights. Their story takes them to madrasas in India and pilgrimage sites in Mecca, as they encounter politicians and jihadis, feminist activists and conservative scholars. Armed with a new understanding of each other's worldviews, Power and Akram offer eye-opening perspectives, destroy long-held myths, and reveal startling connections between worlds that have seemed hopelessly divided for far too long.

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Publisher
Macmillan + ORM
Year
2015
ISBN-13
9780805098242
Genre
Biography & Memoir
Topics
Islam and the QuranInterfaith friendshipMuslim stereotypes and misconceptions

Awards

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