This book is the avocation of the victimization of young mainly Arabic Muslim women in the context of French social mores regarding the nature of maidenhood, individuality, freedom and responsibility. It offers the Muslim justification for cultural mores displaced from their homeland into a place and culture that is alien to them without a full appreciation of that culture--but with enough understanding to accentuate perceived hypocrisies. Nevertheless, it argues for some degree of female autonomy -- enough so to garner complaints from reactionary Arabic men. So good for her. It is up to the reader to decide how much the author recognizes the contradictions in female autonomy, whether of maidenhood or motherhood, implied in cultural norms of 'Arabic' female rights and behavior. But it is obviously clear that she believes in female education --against the most persistent forms of male hegemony and destructive paternalism.

I enjoyed reading this book! It did use Christian and Jewish comparisons to show the differences but overall it was truthful and I can better understand Islamic traditions. I appreciate the author's honesty in recognizing that people have gone away from the Quran as many Christians have moved in a direction away from the Bible. As a Christian African American I found that I have experienced many of the problems that Islam may offer a solution to. I'm not saying I'm converting but we as a community may need to consider some of these Islamic ways.

This book is innocent of muslim and composed the wrong image of islam.