The Butterfly Mosque (2010) (edit title/settings)

Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis edit see section history

show spoilers

Characters/People edit see section history

• Omar: Add a description of this character.
• Ahmad
• Jo
• Muslim
• Ben
• Sohair
• Ibrahim
• Abdullah
• Mohammad
• Mahmoud
• Sameh
• Namir
• Muhammad
• Laila
• Husayn
• Mehdi
• Fishawy
• Mubarak

Quotes edit see section history

• “I wanted to be shaken by the great argument, the rejection of spiritual authority that had inspired so many people to leave organized religion.”

• Popular Highlights from Kindle Customers

• ‘When chaos enters the world, stick to the walls of your house like a saddle to a horse’s back.’ This means take care of your family and your neighbors and raise your children to be good. If everyone takes care of his own house, all troubles will end.”

  Highlighted by 16 Kindle customers

• Somehow, by making sadness an ecstatic, transformative experience, the fear of loss was annihilated. It reminded one that the only permanence is through God; everything else begins to fade as soon as it is created.

  Highlighted by 13 Kindle customers

• This clashes irreconcilably with Islam as it is practiced in the Middle East, where the things that are most precious, most perfect, and most holy are always hidden: the Kaaba, the faces of prophets and angels, a woman’s body, Heaven.

  Highlighted by 13 Kindle customers

• This is the death knell of radicalism: Muslims who have achieved a personal understanding of the religion can inspire doubt in extremists simply by standing in front of them. It’s a simple fact, but one with the potential to change the world.

  Highlighted by 11 Kindle customers

• This is the heart of the clash of civilizations: not the hatred of the Other, but the self-hatred produced by the Other. This is what makes hatred so easy to propagate, and so difficult to counter even for those who question its authenticity.

  Highlighted by 9 Kindle customers

• Jhumpa Lahiri calls living in a foreign country “an eternal pregnancy”; an uncomfortable wait for something impossible to define.

  Highlighted by 8 Kindle customers

• In Islam, dreams are divided into three categories: ordinary dreams, which are the internal ramblings of the unconscious mind; satanic dreams, which are nightmares; and “true” dreams or visions, believed to be inspired by God. A true dream is religiously provable, containing elements of Islamic history or scripture with which the dreamer may or may not be familiar.

  Highlighted by 8 Kindle customers

• The struggle for the Islam I loved and the struggle for the West I loved were the same struggle, and it was within that struggle that the clash of civilizations was eradicated.

  Highlighted by 6 Kindle customers

• Choosing the way you live is choosing to live. From that night onward, Ramadan to me was about having gratitude—for revelation, for prophesy, for the sheer joy of being human in the world.

  Highlighted by 5 Kindle customers

• Love is not a benign thing. No corner of my life remained unaltered by the consequences of what I loved. The most wonderful thing that had ever happened to me brought me neither peace nor comfort. But it did bring me Omar. And that was more than enough.

  Highlighted by 5 Kindle customers

Setting & Locations edit see section history

• Egypt
• Islam
• Cairo
• Iran
• Middle East
• United States
• America
• Tura
• Ramadan
• Tehran
• Quran
• Iraq
• Siwa
• Isfahan
• New York
• Maadi
• Boston
• Colorado
• Sahara
• Heaven
• Arabic
• Al-azhar

First Sentence edit see section history

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

1. G. Willow Wilson (Author)

First Edition edit see section history

Classification edit see section history

• Library of Congress: Add the Library of Congress Classification.
• Dewey: 297.574

Subjects edit see section history

• Books › Biographies & Memoirs › Specific Groups › Women
• Books › Biographies & Memoirs › Leaders & Notable People › Religious
• Books › Biographies & Memoirs › Memoirs

Links to Supplemental Material edit see section history

• Muslimah Media Watch: Book Review of G. Willow Wilson’s The Butterfly Mosque