Tag Archives: Muslim feminism

Black Wave, by Kim Ghattas

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***Top book of 2020***


“I started this project with the full awareness that the extremist partisans on either side of the Saudi-Iran divide would find fault with everything I wrote- or perhaps they would pick apart the sections that depict them and applaud passages about their nemeses. I did not write this book for them. I wrote it for peers and colleagues and a wider audience of readers who want to understand why events in the Middle East continue to reverberate around the world. I wrote it for those who believe the Arab and Muslim words are more than the unceasing headlines about terrorism, ISIS, or the IRGC. Perhaps above all I wrote it for those of my generation and younger in the region who are still asking, “What happened to us?” and who wonder why their parents didn’t, or couldn’t, do anything to stop the unraveling.”
-Kim Ghattas, Black Wave

Above is the synopsis for Black Wave provided by the publisher.

The cultural and political changes in the Middle East were brought to life and breathed into each page beginning with the 1979 Iranian Revolution. The claim for the book is that the pivotal year of 1979 generated much of the conflict that is seen currently; so, we must understand 1979 at every angle in order to comprehend the Middle East of today. Because 1979 is the foundation for shaping the premise of the book, Part 1 which is 4 chapters (or 23 % on a Kindle) heavily centers around the 1979 Revolution.

The thesis is extremely well supported with exceptional research throughout each chapter reaching up to the year 2019. The reader sees the geopolitics in each region surrounding events that eventually lead to world developments such as the Iran hostage crisis, the emergence of Hezbollah in Lebanon, the 9/11 attacks in the U.S., and the growth of ISIS. We often always ask, “Why?” and this book attempts to explain the why.
*This is an intense book because it is eclipsed with several assassinations, insurmountable deaths, and extreme suffering.* (There was not a lot about the Kurds. There was not much about Yemen until the end.)

There were quite a few names in the beginning that I was unfamiliar with. All of those involved and mentioned were important, but it took some adjusting on my part to remember who was who. Because of that, I would recommend reading this on a Kindle.

Key figures (not limited to) : Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, Musa al-Sadr, Juhayman al-Otaybi, Ruhollah Khomeini, Zia-ul-Haq, Saddam Hussein, Bin Baz, Osama Bin Laden, George H.W. Bush, Sadegh Khalkhali, Jamal Khashoggi, Qassem Suleimani, Mohammed Morsi, Nuri al-Maliki, Rafiq Hariri, Hafez al-Assad, Hassan Nasrallah, Crown Prince Abdallah, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, Moqtada al-Sadr, Mansour al-Mansour, Nasr Abu Zeid, Salman al-Audah, King Fahd, Safar al-Hawali, Benazir Bhutto, Nawaz Sharif

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance copy. Opinions are my own.

More on this:

Read The Guardian’s review for Black Wave.

Click here to watch Trevor Noah’s interview with author Kim Ghattas.

Take a look at Kim Ghattas book tour dates

Watch author Kim Ghattas on CNBC discussing Qasem Soleimani’s death.

Follow Kim Ghattas on Twitter or Facebook.

| Purchase on Amazon| Goodreads Review |

Guest House for Young Widows: Among the Women of ISIS, by Azadeh Moaveni

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“…ISIS was like a third partner in her marriage…” 

This work is as described: the stories of thirteen women from various countries and backgrounds who become women of ISIS. Their heart-wrenching accounts attest the weight on Muslim feminism and gender conflicts. Each with their own story, this book explains the series of events that attracted them to ISIS. The powerful voices of these women not only expose their decisions that led them to ISIS but also reveal the undeniable reality that their choice to join was not always just black and white, A or B. The chronicles of these women do unveil the political and religious propaganda embroiled, but it also exploits the increasing involvement and pressure of social media that affected many who joined. 

Chapters alternate between these women, and each story is told in a linear format. At times the author interjects in the middle of a story to afford historical context for their situations, and I found this helpful but at times disrupting to the women’s story that was being presented. 
There are additional 1-2 page segments that are implanted outside of these chapters (located between the chapters of the women’s stories, since it is not directly linked to the women) to provide context to the timeline in regards to important events that are transpiring outside of these women’s lives; for example, in 2015 when a Jordan pilot is captured and ISIS releases the video of him burning alive. 

It seemed to follow an expository format at times, so I felt misguided at various intervals considering this as nonfiction material. Throughout the better last half of this book, the facts and information are often used to promote an opinion or idea. It still would have been instructive and emotionally captivating without these speculative assessments. Also, the last part of the book (Part V), felt rushed and left me without closure on the collapse of the caliphate, making the conclusion of the women’s stories left unsettled. Since it follows the story of thirteen individuals, it was at times hard to keep the characters straight when picking up the book after putting it down. At 50% of the book, there was still a new woman being introduced. Sometimes it felt like pieces of the puzzle were missing, especially to various regions and the politics evolving.

Significant events involved, but not limited to: Arab Spring (2011 Arab Uprising), The Syrian Three, 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq, the al-Qaeda narrative, Raqqa under Assad, Sarah Khan’s campaign, 2012 Ghouta gas attack, the Nusra Front, 1982 Hama rebellion, 2011 Syrian Civil War

Many thanks to Random House, NetGalley, and Azadeh Moaveni for this advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

| Purchase on Amazon | Goodreads Review |