I must admit that I was a bit unsure of what to expect with this book. Like everyone, I have seen the occasional story of mistreatment of women in America in the name of Islam and the occasional honor killing, but to my limited knowledge, it seemed to be the exception rather than the rule.
My Fight For Faith and Freedom is a short biography of Sabatina James, a young Pakistani born woman who spent most of her childhood growing up in Austria. Rather than growing up to become a respectable Pakistani woman, Ms. James became westernized, engaging in dress and behaviors that most people in modern countries would not even give a second thought to. However, these actions were seen as brining dishonor to the family. The book is a horrific account of the physical and mental torture endured by Ms. James starting in her early teens and to a point continues to this day. As a man who sees a woman as equals, sees my wife as a partner in the journey of life, and views my daughters as a gift from God, I found the suffering Ms. James went through to be incomprehensible. The main portion of the book was an easy and quick read. Given that English is not the authors native language, the translation/writing is near flawless in my opinion. I thought this portion of the book was rather extraordinary.
However, when I got to the Epilogue, I really had different feelings. I wish I could put my finger on what I did not like, but I really can not. I will let readers form their own opinion, but the best I can describe it is that the main portion of the book is a real eye opener about the victimization of Pakistani women in the name of Islam and the epilogue really takes on a different tone that just does not seem to mesh well with the rest of the book (kind of like Clint Eastwood making The Bridges of Madison County when his career was predominately action based movies. Not that the movie was bad, just different and uncharacteristic).
Overall, I think this was an excellent book and was an eye opening perspective pertaining to a subject people do not talk about.
J. E. Nelson
My Fight For Faith and Freedom is a short biography of Sabatina James, a young Pakistani born woman who spent most of her childhood growing up in Austria. Rather than growing up to become a respectable Pakistani woman, Ms. James became westernized, engaging in dress and behaviors that most people in modern countries would not even give a second thought to. However, these actions were seen as brining dishonor to the family. The book is a horrific account of the physical and mental torture endured by Ms. James starting in her early teens and to a point continues to this day. As a man who sees a woman as equals, sees my wife as a partner in the journey of life, and views my daughters as a gift from God, I found the suffering Ms. James went through to be incomprehensible. The main portion of the book was an easy and quick read. Given that English is not the authors native language, the translation/writing is near flawless in my opinion. I thought this portion of the book was rather extraordinary.
However, when I got to the Epilogue, I really had different feelings. I wish I could put my finger on what I did not like, but I really can not. I will let readers form their own opinion, but the best I can describe it is that the main portion of the book is a real eye opener about the victimization of Pakistani women in the name of Islam and the epilogue really takes on a different tone that just does not seem to mesh well with the rest of the book (kind of like Clint Eastwood making The Bridges of Madison County when his career was predominately action based movies. Not that the movie was bad, just different and uncharacteristic).
Overall, I think this was an excellent book and was an eye opening perspective pertaining to a subject people do not talk about.
J. E. Nelson
