Your Fatwa Does Not Apply Here: Untold Stories from the Fight Against Muslim Fundamentalism
*Starred Review* After a harrowing experience with her father in his Algerian home, activist and law professor Bennoune felt compelled to interview Muslims who are bravely standing up to Islamist groups. Her geographic range is vast, including France, Egypt, Senegal, Russia, Mali, and beyond. She spoke with theater owners under threat of suicide bombers in Pakistan, museum curators who risked all to save Afghani cultural treasures, and television producers from Algeria who were nearly killed for presenting a popular program. Her interviews sear with passion as her subjects deconstruct false views of Islam and inaccurate readings of the Qur’an. Again and again, Bennoune shines a spotlight on those who battle with intelligence and creativity against guns and bloodlust. She has created a significant and compelling record of modern life in which she spares no one, from the right wing to the left. This is life on the front lines in a world that Westerners all too often willfully define with inaccurate generalities. Bennoune insists that readers see the hearts and souls of those who are fighting for their countries and hear Muslims who say, “If we bow down to the Islamists . . . then there will be nothing. We’ll just be sitting in a dark corner.” --Colleen Mondor