War on Error: Real Stories of American Muslims [Paperback]

Melody Moezzi (Author), Abdullahi Ahmed An-Na'im (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 2007 | ISBN-10: 1557288550 | ISBN-13: 978-1557288554

War on Error brings together the stories of twelve young people, all vastly different but all American, and all Muslim. Their approaches to religion couldn’t be more diverse: from a rapper of Korean and Egyptian descent to a bisexual Sudanese American to a converted white woman from Colorado living in Cairo and wearing the hijab. These individuals, whether they were born to the religion or came to it on their own, have made their own decisions about how observant they’ll be, whether or not to fast, how often to pray, and what to wear.

Though each story is unique, each is also seen through the searching eyes of Melody Moezzi, herself an American Muslim of Iranian descent. She finds that the people she interviews are horrified that, in a post-9/11 world, they have seen their religion come to be represented, in the minds of many Americans, by terrorism. These thoughtful and articulate individuals represent the truth about the faith and its adherents who are drawn to the logic, compassion, and tolerance they find in Muslim teachings.

Moezzi, ever comfortable with contradiction and nuance, is a likable narrator whose underlying assumption that “faith is greater than dogma” is strengthened as she learns more about her religion and faces her own biases and blind spots. This fresh new voice, combined with the perceptions and experiences of her fellow American Muslims, make for a read that is both illuminating and enjoyable.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Moezzi, an American-raised lawyer of Iranian descent, proposes to tell the stories of young American Muslims, of which she is one. She notes the plight of being a Child of Fresh off the Boat (or COFOB), including being mistaken frequently as Hispanic, and feeling caught between solidarity with America over 9/11 but critical of American foreign policy choices although she criticizes the Muslim community for ignorance and severe gender segregation, among other things. Despite its promising subject matter, however, the book has an unimaginative format of one interview per chapter, with no larger framework or unifying theme. Most interview subjects are Moezzi's own friends, some of whom Moezzi even quotes as praising her. Some readers, particularly Muslims, may be offended by an incident in which the author smokes marijuana with an interview subject, as well as other scenes in which she and her friends present themselves as self-indulgent. Although it is engaging and well written, the book lacks academic rigor and comes across as merely anecdotal. The title is never really explained, and Moezzi's conclusion—that American Muslims will lead the next Islamic Renaissance—though an appealing thought, is underdeveloped. (Dec. 10)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

"Engaging and well-written."

—Publisher's Weekly

"A thoughtful and moving effort to come to terms with being an American Muslim from a positive and proactive perspective.”

—From the foreword

"These voices should be heard and these stories must be told.”

—Suzanne Blum, coauthor of Translating Culture: A Rhetoric for Ethnographic Writing in the Composition Classroom

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 150 pages
• Publisher: University of Arkansas Press (October 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1557288550
• ISBN-13: 978-1557288554
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.5 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,124,567 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Melody Moezzi is an Iranian-American Muslim activist, attorney, writer, and award-winning author. She is a UN Global Expert, a blogger for The Huffington Post and Ms. Magazine, and a columnist and blogger for Bipolar Magazine. Her writing has appeared in The Washington Post, The Guardian, The Christian Science Monitor, and many other publications worldwide.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 14 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Not as good as previous reviews indicated August 4, 2009

By Dedicated Reader

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

When I decided to read this book there were 6 reviews, all of them 5 stars, so my expectations were high. I was very disappointed. I found it hard to make it to the end. I wondered why my opinion would be so different from the others, so I looked at other reviews from these 6 reviewers. I found that for most of them, this was the only book they had reviewed. This leads me to suspect that most of the 6, if not all, know the author personally and the reviews are not fair and unbiased. That irritates me. Maybe I'm wrong, but if you have a personal relationship with the author or an interest in the success of the book, that should be disclosed in your review.

I expected this book to give me more insight and understanding of what it means to be an American Muslim, but I don't feel I understand much more than I did before I read the book. The book consisted of 12 interviews of people the author knew, or knew someone who knew them - and most of them were academics, writers or well off - so I didn't get the impression they were representative of the general American Muslim population. I would have preferred more interviews with a larger cross section of people. The book would have been better if there was more detail about the life of the people being interviewed. Instead there was too much narrative about how great the author believes they are, how great they think the author is, or the author's opinion or thoughts on whatever seems to come to her mind. I found most of this very boring.

Several times the author stressed that the discrimination toward women is not based in Islam religion, but she never explains how this started. For example when and why did it start that women were not allowed to pray with men? And if this is true, then why do so many Muslim countries appear to treat women as unequal or worse? An explanation of this might have added alot to my understanding.

Another thing that bothered me: several times the author emphasized that her religion is a peaceful religion and has no place for violence, intolerance and terrorism. But every time she makes these statements, she also has to throw in the "but" which always involved a negative comment on American foreign policy. Sorry, to me (and many others) that is a separate issue. It does not excuse terrorism. I was looking for greater understanding and these statements gave me the impression that at some level the author excuses these actions. For me, this reinforced one of the negative impressions many people have about Muslims and did nothing to breaking down stereo types and promote understanding.

In summary, I read this eager for greater understanding of Muslims in America (and through out the world). I wish I would have chosen a different book that would have provided that insight.

Update: I just finished reading Does My Head Look Big in This? by Randa Abdel-Fattah. Although it seemed to be written more for a teenager, I think it provided a better perspective of the issues of growing up Muslim in a white Christian country. It was set in Australia, but the issues addressed were the same as you would find in the US.

10 of 15 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Breath of Fresh Air December 25, 2007

By Kelly C. Wentworth

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I don't think I was able to breathe the whole time I read this book, which was okay, because I was able to read it all in almost just one sitting. The book was very involving and interesting, but I was nervous about reading another book claiming it was breaking stereotypes of American Muslims. Quite often, books of this sort only manage to hold onto the accepted "norm" of what both "typical" Muslims and non-Muslims think Islam should be and never begin to approach "outside of the box" writing. War on Error went inside, outside and around the proverbial box.

Melody Moezzi takes the reader on an unapologetic journey into an amalgamation of individual Muslims' spiritual and personal journeys and the author's experiences with those individuals. The result easily moves into the readers' conscious and drives one to consider how each story connects to one's own reality.

At the end, I kept having fantasies of War on Error as just Volume I of a series of profiles I could keep on reading for days. I expect this book to be just the beginning of a longer journey both for the author and the reader.

4.0 out of 5 stars A look at post-9/11 American Muslims January 3, 2012

By Martin L. Davis II

Format:Paperback

The author, an attorney, was motivated by the events of 9/11 to write a book of interviews clarifying who American Muslims are, what they believe and why. For non-Muslims, there are insights into the Muslim faith and the conflicts between being an American and ethnic roots. Whether these twelve Muslims are a representative sample or not is perhaps debatable, but the message is a powerful statement of courage, faith and compassion in the post-9/11 world of suspicion and the Patriot Act.

This book was received in exchange for an honest review.