Voices of Resistance: Muslim Women on War Faith, & Sexuality

Saturday April 21st, 7pm
York Amphitheatre (EV 1.615)
Concordia University
1515 St. Catherine St. West.

Wheelchair Accessible –
Free ASL interpretation & Childcare available with
48hr advance request


With readings and discussion by contributors, Shadi
Eskandani and Nuzhat Abbas, followed by a book
signing.

Edited by Sarah Husain, Voices of Resistance is a
groundbreaking collection that explodes current
contentions about Muslim identity, gender, war, and
citizenship. Muslims—literally, "people of the
book"—must seek knowledge wherever and however they
can. As the prophet Mohammed sat in a cave of Mount
Hira, the first command he received from the angel
Gabriel was "Iqra!—Read!" The Quran instructs that
obtaining knowledge is integral to one's spiritual
practices.

Hailing from Yemen, Iran, Palestine, Afghanistan,
Kashmir, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Malaysia,
Thailand, China, Canada, and the United States, the
contributors to Voices of Resistance also insist on a
politics and spirituality that command knowledge—but
not dusty facts fixed long ago. They demand knowledge
that is fluid, contextually engaged, and dynamic. And
in their pursuit, they are sharing wisdom of their
own. They engage in conversation concerning their
bodies and their communities and share compelling
stories: a woman mourns the death of a cousin killed
in a suicide bombing; a transsexual man remembers with
fondness the donning of the veil he no longer wears; a
woman confronts sexism and hypocrisy on a pilgrimage
to Saudi Arabia; several experience being judged on
the basis of skin color and political and religious
affiliation that is far more blatant and ubiquitous
since the September 11 attacks.

Praise for Voices of Resistance:

"A beautifully crafted testament to the courage,
reflexivity, and spirit of Muslim women's resistance
to the injustices and violence of wars from Palestine
to the U.S."
—Chandra Talpade Mohanty, professor of Women's
Studies, Syracuse University, and author of Feminism
without Borders

"I loved Voices of Resistance. It was fun, it was
funny, it was profound, it was deep, it was
frightening, it was awesome, it was an opening. I
could not put it down."
—Dr. Amina Wadud, professor of Islamic Studies and
author of Inside the Gender Jihad

About the Readers:

Nuzhat Abbas is a writer based in Toronto, Canada .
She was born in Zanzibar , educated in Karachi and
immigrated to Canada in 1981. On receiving Canadian
citizenship, she promptly left to work in Spain,
Turkey , and the UK , and later studied for several
years in the US. She returned to Toronto in 1999 and
since then, she has published literary non-fiction,
reviews and poetry in Fuse ,THIS magazine, CV2,
Herizons ,the Globe and Mail as well as Znak (in
Poland). At present she is working on a novel as well
as a book of essays about Zanzibar . She has taught
literature at Ryerson, OCAD and George Brown College
and currently works as an educator and consultant on
anti-oppression, human rights and equity issues.


Shadi Eskandani was born in Tehran, Iran , in 1978, a
few months before the Islamic Revolution. She spent
her formative years in Tehran until her family's
emigration to Canada in 1987. Shadi has completed a
Masters degree in social anthropology, and is pursuing
a degree in education. She works for an education
support program for youth in a marginalized community
in Toronto , and spends the rest of her time writing.
Shadi is currently working on publishing a collection
of her poetry.

This event is co-presented by QPIRG (Concordia &
McGill), the 2110 Centre for Gender Advocacy, the
Concordia Co-op Bookstore, and the Simone de Beauvoir
Institute.

For more information, or to request ASL or Childcare
(up to 48 hrs prior) for the event, contact the:
2110 Centre for Gender Advocacy
2110 Mackay (metro Guy-Concordia)
tel: 514-848-2424 ext. 7431
-- 2110 Centre for Gender Advocacy 2110 Mackay (metro Guy-Concordia) tel: 514-848-2424 ext. 7431