Book Review: "I am Muslim" by Dina Zaman

I like reading slim books that I can finish before I lose interest in it. And this 236-page book fits well with the definition of a slim book. It’s been on the local non-fiction best seller list for quite a while. The author is a well known writer on the news website Malaysiakini.com. The book is not exactly a continuous story but instead a collection of previous writings by the author which have been rearranged under different chapters with different themes. It is obvious from the writings that the author is a liberal muslim. She was educated in the UK and had been to many places around the world as she followed her diplomat father but somehow could still relate with her hometown in Terengganu. I think her upbringing inevitably shaped her worldview and liberal interpretation of Islam. Generally, people tend to be more liberal when they mix with people of various cultures.

She writes on various dilemmas faced by modern urban muslims trying to fit in with modern secular life. As a journalist she is not afraid to spend time in a different community in order to find out about their belief and practices. She has been able to juggle her seemingly contradictory lives pretty well. She spent a month with a zikir group in Indonesia (Nursyifa) to purify her soul, hung out with gay friends in KL and talked openly about it, consulted her local ustaz on religious matters and, being Malay, also sought the help of a shaman (bomoh). There are also pieces about her struggle to grasp the meaning of life after her divorce.

If you are looking for guidance on Islamic law or way of life, this book is definitely not a source. It is just a Muslim woman’s personal experience of seeing Islam through her own Western-educated liberal thinking and trying to make sense of the society in which she lives.

"I am Muslim" is published by Silverfishbooks and priced at RM30.00

Kajang
23 June 2007