Orphans of Islam

Reviews / Votes

This is a fine example of how meticulous ethnography of extraordinary power is 'found' in the course of fieldwork that is both rigorous and guided by profound personal connection. Bargach has caught Moroccan society in a revealing contradiction and produces an account from it that is both ethical and honorable. -- George Marcus, Rice University Orphans of Islam succeeds as a combination rich ethnography and sophisticated theoretical analysis. Bargach does an exceptional job of capturing and translating the eloquence of her interlocutors. ...a book that demonstrates the merits of writing anthropology that attends to the local and the global, the textual and embodied, and the ascetics and politics of ethnographic representation. * Anthropological Quarterly * [Bargach's] book is a vital pioneering foundation that could continue to affect social change. I hope that she will continue and others will build and apply this information, bringing society to a higher level and these victims of society closer to social justice and to the basic human dignity of belonging and connection that every person deserves. -- Mahasin Saleh, University of Houston * International Journal of Middle East Studies * Through incisive analysis, disciplined passion, and moving prose, Jamila Bargach exposes in this book some of the hidden ambiguities of culture, religion, and power in her own society to the light of thoughtful compassion and humanizing possibilities of redress. This is a truly courageous and inspiring book, confronting silent conspiracies of shame and victimization of innocence with the transforming power of love and truth to enable human agency to overcome its own limitations. An eye opener to see injustice where least acknowledged, and an empowering voice for the oppressed everywhere. -- Abdullahi Ahmed An-Na'im, Emory University School of Law