#BookReview ; Mothering A Muslim by Nazia Erum

Nazia Erum runs a fashion start-up, and is the mother of an adorable little girl. But from the day Myra was born, she found herself asking questions she didn't have answers for. It began with her daughter's name – should Nazia choose a traditional Islamic name or a more non-religious sounding one so that her daughter couldn't be identified as a Muslim? Nazia was not the only modern middleclass Muslim asking this question. Soon she discovered that finding the right name for Myra was the least of her worries. Talking to over 100 children and their parents across 12 cities, what Nazia uncovers is deeply troubling. She heard stories of rampant bullying of Muslim children in many of the country's top schools, of six-year-olds being hit by their classmates because of their faith, of religious segregation in classrooms and of anxious Muslim parents across the country who monitor their children's dress, speech and actions to protect them. In Mothering a Muslim, she finally lifts the veil on this taboo subject, one that is spoken of only in whispers. Urgent, gripping and heartbreaking, this is essential reading for every Indian.

Mothering A Muslim is a non-fiction written by Nazia Erum & published by Juggernaut publishers. The author runs a fashion start-up called The Luxury Label. She lives in Noida.

This book starts with the author’s dilemma to name her daughter with a proper Islamic name or something generic as she was worried that the former one might attract undue bullying. With that thought in her mind, she decided to interview several Muslim families across different cities from different strata of society. This book talks about the real stories of kids as young as from kindergarten to college going youngsters who face Islamophobia on a daily basis & how its affecting their lives & temperament. It also focuses on a key aspect within the Muslim community where some people are on a constant mission to judge other’s way of practicing Islam. This book surely sums up what’s going wrong in our society & forces you to think about how to improve the situation. Get your copy here,

As the title of the book says, this book is mainly about the difficulties Muslim parents face when their children get bullied at school for being from a particular religion & the helplessness they face regarding this problem as sometimes even the school authorities fail to help. It also talks about how the parents keep their children under check so that these incidents won’t push them towards a wrong path. The author fearlessly explores all those topics which we all know they exist but we don’t address them. This book is surely a need of the hour & an important read of our time. The language, title & cover is on point. Definitely a must read.
Thank you Juggernaut for the review copy.