From Somalia with Love (and Heavy-Handedness)

Last updated on: August 9, 2011 at 12:00 am by Lara Alamad

From Somalia with Love (and Heavy-Handedness) 2011-08-09T00:00:37-04:00 Lara Alamad

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

I was really looking forward to reading this book, as I still love young adult fiction and was intrigued to see what a Muslim take on the genre would read like.

From Somalia with Love focuses on 14-year-old Safia who lives with her Mum and two older brothers in the heart of the Somali community in East London. She spends most of her time with her extended family, writing poetry or with her best friend, Hamida. Then her father comes home after 12 years of being missing, presumed dead in Somalia, an event heavily sign-posted as earth shattering for the protagonist.

The book is an engaging and easy read. Safia’s voice as a 14-year-old is fairly convincing and the parts where she meets her father and her mother talks about their escape from Somalia are genuinely moving. However, the main facts of the plot are really Safia’s interactions with her “bad girl” cousin Firdous and it is here that the weaknesses in Robert’s story become apparent.

It is not unleashing major spoilers to tell you that in Robert-land, practicing Muslims are very good (and don’t go to cinemas, which is news to me) and non-practicing or “bad” Muslims aren’t. With the exception of Safia’s English teacher, non-Muslims barely exist in this story accept to prop up a few stereotypes. Talking of stereotypes, there is a convert in the story who talks of leaving behind mini skirts and partying–at the age of 15! As a convert herself, I thought Robert would have thought better then to air a trope used against many converts in real life. Likewise, I can understand why she, as a niqab wearer, would want to promote the image of a woman who wears niqab as independent and strong, but the scene this happens in feels very forced and incongruous.

That Robert takes such a monochromatic view of her characters is a disappointment. Firdous is actually written in a very convincing, descriptive and initially empathetic manner, it is a shame she is ultimately treated as a gone-astray archetype, when really far more condemnation should go the way of her supposedly pious family who leave her in the inadequate care of a auntie obviously struggling with mental illness (a fact which is treated with little compassion in the book).

The book talks of dilemmas, but by making the characters so one-dimensional, it doesn’t really resonate with reality in the way that Robert might hope. Even within groups of practicing Muslims, there are still many social issues and no, not just because of culture either, as the problems found in the neo-Salafi and neo-Traditionalist communities illustrate. Many young people don’t just leave the Muslim community because of the lure of the non-Muslim world, but because they may find the Muslim community itself a hostile place. There is also the fact of some who do good deeds in the mosque, but plenty of bad ones elsewhere. All this is a complexity many of Robert’s readers would be familiar with and Robert underestimates them and underachieves herself by not tackling them.

Books/Magazines

British Muslim women

From Somalia with Love

Previous Post

August 8, 2011

The Guardian Turns a Water Pistol Fight into an Islamic Wet t-Shirt Contest

Next Post

August 12, 2011 Friday Links | August 12, 2011

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Advertisements Art/Theater Books/Magazines Cinema Comics/Cartoons Culture/Society Events Fashion Film Friday Links Merchandise/Commodities MMW Announcements MMW Highlights Music/Radio News Photography Politics Profile Ramadan 2012 Ramadan 2013 Ramadan 2014 Ramadan 2015 Roundtable Satire Social Media Sports Technology/Science Television Uncategorized Video Web

Select a Month November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What miracle did Elisha perform for a widow?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Made fire fall Raised her son Fed 5,000 Multiplied oil