Standing alone in Mecca: an American woman's struggle for the soul of Islam

Description

As President Bush is preparing to invade Iraq, Wall Street Journal correspondent Asra Nomani embarks on a dangerous journey from Middle America to the Middle East to join more than two million fellow Muslims on the hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca required of all Muslims once in their lifetime. Mecca is Islam's most sacred city and strictly off limits to non-Muslims. On a journey perilous enough for any American reporter, Nomani is determined to take along her infant son, Shibli---living proof that she, an unmarried Muslim woman, is guilty of zina, or "illegal sex." If she is found out, the puritanical Islamic law of the Wahabbis in Saudi Arabia may mete out terrifying punishment. But Nomani discovers she is not alone. She is following in the four-thousand-year-old footsteps of another single mother, Hajar (known in the West as Hagar), the original pilgrim to Mecca and mother of the Islamic nation. Nomani shows how many of the freedoms enjoyed centuries ago have been erased by the conservative version of Islam practiced today, giving the West a false image of Muslim women as veiled and isolated from the world. Standing Alone in Mecca is a personal narrative, relating the modern-day lives of the author and other Muslim women to the lives of those who came before, bringing the changing face of women in Islam into focus through the unique lens of the hajj. Interweaving reportage, political analysis, cultural history, and spiritual travelogue, this is a modern woman's jihad, offering for Westerners a look inside the heart of Islam and the emerging role of Muslim women.;pt. 1. Embarking on the journey, January 2001 to January 2003. The Dalai Lama and the seeds of a pilgrimage -- Reflections on life as a daughter of Islam -- Islamic red tape -- The wall of Wahhabism -- Betrayal and a turning point -- Birth and rebirth -- Fear and doubts -- Departure and the faith of my parents -- pt. 2. Starting the pilgrimage, February 2003. An introduction to community -- On the road of Bin Laden -- Open borders, closed doors -- House of Saud, House of donuts -- Climax and anticlimax -- The divine in the desert -- A prayer side by side -- Laws of men in the name of God -- The Prophet and his female anchors -- The courage of my mother -- The contradiction of public and private -- Religion, sex, and segregation -- A road and reclaimed history -- The city of illumination -- The vision of my father -- My nephew and the promise of the new Muslim man -- Faith -- pt. 3. Making the pilgrimage, February 2003. Small acts and large lessons in the women's tent -- The devil's in the details -- Sex, lies, and truth -- Judgment Day, sin, and forgiveness -- My judgment day -- Affirmation -- The true face of Satan -- My niece's memo to Allah: a very good god -- Culmination -- pt. 4. Continuing the pilgrimage, February 2003. A different path -- The Prophet and a mirage -- Travel warnings and war clouds -- The Dome of the Rock -- pt. 5. Bringing the pilgrimage home, March 2003 to October 2003. A triumphant homecoming -- My voice claimed -- Anger -- Acceptance -- The legacy of the Prophet and his daughter -- A princess in Islam -- A mother's commitment to Islam -- pt. 6. Asserting the lessons of the pilgrimage, October 2003 to May 2004. Reality check at my local mosque -- History reclaimed -- Our ascension -- Islamic rights in Western law -- Time for action -- A restraining order in the house of God -- pt. 7. Harvesting the fruits of the pilgrimage, June 2004 to October 2004. Muslim women's response -- From the mosque to the bedroom -- Inquisition -- Back to Mecca -- Happiness claimed -- New triumphs -- The Islamic Bill of Rights for Women in Mosques -- The professor -- Death threats and the final fruits of pilgrimage -- Epilogue -- Appendix A: An Islamic Bill of Right for Women in Mosques -- Appendix B: An Islamic Bill of Rights for Women in the Bedroom -- Appendix C: Letters: the silent Muslim moderate majority speaks.