An Absorbing Book
By Blair Mersinger
Washington, DC

I just wanted to write a quick note saying that I started reading Dr Akbar Ahmed’s new book ‘Journey into Islam’ yesterday and have not been able to put it down! The book is so eloquently written and beautifully explained... it brought tears to my eyes. Here's why:
When I decided to study abroad in Morocco and Kenya, my parents were very supportive, but my grandfathers feared that the "Muslims" would want to hurt me, because "Muslims" were "terrorists". During my travels in both countries, I made great friends and gained a greater understanding of the Muslim world. I sent emails home to my family sharing my positive experiences - the peace that Islam preached, the kindness of all the people I met, and the desire of those in the Muslim world to gain a better understanding of Americans. Although I'm not a scholar of Islam and couldn't pretend to answer all the questions that my grandfathers had for me, they started to change in their opinions.
When my roommate from Morocco, Zineb, came to visit my family in Maryland for Thanksgiving, my grandfathers I think truly realized that Islam is not what is seen on Fox News. From the experience of watching my own, staunchly set-in-their-ways grandfathers change, I have made it my career (and life!) goal of promoting greater understanding between Islam and the West. I started by writing a screenplay last year to that effect as a Senior Capstone project.
In short (apologies for my long-winded email), Prof Ahmed’s book has provided me with inspiration, information, and a great enthusiasm to do what I can to promote peace and understanding. I am going to give both of my grandfathers a copy of his book, to answer questions that they have often posed to me about how Muslims think and feel. Thank you for writing this book, and thank you for inspiring me, Dr Ahmed.

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