Larry Kelly's Now They Call Me Infidel

Larry Kelly, in his review of Now They Call Me Infidel, states that “Ms. Darwish makes a compelling case that in lands such as Egypt, where Islam dominates, underclass inhabitants such as Coptic Christians, Orthodox Christians, Monophysites, Zoroastrains, Hindus, Buddhists, and of course, Jews continue to be brutalized, but none more so than Islamic women.” Kelly describes her book as an indictment of a misogynistic polygamous world of a “moderate” Egyptian society. Kelly says those who believe that all societies deserve equal respect would be doubtful of Darwish’ assertion that her education was no different than anywhere else in the Arab world and that Arab children in Middle Eastern countries are taught that Jews are hated by God and their mere existence is a sin, therefore they should be exterminated. According to Larry Kelly, Darwish’ mother’s experiences after her husband died points to only one of the many destructive aspects of polygamy, as “none of her former friends could countenance the risk of tempting their husbands with the company of a beautiful you, needy widow.” Kelly also says …show more content…
Darwish’ account of the cruelty and daily oppression that encircles Muslim world is essential to reform in the Muslim world. Mannes states that Darwish’ narrative is remarkable because in the 1950s, Egypt had been trying to modernize for nearly a century and a half, and she demonstrates how still “the heavy hand of tradition trapped women.” While few citizens were practicing and devout Muslims, no one would criticize Islam and its teachings. Mannes states that Darwish does well to give a sense of the extent to which Islam and traditions permeates many of the Gulf States’ secular movements and politicians. According to Mannes, “Darwish possessed an innate sense that allowed her to see through her society’s