TY - JOUR
T1 - Warning Labels on Books? [Letter to the editor.]
AU - Ali-Khan, Carolyne
N1 - Annual Subscription: $24.95 To purchase individual paper copies of the magazine email us or call customer service at 1-800-669-4192 Pros and Cons of Accelerated Reading I'm writing in regard to Susan Straight's article, "Reading by the Numbers" (Winter 2009). I successfully used the Accelerated Reading (AR) software at the [...]
PY - 2010
Y1 - 2010
N2 - I write to commend you for publishing “Save the Muslim Girl!” (Winter 2009). As a U.S. citizen of Pakistani heritage who is a classroom teacher and academic, I believe this important piece should be required reading for anyone who teaches literature. The popularity of the books mentioned and the acclaim they have received give them great power to convey prejudicial messages about Muslim women and girls to large numbers of people. Therefore, it is imperative that these messages are offset by critiques such as the one that Sensoy and Marshall provide. They state: “These novels can be best used to teach about the common Western stereotypes that are universalized in these books rather than teach about Afghanistan, Pakistan, or Islamic cultures.” Personally, I would like to see this quote on the back of books like The Breadwinner (like a warning on cigarettes). As the wars against Iraq, Afghanistan, and, in effect, Pakistan, continue to escalate and the misinformation against people from these countries continue to abound, it is particularly important to remember that “young adult literature about the Middle East cannot be separated from the post-9/11 context in which these books are marketed and increasingly published.” It is likely that those who read and teach these books have never actually met a veiled woman or even a Muslim woman, and have no real experiences to counter the false and often disrespectful views put forth in these books. I shudder to think that readers might believe that the millions of Muslim women who practice their faith are simply oppressed, or that these women’s marriages, customs, families, and life stories amount to nothing more than a narrative of an uncivilized “other.” If we are to live in a socially just world, then we must teach children to work towards tolerance and understanding of those who are different, and to be able to identify and critique stereotypes. Articles such as “Save the Muslim Girl!” provide us with a means to achieve this goal. —Carolyne Ali-Khan New York, N.Y.
AB - I write to commend you for publishing “Save the Muslim Girl!” (Winter 2009). As a U.S. citizen of Pakistani heritage who is a classroom teacher and academic, I believe this important piece should be required reading for anyone who teaches literature. The popularity of the books mentioned and the acclaim they have received give them great power to convey prejudicial messages about Muslim women and girls to large numbers of people. Therefore, it is imperative that these messages are offset by critiques such as the one that Sensoy and Marshall provide. They state: “These novels can be best used to teach about the common Western stereotypes that are universalized in these books rather than teach about Afghanistan, Pakistan, or Islamic cultures.” Personally, I would like to see this quote on the back of books like The Breadwinner (like a warning on cigarettes). As the wars against Iraq, Afghanistan, and, in effect, Pakistan, continue to escalate and the misinformation against people from these countries continue to abound, it is particularly important to remember that “young adult literature about the Middle East cannot be separated from the post-9/11 context in which these books are marketed and increasingly published.” It is likely that those who read and teach these books have never actually met a veiled woman or even a Muslim woman, and have no real experiences to counter the false and often disrespectful views put forth in these books. I shudder to think that readers might believe that the millions of Muslim women who practice their faith are simply oppressed, or that these women’s marriages, customs, families, and life stories amount to nothing more than a narrative of an uncivilized “other.” If we are to live in a socially just world, then we must teach children to work towards tolerance and understanding of those who are different, and to be able to identify and critique stereotypes. Articles such as “Save the Muslim Girl!” provide us with a means to achieve this goal. —Carolyne Ali-Khan New York, N.Y.
UR - https://rethinkingschools.org/issue/volume-24-no-3-spring-2010/
M3 - Article
VL - 24
JO - Rethinking Schools: An Urban Educational Journal
JF - Rethinking Schools: An Urban Educational Journal
ER -