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Title:
Better Than A Thousand Months: An American Muslim Family
Celebration
Author: Hassaun Ali Jones-Bey
Publisher: Ibn Musa, 1997
Price: $14.95
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Ramadan comes to life in this touching family story by San Francisco author Hassaun Ali Jones-Bey
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“Why
don’t Muslims celebrate Christmas?” asks a young girl of her
father in the opening of Better Than A Thousand Months: An
American Muslim Family Celebration.
The
young girl is Nora Maryam, a child like so many Muslim children in
America – inquisitive about the world around them and more aware
than one might think of the cultural differences that exist in
American society. The father is Hassaun Ali Jones-Bey, who is also
the book’s author. He is not dissimilar to so many Muslim parents
in America – eager to create nurturing environments for their
children, answering the questions that help them learn and grow.
But
what does one say when a child asks a question that strikes at the
core of a family’s religious, social and cultural identity? Is it
sufficient to give the most cursory of answers that will table the
discussion to a later date or – in the case of some parents – to
a later year? Or perhaps it is more appropriate to answer the child
as fully and completely as one has the ability to do?
Jones-Bey
takes up the challenge of his daughter’s query and chronicles his
eloquent and appropriately contextualized response in Better Than
A Thousand Nights.
The
book’s title derives from Surah Al-Qadr (Chapter 97, Verses 1-5)
of the Qur’an in which Allah (swt) says:
We
have indeed revealed this (Message) in the Night of Power: And what
will explain to thee what the night of power is? The Night of Power
is better than a thousand months. Therein come down the angels and
the Spirit by Allah's permission, on every errand: Peace!...This
until the rise of morn!
With
this passage as his foundation, Jones-Bey goes on to explain the
meaning of Ramadan to his daughter. But more importantly, Jones-Bey,
whether intentionally or unintentionally, creates a metaphor for
Islam in America.
In
answering his daughter, Jones-Bey answers the questions of the
broader public in the West who, for the most part, have not had much
personal contact with Islam and Muslims. Like children, many
westerners have very innocent yet incisive queries about Islam, its
customs and its tenets.
In
the absence of creative, contextualized responses, people will
arrive at misinformed conclusions about Islam. Jones-Bey stems the
tide of misinformation by crafting a story that is at once familiar
and educational for readers. He is an American Muslim, living in the
San Francisco Bay Area, describing an encounter with which all
parents can identify. In this way he breaks down barriers and brings
Islam to life for Muslims and non-Muslims alike in this touching
holiday story.
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