My take on: "In the Name of God" by Paula Jolin

Hello Readers.

WOW! If you haven't read this book yet, you need to! "In the Name of God" is the type of book that keeps you on the edge of your seat till the very end. This book is about a young girl named Nadia who lives in Syria. This book offers the theme of misrepresentation or misinterpretation of civilizations through the tool of the media. Americans are depicted a certain way, often times being referred to as "Westernized" and same goes for Syrians. The media's influence on negativity really strikes Nadia and her family so much that Nadia becomes radicalized in her faith. To me, it was awful to think that a 13-year-old girl could be thinking in such a way. The book offers a lot for students to read. Especially presently, with being Muslim in America as something of a negative attribute for a person, "In the Name of God" offers students a greater perspective on what it means to be faithful to your religion. The book questions how far a person will go to defend beliefs, Nadia decides that she's willing to kill herself in order to promote change within the world of religion. I remember reading this book and thinking to myself about how depressing this concept is. Growing up in America, at the age of 13 I was thinking about what television shows were on or where my friends and I were going to go play at, not whether or not I'd be radicalized to fight for my country and my religion. This book is an eye-opener to the hate that can be spread by the media and the hate that can be spread by human beings. As a teaching tool, this book could be controversial if used in the classroom. Especially at a time right now, where the Middle East has such a negative connotation representing it, parents and administrators might be hesitant on the teaching of this book. I personally think that this book could offer a lot to students and help change the social stigma of stereotypes on the Middle East. It's time that we take a stance on equality, not a stance to distance ourselves from one another to create tension. Through the narration of Nadia and her thoughts along the way, students could recognize that hate isn't something that one is born with, it is given to the individual through a multitude of ways. I recommend this book for classrooms, but it would need to be taught a certain way so that students and their parents, and administrators don't feel uncomfortable. Especially the negative connotations with the Middle East defining a lot of what some people think about all individuals from the Middle East, this book could propose some controversial discussion. I personally feel that it's at the time of feeling uncomfortable with a topic that a person learns the most because they are able to connect a lot of themselves into the lesson to promote learning. Food for thought! 

Cheers. 

Ryan