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The Colour of God: A Story of Family and Faith
A memoir of a fundamentalist Muslim childhood and of redefining faith, belonging and family in adulthood
Shortlisted for the William Saroyan International Prize 2022
‘Engrossing...brilliant’ Monica Ali
‘Heartbreaking and really funny’ Ross Gay
‘This book fell into my heart’ Sabrina Mahfouz
‘The kind of authentic voice that is rarely heard’ Saima Mir
Ayesha tells the story of growing up in a fundamentalist Muslim household; of parents who spent most of their lives away from Pakistan; of stealing her mother’s hijabs to wear to school as a five-year-old; of revisiting the beliefs and ideals she was raised with; of failed dreams and heartbreaks, but also of joy and love.
Life-affirming and funny, The Colour of God uncovers surprising answers to questions of faith, belonging, family and liberation, and offers a vision of freedom that isn’t measured in fabric.
Shortlisted for the William Saroyan International Prize 2022
‘Engrossing...brilliant’ Monica Ali
‘Heartbreaking and really funny’ Ross Gay
‘This book fell into my heart’ Sabrina Mahfouz
‘The kind of authentic voice that is rarely heard’ Saima Mir
Ayesha tells the story of growing up in a fundamentalist Muslim household; of parents who spent most of their lives away from Pakistan; of stealing her mother’s hijabs to wear to school as a five-year-old; of revisiting the beliefs and ideals she was raised with; of failed dreams and heartbreaks, but also of joy and love.
Life-affirming and funny, The Colour of God uncovers surprising answers to questions of faith, belonging, family and liberation, and offers a vision of freedom that isn’t measured in fabric.
304 pages, Hardcover
Published May 11, 2021
19 people are currently reading
1077 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 83 reviews
August 29, 2022
The Colour of God is the story of this Pakistani/ Canadian author raised in a household that clings to a fundamentalist version of Islam in response to racism. The family emigrates to Canada in the 1970s, but efforts to assimilate end up experiencing more alienation.
It begins with the sudden death of the author's four-year-old nephew (not a spoiler), the meaning of whose name gifts this book its title. The author explores the rigidity of the fundamentalist version of religion and the socio-historical context that shapes her parents' life, highlighting the difference between her mother's generation and her grandfather's, and in doing so is careful to avoid generalisations. Using a non-linear and dynamic structure allows Chaudhry to explore the links between the present-day story of losing her nephew, the immediate aftermath and the past. The author is a professor of Islamic and gender studies, and her ideas and questioning are pertinent, refreshing, and firmly rooted in the intellectual.
The flashy element one could focus on is the author's experience of growing up wearing a niqab and exploring the scripts of Islam vs the West that women are boxed into playing out, especially where it concerns societal ideas on covering up, modesty, and feminism. Ayesha Chaudhry demonstrates how the biases held by different groups removes complexity. However, more than that above, I was pulled in by the nuanced and frank discussion about having children and her choice not to have one, and the balanced mix of intellectual and personal. It is peppered with Urdu sayings and Quranic verses and discusses translation and interpretation of the parts of the latter, some of which were new and surprising to me. Its exploration of grief, love, family, among other things, make this even more impactful. I also liked that it briefly touched on Partition and what that meant for her father.
It begins with the sudden death of the author's four-year-old nephew (not a spoiler), the meaning of whose name gifts this book its title. The author explores the rigidity of the fundamentalist version of religion and the socio-historical context that shapes her parents' life, highlighting the difference between her mother's generation and her grandfather's, and in doing so is careful to avoid generalisations. Using a non-linear and dynamic structure allows Chaudhry to explore the links between the present-day story of losing her nephew, the immediate aftermath and the past. The author is a professor of Islamic and gender studies, and her ideas and questioning are pertinent, refreshing, and firmly rooted in the intellectual.
The flashy element one could focus on is the author's experience of growing up wearing a niqab and exploring the scripts of Islam vs the West that women are boxed into playing out, especially where it concerns societal ideas on covering up, modesty, and feminism. Ayesha Chaudhry demonstrates how the biases held by different groups removes complexity. However, more than that above, I was pulled in by the nuanced and frank discussion about having children and her choice not to have one, and the balanced mix of intellectual and personal. It is peppered with Urdu sayings and Quranic verses and discusses translation and interpretation of the parts of the latter, some of which were new and surprising to me. Its exploration of grief, love, family, among other things, make this even more impactful. I also liked that it briefly touched on Partition and what that meant for her father.
July 5, 2021
I have a mixed feelings about this book and it got me in every ways. As this book circles around the theme of religion and racial discrimination, I’m not sure whether the term “agree to disagree” would come handy for this one.
Yikes!
1. About.
The Colour Of God is a memoir written by Ayesha S. Chaudhry who is also a professor of Islamic Studies and Gender Studies.
This book centers around about a child raised in Canada by parents who embraced a puritanical version of Islam to shield them from racism.
The author explores the joys and sorrows of growing up in a fundamentalist Muslim household, wedding grand historical narratives of colonialism and migration to the small intimate heartbreaks of modern life and the ideas and beliefs she was raised with.
This book is an invitation to reimagine our ideas of self and family, state and citizenship, love and loss.
2. Memoir.
Reviewing this book also from a Muslim perspective, this memoir is so much relatable and inclusive. This book was beautifully written, it was mesmerizing.
It was like reading a whole life diary of her and I wanted to keep on reading to get to know her story better. Her words weren’t just crafted well to became such a great read, it was also rewarding for this story to be told and shared.
I enjoyed most of it and this book probably not the book you want, but could be the one you need.
3. Religion.
First and foremost, I would congrats the author for taking such a big stand to write a book that strongly centers around religion, fundamentalist, extremist, racist and of course other sensitive issues, compiling it in one book.
Such a brave action should be praised, yet alone she shares with us her life growing up in the puritan way of Islam.
But I got to tell you, her stands and understanding of Islam and life overall, does not represent the religion itself. Some of her arguments doesn’t felt right. Was it selfish or self-contradictory? Whenever you read this book, just make sure you just read it, don’t learn or practice any part of the religion without doing it and learning it so the proper way.
For me, I would prefer to not go questioning other people’s belief if you can’t have people questioning yours. You also can’t judge other people’s life or the way they live their life according to your limitations only.
Islam share the greatest way of life and only people itself would tarnish its beauty and replacing it with some self-made rules and regulations.
Also since she picked a lot of verses of Quran and hadits, it would be great if she would state down her reference to which verse of Quran and which hadits. Because I found that some part was wrongly written and that might cause some confusion and contradiction.
Albeit religion and racist are such a sensitive topic that should be talked about, the author did a great job delivering her stories of fundamentalist family practice puritan Islam to the whole world.
This book deserves, 3 stars!
Thank you Times Reads for sending me this Review Copy in exchange for an honest and transparent review. This book is available in all bookstores!
Yikes!
1. About.
The Colour Of God is a memoir written by Ayesha S. Chaudhry who is also a professor of Islamic Studies and Gender Studies.
This book centers around about a child raised in Canada by parents who embraced a puritanical version of Islam to shield them from racism.
The author explores the joys and sorrows of growing up in a fundamentalist Muslim household, wedding grand historical narratives of colonialism and migration to the small intimate heartbreaks of modern life and the ideas and beliefs she was raised with.
This book is an invitation to reimagine our ideas of self and family, state and citizenship, love and loss.
2. Memoir.
Reviewing this book also from a Muslim perspective, this memoir is so much relatable and inclusive. This book was beautifully written, it was mesmerizing.
It was like reading a whole life diary of her and I wanted to keep on reading to get to know her story better. Her words weren’t just crafted well to became such a great read, it was also rewarding for this story to be told and shared.
I enjoyed most of it and this book probably not the book you want, but could be the one you need.
3. Religion.
First and foremost, I would congrats the author for taking such a big stand to write a book that strongly centers around religion, fundamentalist, extremist, racist and of course other sensitive issues, compiling it in one book.
Such a brave action should be praised, yet alone she shares with us her life growing up in the puritan way of Islam.
But I got to tell you, her stands and understanding of Islam and life overall, does not represent the religion itself. Some of her arguments doesn’t felt right. Was it selfish or self-contradictory? Whenever you read this book, just make sure you just read it, don’t learn or practice any part of the religion without doing it and learning it so the proper way.
For me, I would prefer to not go questioning other people’s belief if you can’t have people questioning yours. You also can’t judge other people’s life or the way they live their life according to your limitations only.
Islam share the greatest way of life and only people itself would tarnish its beauty and replacing it with some self-made rules and regulations.
Also since she picked a lot of verses of Quran and hadits, it would be great if she would state down her reference to which verse of Quran and which hadits. Because I found that some part was wrongly written and that might cause some confusion and contradiction.
Albeit religion and racist are such a sensitive topic that should be talked about, the author did a great job delivering her stories of fundamentalist family practice puritan Islam to the whole world.
This book deserves, 3 stars!
Thank you Times Reads for sending me this Review Copy in exchange for an honest and transparent review. This book is available in all bookstores!
June 17, 2021
Chaudhry is a professor of Islamic studies and gender studies in Vancouver who uses her own life experiences to explore issues around race, religion, and gender in ways that sometimes challenged my own ideas and made me pay attention.
The author grew up in a fundamentalist Muslim family in Toronto -her parents joined what she describes as a cult, and she notes wryly that her white friends love this story and that she in effect dines out on it. However, she theorizes compellingly that her parents' fundamentalism was created by the racism they faced when they moved to Canada from Pakistan in the 70s. After a stint of trying to assimilate but facing racial discrimination, it became psychologically easier to be discriminated against for a choice (religion), and a choice they felt made them superior at that. Chaudhry also wore a niqab from high school through her early 20s, and it was interesting hearing how, from her perspective, both the active discrimination and the white liberal hand-wringing she faced were dehumanizing and also made it harder for her to fully acknowledge or share the complicated relationship she had with wearing a niqab. Her (not flattering) take on white feminists certainly got me thinking. Her thoughts on hair removal and grief - two very disparate topics - were fascinating. It occurred to me that in places she also may have been engaging in some dehumanization or eliding of groups (albeit more privileged ones - the aforementioned white feminists, people who choose to have children) , but I liked reading her strong views, and I liked being challenged by them.
The author grew up in a fundamentalist Muslim family in Toronto -her parents joined what she describes as a cult, and she notes wryly that her white friends love this story and that she in effect dines out on it. However, she theorizes compellingly that her parents' fundamentalism was created by the racism they faced when they moved to Canada from Pakistan in the 70s. After a stint of trying to assimilate but facing racial discrimination, it became psychologically easier to be discriminated against for a choice (religion), and a choice they felt made them superior at that. Chaudhry also wore a niqab from high school through her early 20s, and it was interesting hearing how, from her perspective, both the active discrimination and the white liberal hand-wringing she faced were dehumanizing and also made it harder for her to fully acknowledge or share the complicated relationship she had with wearing a niqab. Her (not flattering) take on white feminists certainly got me thinking. Her thoughts on hair removal and grief - two very disparate topics - were fascinating. It occurred to me that in places she also may have been engaging in some dehumanization or eliding of groups (albeit more privileged ones - the aforementioned white feminists, people who choose to have children) , but I liked reading her strong views, and I liked being challenged by them.
January 25, 2022
The Colour Of God by Ayesha S. Chaudhry- 4⭐
Content warnings: Child death, Racism, Xenophobia, Eating disorder
This is honestly my first time really reviewing a memoir and I’m not even surprised that I am a little hesitant in writing the review of this book. I’m gonna keep it short because I really have nothing much to say about this book. But first and foremost is that I really would love for people to read this book, it’s really very underrated and it needs to be read more.
This book is based on Ayesha who grew up in a puritan Islamic household and how navigates her life, her journey through this puritan way of living. Ayesha, throughout the text, shows how she is a devout Islamic but how she found the puritanical Islam to be problematic (I don’t really know if this I the right word to use).
Every chapter in this book delves into different topics and the way these are written really fascinated me. The take on education, on hair, on extremism, basically every chapter had me thinking so many things through. It made me question a lot and like I have mentioned, I underlined quite a lot in this book.
As someone who has only recently started questioning the beliefs and the traditions in my own house, I realized how I picked this book at the right time. I wouldn’t say that the tradition’s my family follows and what Ayesha’s family followed were totally the same, but there were many similar experiences and I felt myself relating to everything that she wrote.
In a simple language, this book explores so many important themes, and the strong opinions that Ayesha puts forth makes one ponder. I think two of my most favorite section of this book was the one about ‘Hair’ and the one on ‘children’.
Overall, I’d say this book is more than just a book about puritan Islam, and Ayesha mentions over and over, that we shouldn’t generalize her experience as that of ‘every Muslim’. She explores her fears, she puts forth her arguments in all honesty and that’s what I really loved about this book.
p.s. I’m not a Muslim so I can’t really say much on the content of this book and if I’ve said anything wrong, please let me know 😊
❣ find me on my socials here ❣
Blog | Instagram | Twitter |
Content warnings: Child death, Racism, Xenophobia, Eating disorder
This is honestly my first time really reviewing a memoir and I’m not even surprised that I am a little hesitant in writing the review of this book. I’m gonna keep it short because I really have nothing much to say about this book. But first and foremost is that I really would love for people to read this book, it’s really very underrated and it needs to be read more.
This book is based on Ayesha who grew up in a puritan Islamic household and how navigates her life, her journey through this puritan way of living. Ayesha, throughout the text, shows how she is a devout Islamic but how she found the puritanical Islam to be problematic (I don’t really know if this I the right word to use).
Every chapter in this book delves into different topics and the way these are written really fascinated me. The take on education, on hair, on extremism, basically every chapter had me thinking so many things through. It made me question a lot and like I have mentioned, I underlined quite a lot in this book.
As someone who has only recently started questioning the beliefs and the traditions in my own house, I realized how I picked this book at the right time. I wouldn’t say that the tradition’s my family follows and what Ayesha’s family followed were totally the same, but there were many similar experiences and I felt myself relating to everything that she wrote.
In a simple language, this book explores so many important themes, and the strong opinions that Ayesha puts forth makes one ponder. I think two of my most favorite section of this book was the one about ‘Hair’ and the one on ‘children’.
Overall, I’d say this book is more than just a book about puritan Islam, and Ayesha mentions over and over, that we shouldn’t generalize her experience as that of ‘every Muslim’. She explores her fears, she puts forth her arguments in all honesty and that’s what I really loved about this book.
p.s. I’m not a Muslim so I can’t really say much on the content of this book and if I’ve said anything wrong, please let me know 😊
❣ find me on my socials here ❣
Blog | Instagram | Twitter |
February 5, 2022
Giving it 5 stars as a memoir, and I'd underline this fact because the subjects (especially when it comes to Islam as a religion) were mostly written based on the Ayesha S Chaudry's, the author, personal perspective. There were many rooms for debate and discussion, but let's not go there, because again, this is a memoir.
The book consists of personal and family stories written as essays in chronological order (more or less), from the background story of the author's family migrated to Canada then how the racism caused them to get into Islamic fundamentalist cult. The writings were not only beautiful but also very honest and reflective. It let us, the readers, understand the dilemma, the confusion, the struggle, anger and sorrow of being a woman from South Asian fundamentalist Moslem family. She talked about her childhood, experience of wearing niqab, about body image (for women and men), decision for not having children, and about death. Some are painful, some are even funny.
I enjoyed reading it 😊
The book consists of personal and family stories written as essays in chronological order (more or less), from the background story of the author's family migrated to Canada then how the racism caused them to get into Islamic fundamentalist cult. The writings were not only beautiful but also very honest and reflective. It let us, the readers, understand the dilemma, the confusion, the struggle, anger and sorrow of being a woman from South Asian fundamentalist Moslem family. She talked about her childhood, experience of wearing niqab, about body image (for women and men), decision for not having children, and about death. Some are painful, some are even funny.
I enjoyed reading it 😊
April 15, 2021
It's publication day! The Colour of God is a memoir written by Ayesha Chaudhry and looks at the experience of a Canadian Muslim and how she navigates her life.
I learnt that Ayesha S. Chaudhry is a Professor of Islamic and Gender Studies, so naturally I was expecting an academic text. However, I was shocked to see that it was actually a memoir and a South Asian one at that. I really hate spoilers but there are a few moments in the book that really stuck with me that can embody a female Muslim experience.
Chaudhry is brutally honest and very down-to-earth in her manner of speaking. I don't know if everyone would find her that way or if it's because I am also a South Asian woman trying to make sense of my dual identity. She takes us to some very personal moments and makes us question contentious subjects.
The title itself became my first inquiry point into the text. I had never heard the term 'The Colour of God' and was shocked to find it in the Qur'an.
This translates as: (The) colour (religion) (of) Allah! And who (is) better than Allah at colouring? And we to Him are worshippers.
Interestingly, looking at the translation of this passage - some scholars take the literal meaning of colour, some refer to it as design, hue, belief, dye and a painting. It has both a literal and metaphorical use and is also the name of Ayesha's little nephew.
The text begins with:
My name is Sibghatullah.
What does your name mean?
The colour of God.
And what is the colour of God?
Umm...green, I think ... or maybe light brown.
The concept of colour returns several times throughout the text - in relation to grief, words, Islam and hope showing that her faith in God remains even though she questions certain practices.
She also refers to God as Herself several times too, which again put me on edge. Logically, I know that that the Arabic language - like most others - tends to use the male pronoun as an identifier even though God has no gender. However, hearing that just seemed wrong somehow and that is why Ayesha does it. Her purpose is to make us question what we have been told and find the equality in Islam - rather than the patriarchal Islam she had been exposed to growing up.
Another incident mentions her struggle with the niqab - and her birth into a cult that her parents had joined because of how they had been rejected by Western society after years of trying to assimilate. She makes it clear that this cult had nothing to do with violence or 'creeping shari'a' but rather a patriarchal force that sought to steal her imagination instead of its promise to be a 'free and liberating Islam'.
The niqab is a topic that is being debated heavily in the news given France's new laws and it should be noted that Chaudhry had been pressured into wearing the niqab before she adopted it into her own value system BUT this is not the case for all women. Her decision to remove it came from a quest for her own personal identity after being analysed under the human gaze. This is where Chaudhry's writing shines as she openly addresses the insecurities many women face in the West for looking outwardly Islamic. We realise she is just like us - trying to find her way in the world - free from the expectations that come from being a South Asian Muslim and wanting to reach our own version of Islam. I'm not saying I agree with everything she has said but I respect her right to feel like that without judgement. Mostly, it showed me the dangers of being too restrictive. She says,
"If we'd been raised with another, richer, more colourful Islam, the entire experience could have been different."
I would definitely be encouraging everyone to buy this - especially if you come from a similar background to the author. If you chose to discuss this in a book club you could look at:
• religion
• gender
• sexual trauma
• maternity
• death
• marriage
• integration
Let me know what you thought of this book and whether you agree/disagree with my review! Thank you to #NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
#thecolourofgod
I learnt that Ayesha S. Chaudhry is a Professor of Islamic and Gender Studies, so naturally I was expecting an academic text. However, I was shocked to see that it was actually a memoir and a South Asian one at that. I really hate spoilers but there are a few moments in the book that really stuck with me that can embody a female Muslim experience.
Chaudhry is brutally honest and very down-to-earth in her manner of speaking. I don't know if everyone would find her that way or if it's because I am also a South Asian woman trying to make sense of my dual identity. She takes us to some very personal moments and makes us question contentious subjects.
The title itself became my first inquiry point into the text. I had never heard the term 'The Colour of God' and was shocked to find it in the Qur'an.
This translates as: (The) colour (religion) (of) Allah! And who (is) better than Allah at colouring? And we to Him are worshippers.
Interestingly, looking at the translation of this passage - some scholars take the literal meaning of colour, some refer to it as design, hue, belief, dye and a painting. It has both a literal and metaphorical use and is also the name of Ayesha's little nephew.
The text begins with:
My name is Sibghatullah.
What does your name mean?
The colour of God.
And what is the colour of God?
Umm...green, I think ... or maybe light brown.
The concept of colour returns several times throughout the text - in relation to grief, words, Islam and hope showing that her faith in God remains even though she questions certain practices.
She also refers to God as Herself several times too, which again put me on edge. Logically, I know that that the Arabic language - like most others - tends to use the male pronoun as an identifier even though God has no gender. However, hearing that just seemed wrong somehow and that is why Ayesha does it. Her purpose is to make us question what we have been told and find the equality in Islam - rather than the patriarchal Islam she had been exposed to growing up.
Another incident mentions her struggle with the niqab - and her birth into a cult that her parents had joined because of how they had been rejected by Western society after years of trying to assimilate. She makes it clear that this cult had nothing to do with violence or 'creeping shari'a' but rather a patriarchal force that sought to steal her imagination instead of its promise to be a 'free and liberating Islam'.
The niqab is a topic that is being debated heavily in the news given France's new laws and it should be noted that Chaudhry had been pressured into wearing the niqab before she adopted it into her own value system BUT this is not the case for all women. Her decision to remove it came from a quest for her own personal identity after being analysed under the human gaze. This is where Chaudhry's writing shines as she openly addresses the insecurities many women face in the West for looking outwardly Islamic. We realise she is just like us - trying to find her way in the world - free from the expectations that come from being a South Asian Muslim and wanting to reach our own version of Islam. I'm not saying I agree with everything she has said but I respect her right to feel like that without judgement. Mostly, it showed me the dangers of being too restrictive. She says,
"If we'd been raised with another, richer, more colourful Islam, the entire experience could have been different."
I would definitely be encouraging everyone to buy this - especially if you come from a similar background to the author. If you chose to discuss this in a book club you could look at:
• religion
• gender
• sexual trauma
• maternity
• death
• marriage
• integration
Let me know what you thought of this book and whether you agree/disagree with my review! Thank you to #NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
#thecolourofgod
April 24, 2021
The joy of receiving an ARC is that I get to discover and enjoy books ahead of publication. The sorrow is that when I come across an incredible book which I want to immediately thrust into the hands of everyone I know, I have to wait until publication, and this is what I must suffer with The Colour of God by Ayesha S Chaudhry.
The Colour of God is so much more than a memoir, so much more than even the story of Ayesha’s intellectual and spiritual journey. It is literally the book I didn’t know I was waiting for. Ayesha dissects the multiple hypocrisies of patriarchy and racism through the lens of her and her family’s lived experiences. She explores her identity as a Canadian Muslim, often made to question her Canadian-ness for the presence of her hijab and niqab, always reminded of her otherness, and yet as she so eloquently illustrates the Islam her and her family practise is a distinctly Canadian manifestation; one born out of a rejection of those who would seek to reject them first, born out of a yearning for belonging and community in an environment that seeks to place them forever in the margins. Something many Muslims and others will no doubt be able to relate to.
She interweaves Urdu idioms, Quranic verses, Prophetic statements, and histories into the story of her lived experience illustrating how the past lives on in the present. She is searingly honest. You have been warned. With the same incisive and inquisitive mind that she had me feeling seen and understood, she also held up a mirror and delivered some uglier home truths. It’s clear that Chaudhry is all too aware as she relays her stories that they could easily be coopted by those who would use her words to confirm their prejudices, so she disrupts the narrative often to ensure correct framing of her stories. From beginning to end, it reads as resistance. Resistance against internal patriarchal offences against Islam and external Islamophobic assaults.
There are so many themes thoughtfully navigated; grief, marriage, euro-centric beauty standards, state violence, sexual assault, women’s choice to not have children (particularly prickly in a Muslim and/or South Asian context!) and so much more. The gift of Ayesha’s book is in her giving word and form to a Muslim female lived experience that I have personally experienced but never seen acknowledged in any sort of literature. It was inspiring to see a strong Muslim woman take ownership and exercise agency over her own intellectual and spiritual journey with Islam. Funnily enough it turns out we were both studying in Syria in the same year but at different institutes!
I received this book as a review copy from One World Publications but I will be buying multiple copies for friends and family, and highly recommend you pre-order it now!
I was able to invite Ayesha to have a chat with me about this incredibly important work of hers. The conversation can be found here: https://www.instagram.com/tv/CNxoQXAJ...
The Colour of God is so much more than a memoir, so much more than even the story of Ayesha’s intellectual and spiritual journey. It is literally the book I didn’t know I was waiting for. Ayesha dissects the multiple hypocrisies of patriarchy and racism through the lens of her and her family’s lived experiences. She explores her identity as a Canadian Muslim, often made to question her Canadian-ness for the presence of her hijab and niqab, always reminded of her otherness, and yet as she so eloquently illustrates the Islam her and her family practise is a distinctly Canadian manifestation; one born out of a rejection of those who would seek to reject them first, born out of a yearning for belonging and community in an environment that seeks to place them forever in the margins. Something many Muslims and others will no doubt be able to relate to.
She interweaves Urdu idioms, Quranic verses, Prophetic statements, and histories into the story of her lived experience illustrating how the past lives on in the present. She is searingly honest. You have been warned. With the same incisive and inquisitive mind that she had me feeling seen and understood, she also held up a mirror and delivered some uglier home truths. It’s clear that Chaudhry is all too aware as she relays her stories that they could easily be coopted by those who would use her words to confirm their prejudices, so she disrupts the narrative often to ensure correct framing of her stories. From beginning to end, it reads as resistance. Resistance against internal patriarchal offences against Islam and external Islamophobic assaults.
There are so many themes thoughtfully navigated; grief, marriage, euro-centric beauty standards, state violence, sexual assault, women’s choice to not have children (particularly prickly in a Muslim and/or South Asian context!) and so much more. The gift of Ayesha’s book is in her giving word and form to a Muslim female lived experience that I have personally experienced but never seen acknowledged in any sort of literature. It was inspiring to see a strong Muslim woman take ownership and exercise agency over her own intellectual and spiritual journey with Islam. Funnily enough it turns out we were both studying in Syria in the same year but at different institutes!
I received this book as a review copy from One World Publications but I will be buying multiple copies for friends and family, and highly recommend you pre-order it now!
I was able to invite Ayesha to have a chat with me about this incredibly important work of hers. The conversation can be found here: https://www.instagram.com/tv/CNxoQXAJ...
March 12, 2021
When @sofia_reading mentioned that Ayesha S. Chaudhry is going to publish a book, I immediately check it up and it turned that the book is not an academic text but a memoir! It is always compelling that the scholar that you used to read their works for education purpose is writing something less theoretical but more personal one. So I was enthusiastic to read it.
I was hoping to find out how she became a Professor of Islamic Studies and Gender Studies. Yet book is beyond Ayesha S. Chaudhry’s personal memoir. This book is not only a South Asian descent woman’s memoir. This book is Muslim woman’s memoir. I could highlight every page as they all resonates with me.
She recollects her and her family’s lived experiences: as a Canadian Muslim woman from Pakistani parents who embrace puritanical Islam after failed attempt on assimilation because of racial discrimination. She explores the desire of belonging to the community where she lives in with her hijab and niqab on, patriarchal tyrants, her ideal of state & citizenship, taking ownership of one’s own body, typical (South) Asian mother-daughter relationship, and the loss of her loved one.
The book is fiercely honest, it lays bare the bitter truth of being raised in the fundamentalist Muslim household. Her voice here is many women’s voice out there which sometimes seen as oppressed by the West when it is actually their rejection to these people that then they decide to amplify their religious identities. She uncovers the stories of resistance to the patriarchal Islam and Islamophobic society and institution.
I was repeatedly heartbroken and entertained as she tells the stories eloquently from beginning to end. Could you imagine how a story of body hair could move from personal, philosophical, religious to political? She places Qur’anic verse, Prophetic and Urdu sayings making them relevant to the story she is telling, making the historical universal.
Behind her intellectual state today lays a long chain of distinctive spiritual events that is heartening to learn from. There no denying it goes into my Favourites List 2021, a very memorable one!
Thank you @oneworldpublications for sending me the e-ARC through @netgalley. If you reading a memoir from Muslim woman is on your #ReadingToChallenge list, then this book is unquestionably for you. It will be published on May 11th 2021 so you can pre-order now.
I was hoping to find out how she became a Professor of Islamic Studies and Gender Studies. Yet book is beyond Ayesha S. Chaudhry’s personal memoir. This book is not only a South Asian descent woman’s memoir. This book is Muslim woman’s memoir. I could highlight every page as they all resonates with me.
She recollects her and her family’s lived experiences: as a Canadian Muslim woman from Pakistani parents who embrace puritanical Islam after failed attempt on assimilation because of racial discrimination. She explores the desire of belonging to the community where she lives in with her hijab and niqab on, patriarchal tyrants, her ideal of state & citizenship, taking ownership of one’s own body, typical (South) Asian mother-daughter relationship, and the loss of her loved one.
The book is fiercely honest, it lays bare the bitter truth of being raised in the fundamentalist Muslim household. Her voice here is many women’s voice out there which sometimes seen as oppressed by the West when it is actually their rejection to these people that then they decide to amplify their religious identities. She uncovers the stories of resistance to the patriarchal Islam and Islamophobic society and institution.
I was repeatedly heartbroken and entertained as she tells the stories eloquently from beginning to end. Could you imagine how a story of body hair could move from personal, philosophical, religious to political? She places Qur’anic verse, Prophetic and Urdu sayings making them relevant to the story she is telling, making the historical universal.
Behind her intellectual state today lays a long chain of distinctive spiritual events that is heartening to learn from. There no denying it goes into my Favourites List 2021, a very memorable one!
Thank you @oneworldpublications for sending me the e-ARC through @netgalley. If you reading a memoir from Muslim woman is on your #ReadingToChallenge list, then this book is unquestionably for you. It will be published on May 11th 2021 so you can pre-order now.
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May 8, 2021"'Extreme' is a label we put on behaviors and ideas that deviate from what we consider the 'norm', what is usual, ordinary, customary...But what if the norm is monstrous, oppressive, cruel? What if the norm is genocidal? What if the norm turns lives into commodities, to be bought and sold; what if the norm values, say, money above else, above the earth herself? Where, then, do we place the extremes?"
The Color of God is a memoir by Ayesha Siddiqua Chaudhry. It centers around her experience as a Muslim in Canada. As the title suggests, the examination of religion (in particular, Islam) plays a major role in this book. In my honest opinion, this non-fiction examines certain eye-opening and interesting concepts: Muslim patriarchy, religious persecution, cultural assimilation, colonialism vs religion, the concept of fundamentalist Islam, the relationship between the state and religion, social and moral policing, gender roles in the eyes of Islam, the dichotomy between "the West" and Islam, racism and Islamophobia, the study of Quran, the wearing of the religious veil by Muslim women (which was interlaced with discrimination, masculinity, and feminism), the notion of White feminism, the description of Muslim burial rituals, the concept of puritanism and Puritan Islam. These issues and concepts are definitely intriguing and I have to say, the author writes beautifully.
However, while certain notions are interesting to me, I strenuously disagree with some of the arguments presented by the author. To a certain extent, I thought some of the arguments and examples are self-contradictory. I am not going to raise it here as I think people in social media do not really appreciate the meaning of "agree to disagree". I am also not going to rate this book as I have a lot of mixed views when I am reading this. At the end of the day, religion is always a sensitive issue. My view towards religion is as simple as this: You can practice any religion that you believe in, but please do not impose your beliefs on others. If you don't appreciate others questioning your religious practice or beliefs, please don't start questioning why others do not follow your religious practice. That said, this is definitely a thought-provoking read. Thanks to Times Read for sending this review copy to me!
The Color of God is a memoir by Ayesha Siddiqua Chaudhry. It centers around her experience as a Muslim in Canada. As the title suggests, the examination of religion (in particular, Islam) plays a major role in this book. In my honest opinion, this non-fiction examines certain eye-opening and interesting concepts: Muslim patriarchy, religious persecution, cultural assimilation, colonialism vs religion, the concept of fundamentalist Islam, the relationship between the state and religion, social and moral policing, gender roles in the eyes of Islam, the dichotomy between "the West" and Islam, racism and Islamophobia, the study of Quran, the wearing of the religious veil by Muslim women (which was interlaced with discrimination, masculinity, and feminism), the notion of White feminism, the description of Muslim burial rituals, the concept of puritanism and Puritan Islam. These issues and concepts are definitely intriguing and I have to say, the author writes beautifully.
However, while certain notions are interesting to me, I strenuously disagree with some of the arguments presented by the author. To a certain extent, I thought some of the arguments and examples are self-contradictory. I am not going to raise it here as I think people in social media do not really appreciate the meaning of "agree to disagree". I am also not going to rate this book as I have a lot of mixed views when I am reading this. At the end of the day, religion is always a sensitive issue. My view towards religion is as simple as this: You can practice any religion that you believe in, but please do not impose your beliefs on others. If you don't appreciate others questioning your religious practice or beliefs, please don't start questioning why others do not follow your religious practice. That said, this is definitely a thought-provoking read. Thanks to Times Read for sending this review copy to me!
July 1, 2021
In The Colour of God, Ayesha Chaudry dissects her experiences growing up under the strict religious clutches of her parents in Canada. We learn from the beginning that Ayesha’s complex religious journey is rooted in her mother’s relationship with discrimination that she faced in Canada: “Her response to discrimination was to hyper-emphasise her religious identity - shift it from being racial to religious.”
At the heart of this memoir is a beautiful portrayal of self-discovery of a Muslim woman against the backdrop of racism, patriarchal culture and strict religious belief. Through wisdom and humor, Ayesha explores so many themes and topics such as the wearing of hijab, the nature of colonial legacy, the rituals of Muslim burials, the hypocrisy of white feminism and the misguided ideals of Muslim women as backward and oppressed.
The most interesting aspect of this memoir is how Ayesha succinctly illustrates the struggles of her journey in covering her hair and face in Canada with such openness and transparency. She admits that she was pressured to wear niqab when she was in middle school but then she also thinks that it would break her heart if her daughter decided not to wear it. She acknowledges that some things become more difficult with niqab but at the same time she tried really hard to prove to people around her that niqab didn’t stop her from anything.
These illustrations, almost seem self contradictory at some point. However, Ayesha reminds us: “That there is no simple, uncomplicated person. No one fits in a box, ever. Humans, by their very definition, are leaky.” All in all, I really appreciate the odyssey of humor, insights and emotions that the author penned in this memoir. The writing style is surprisingly effortless and straightforward, which makes this quite an easy read. This is a fantastic memoir that doesn’t appeal to the white audience and I highly recommend it.
Thank you Times Reads for the review copy in exchange for an honest review.
At the heart of this memoir is a beautiful portrayal of self-discovery of a Muslim woman against the backdrop of racism, patriarchal culture and strict religious belief. Through wisdom and humor, Ayesha explores so many themes and topics such as the wearing of hijab, the nature of colonial legacy, the rituals of Muslim burials, the hypocrisy of white feminism and the misguided ideals of Muslim women as backward and oppressed.
The most interesting aspect of this memoir is how Ayesha succinctly illustrates the struggles of her journey in covering her hair and face in Canada with such openness and transparency. She admits that she was pressured to wear niqab when she was in middle school but then she also thinks that it would break her heart if her daughter decided not to wear it. She acknowledges that some things become more difficult with niqab but at the same time she tried really hard to prove to people around her that niqab didn’t stop her from anything.
These illustrations, almost seem self contradictory at some point. However, Ayesha reminds us: “That there is no simple, uncomplicated person. No one fits in a box, ever. Humans, by their very definition, are leaky.” All in all, I really appreciate the odyssey of humor, insights and emotions that the author penned in this memoir. The writing style is surprisingly effortless and straightforward, which makes this quite an easy read. This is a fantastic memoir that doesn’t appeal to the white audience and I highly recommend it.
Thank you Times Reads for the review copy in exchange for an honest review.
June 8, 2021
"The reason, in the end, that my mother decided to wear a burqa in Canada was not because of Muslim patriarchy, but because of racism, because of a decade spent trying to assimilate but failing - and it felt like failure - to be accepted as Canadian" - Ayesha S. Chaudhry.
I finished reading this book yesterday after I came home and found my dad in tears over the news of a Muslim family killed in London Ontario. Hate crime, he told me as we watched the news together. Ayesha's words on Islamophobia seemed to hit harder after hearing about this tragedy. Some books really do find the reader at the right time.
Ayesha tells us that her story does not represent mainstream Islam or Muslims, but that does not mean that it's any less important. I hope we see more Muslim women tell their stories because while each one is unique, there is still something relatable within each story that ties us together in some way. Seeing a Muslim woman being given a space to tell her story is a victory for all of us.
It would be difficult to classify her book only as a memoir because it does more than just tell her story of her parents embracing a puritanical version of Islam and how it shaped her childhood and young adult years. Her book also explores Islamophobia, colonialism, the immigrant experience, loss, family and community.
This is a story that is told with so much honesty and reflection. We follow Ayesha as she experiences the fear that comes with being a visible Muslim in this world and all the ways she must defend or explain her beliefs. I appreciated the way she approached her parent's history from their years in Pakistan to when they arrived in Canada and how she came to terms with her upbringing. Overall, this book left me feeling many emotions and I'm so grateful to have found it on bookstagram. Thank you @sofia_reading for recommending this book.
I finished reading this book yesterday after I came home and found my dad in tears over the news of a Muslim family killed in London Ontario. Hate crime, he told me as we watched the news together. Ayesha's words on Islamophobia seemed to hit harder after hearing about this tragedy. Some books really do find the reader at the right time.
Ayesha tells us that her story does not represent mainstream Islam or Muslims, but that does not mean that it's any less important. I hope we see more Muslim women tell their stories because while each one is unique, there is still something relatable within each story that ties us together in some way. Seeing a Muslim woman being given a space to tell her story is a victory for all of us.
It would be difficult to classify her book only as a memoir because it does more than just tell her story of her parents embracing a puritanical version of Islam and how it shaped her childhood and young adult years. Her book also explores Islamophobia, colonialism, the immigrant experience, loss, family and community.
This is a story that is told with so much honesty and reflection. We follow Ayesha as she experiences the fear that comes with being a visible Muslim in this world and all the ways she must defend or explain her beliefs. I appreciated the way she approached her parent's history from their years in Pakistan to when they arrived in Canada and how she came to terms with her upbringing. Overall, this book left me feeling many emotions and I'm so grateful to have found it on bookstagram. Thank you @sofia_reading for recommending this book.
January 17, 2022
Book blurb: This is the story of a child raised in Canada by parents who embraced a puritanical version of Islam to shield them from racism.
To this day, I am perplexed when I talk to people who don't acknowledge that the majority of humans on the planet simply embraced the religion of their parents or families. If you really understand that, then you might just as easily be Muslim, Christian, Agnostic, etc. as whatever you are today. And if you really understand that, then your religion of origin is rather similar to your native language - an accident of birth. And that changes everything.
I digress. This book asks thought provoking questions. There are things I had not considered, and I say this an immigrant woman of color. Fascinating and enlightening read. Highly recommended.
To this day, I am perplexed when I talk to people who don't acknowledge that the majority of humans on the planet simply embraced the religion of their parents or families. If you really understand that, then you might just as easily be Muslim, Christian, Agnostic, etc. as whatever you are today. And if you really understand that, then your religion of origin is rather similar to your native language - an accident of birth. And that changes everything.
I digress. This book asks thought provoking questions. There are things I had not considered, and I say this an immigrant woman of color. Fascinating and enlightening read. Highly recommended.
July 12, 2021
The Colour of God is a captivating memoir in which the author invites readers to ride with her on her journey as she grew up as the daughter of Pakistani Muslim immigrants in Canada. Because she was raised in a conservative Muslim home, rather than simply jumping on the train of stereotypes that always appeared around Islam as an uncompromising extremes religion and blaming solely to the religion she was born into, her story on the other hand has thrown open a great discussion for us to examine the complexities of cultural variances and religious experiences to which has shaped her belief in finding herself.
The author begins her memoir by introducing us to the roots that had thrown their families far from their home country, into the foreign land of Canada. She manages to discuss at length about the aftermath of British colonialism in South Asia on the people there and how the horrible events that took place in their homeland had led to many of them fleeing to other countries for a better future only to get crushed under the bootheel of racism and discrimination. And that’s how the idea of puritanical Islam existed in her family - it’s a shield to protect them against racial discrimination.
With extensive examinations, she also shares her deeply personal account of wearing the niqab upon graduating primary school. For some critics, this may seem like backward oppression but if you really try to delve into her story, I think you’ll be able to understand where all this is coming from - deep-seated in the culture that believed women's devotion was decided by their clothes; the more covered, the more pious. She doesn't hate the idea of women wearing the hijab but she loathes the idea originally coming from patriarchal interpretation, as one who has the right to dictate strict rules controlling women’s attire.
Also, topics related to the responsibility of caring for the elderly, extremism in religion, the relationship of women with body hair & the idea of having kids are another intriguing evidence of Ayesha’s writings that she discusses with critical gaze. They provide plenty of food for my thoughts and I love how it has made me think and learn about so many new things that I never knew or thought about before.
RECOMMENDED!
Thank you Times Reads for sending me a review copy of this book in return for an honest review. This book is available in all good bookstores Malaysia and Singapore.
INSTAGRAM | TWITTER
The author begins her memoir by introducing us to the roots that had thrown their families far from their home country, into the foreign land of Canada. She manages to discuss at length about the aftermath of British colonialism in South Asia on the people there and how the horrible events that took place in their homeland had led to many of them fleeing to other countries for a better future only to get crushed under the bootheel of racism and discrimination. And that’s how the idea of puritanical Islam existed in her family - it’s a shield to protect them against racial discrimination.
With extensive examinations, she also shares her deeply personal account of wearing the niqab upon graduating primary school. For some critics, this may seem like backward oppression but if you really try to delve into her story, I think you’ll be able to understand where all this is coming from - deep-seated in the culture that believed women's devotion was decided by their clothes; the more covered, the more pious. She doesn't hate the idea of women wearing the hijab but she loathes the idea originally coming from patriarchal interpretation, as one who has the right to dictate strict rules controlling women’s attire.
Also, topics related to the responsibility of caring for the elderly, extremism in religion, the relationship of women with body hair & the idea of having kids are another intriguing evidence of Ayesha’s writings that she discusses with critical gaze. They provide plenty of food for my thoughts and I love how it has made me think and learn about so many new things that I never knew or thought about before.
RECOMMENDED!
Thank you Times Reads for sending me a review copy of this book in return for an honest review. This book is available in all good bookstores Malaysia and Singapore.
INSTAGRAM | TWITTER
April 22, 2021
This gorgeous memoir belongs to the voice of Chaudhry, a Canadian Muslim of South Asian descent. It's interesting to learn about her upbringing as her parents shared the belief of a putanical version of Islam thus Ayesha was exposed to a fundamentalist childhood. In this book, the author shared the reason behind her parents' conservative ideas of religion, that is to shield them from racism in the white-dominant society as they've struggled hard in their initial efforts to assimilate into the Western culture.
"If we never wanted to belong in the first place, we wouldn't care when people mocked us. My parents pulled my older brother and sister out of choir, chess club, track and all other extra-curricular activities. They got rid of the TV, stopped listening to music and quit reading anything that could be a purveyor of 'Western' culture. Instead, they focused their energies on studying Islam, learning to recite the Qur'an properly, listenintg to Islamic lectures from Urdu-speaking preachers on audio cassettes. If all they were going to be was 'Paki', they might as well be proper Pakis, learn their culture and their religion.``
The experiences of growing up in a fundamentalist household has been discussed in-depth, for example, the author raised her curiosity over the rejection of birthday celebration and the meaning of birthday in the eyes of fundamentalist. She also explored the difficult relationship between Western society and people of her colour, especially the impact of colonialism that sparks political and military tensions between territories and borders, migration and citizenship, and the feeling of distrusts towards Muslim practices. Overall, this book is a 3.5/5 to me. Quite eye-opening to learn about Ayesha and her experience as a Muslim woman who has been constantly scrutinised under human gaze. Still, she doesn't give up in finding her own personal identity and redefining the meaning of her, her insecurities and her religion as she navigates life. "If we'd been raised with another, richer, more colourful Islam, the entire experience could have been different."
"If we never wanted to belong in the first place, we wouldn't care when people mocked us. My parents pulled my older brother and sister out of choir, chess club, track and all other extra-curricular activities. They got rid of the TV, stopped listening to music and quit reading anything that could be a purveyor of 'Western' culture. Instead, they focused their energies on studying Islam, learning to recite the Qur'an properly, listenintg to Islamic lectures from Urdu-speaking preachers on audio cassettes. If all they were going to be was 'Paki', they might as well be proper Pakis, learn their culture and their religion.``
The experiences of growing up in a fundamentalist household has been discussed in-depth, for example, the author raised her curiosity over the rejection of birthday celebration and the meaning of birthday in the eyes of fundamentalist. She also explored the difficult relationship between Western society and people of her colour, especially the impact of colonialism that sparks political and military tensions between territories and borders, migration and citizenship, and the feeling of distrusts towards Muslim practices. Overall, this book is a 3.5/5 to me. Quite eye-opening to learn about Ayesha and her experience as a Muslim woman who has been constantly scrutinised under human gaze. Still, she doesn't give up in finding her own personal identity and redefining the meaning of her, her insecurities and her religion as she navigates life. "If we'd been raised with another, richer, more colourful Islam, the entire experience could have been different."
July 13, 2025
I think that this is one of the most underrated pieces of literature which deserves a huge amount of popularity which it doesn't yet have - I recommend it to everyone in my life but they are yet to read it. I think that this story resonates with Tara Westover's Educated, as both women grew up in a fundamentalist family, although for Chaudhry this was only for a period of her upbringing. This book brings much needed attention and insight into the lives of Muslim women, particularly hijabis and niqabis, but also has important resonance with things that every woman experiences such as shame, over-sexualisation, the commodification of our bodies, feminism, sexual assault, and trying to find our place and identity in this world. I think that this book is a must-read for everyone, but especially for women. This is the second time that I've read it, and I did it in a day this time round and it captured me just as much as before.
March 24, 2023
DNF @65%
While this book is more memoir than sociological, the authors training in the field shows more as she muses over her experiences and questions the motivations of her own actions and those of people around her. She questions labels such as “extremism” and what they really mean but uses terms like puritanical, feminist, equitable to describe versions of Islam, as if that should be clear and understandable. She draws from her personal experience and sort of expects the reader to be on the same page as her. I would have appreciated if at least *some* of this was backed up by any kind of research, concrete quotes from other scholars, maybe even her own peers (that she seems to have a certain disdain towards)
Overall I related to a lot of the authors experiences, growing up in a more conservative Muslim community, wearing niqab, not questioning what we were taught at the time and so on and so forth. Where we differ were her views on almost everything else. The woman did a PhD in Islamic Studies and seems to have crafted her own unique understanding of the religion that no one has ever heard of before.. (this is why I would have appreciated some kind of research or insight into her understanding of religion) Sometimes for me this went too far. The Islam I practice, the author would probably describe as “puritanical”, but my last straw with this book as I listened to it during the month of Ramadan was when the Nabi Muhammad (peace be upon him) was mentioned, again without any honorifics or sending blessings upon him, and then questioned as if he were not bringing the word of Allah to us. I listen to this in shock- I thought we were all Muslims in the (figurative) room, so when the author began applying her 21st century sociological lens on the prophet SAW himself, questioning if he commanded us to do something for purification or if it was bc he felt that humans looked better a certain way.. I was taken aback. That was enough for me, thank you.
I know books by Muslims are not always Islamic, and I gave this one so so many chances but she just disappointed me again and again.
While this book is more memoir than sociological, the authors training in the field shows more as she muses over her experiences and questions the motivations of her own actions and those of people around her. She questions labels such as “extremism” and what they really mean but uses terms like puritanical, feminist, equitable to describe versions of Islam, as if that should be clear and understandable. She draws from her personal experience and sort of expects the reader to be on the same page as her. I would have appreciated if at least *some* of this was backed up by any kind of research, concrete quotes from other scholars, maybe even her own peers (that she seems to have a certain disdain towards)
Overall I related to a lot of the authors experiences, growing up in a more conservative Muslim community, wearing niqab, not questioning what we were taught at the time and so on and so forth. Where we differ were her views on almost everything else. The woman did a PhD in Islamic Studies and seems to have crafted her own unique understanding of the religion that no one has ever heard of before.. (this is why I would have appreciated some kind of research or insight into her understanding of religion) Sometimes for me this went too far. The Islam I practice, the author would probably describe as “puritanical”, but my last straw with this book as I listened to it during the month of Ramadan was when the Nabi Muhammad (peace be upon him) was mentioned, again without any honorifics or sending blessings upon him, and then questioned as if he were not bringing the word of Allah to us. I listen to this in shock- I thought we were all Muslims in the (figurative) room, so when the author began applying her 21st century sociological lens on the prophet SAW himself, questioning if he commanded us to do something for purification or if it was bc he felt that humans looked better a certain way.. I was taken aback. That was enough for me, thank you.
I know books by Muslims are not always Islamic, and I gave this one so so many chances but she just disappointed me again and again.
July 3, 2023
Family and religion is really a close knitted relationship. I (and a lot of people around me, I guess) often think we were born to this religion. It is surely a journey to understand my own religion and most of the time, this journey roots to our own family. This book tells the author's feelings about everything I mentioned. Although I cant truly relate to some experiences, I'm sure many of us can mirror the journey. Thank you for sharing your story, dear Ayesha.
June 8, 2021
How much of a role does colour play in your life?
Chauvinism. A term that describes a group's feeling of superiority over others.
Humans have a wide history of fighting within ourselves. Do we want a fight? Are we forced to participate due to an obligation towards our community? Neither of these questions matter if the superiority complex of a so called 'leader' comes into play.
'The Colour of God' is an insightful, beautiful and informative book on race, religion, diaspora, gender and discrimination. It's the author's account, or rather her memoir on life events that shaped her and made her into the empowering woman she is.
It brings into perspective various misconceptions we come across in daily life, and why it is important to question religious/community practices if it doesn't appeal to us. As a person living in a country that is in constant war with a Muslim country, people are indeed very outright in throwing around allegations and accusations against the very Muslims who live around us.
There's so much more for us to learn and understand. If we see the world in a singular mind without allowing room for thought and improvement, we might as well declare war on people who seem different to us.
Read this book. Please.
Chauvinism. A term that describes a group's feeling of superiority over others.
Humans have a wide history of fighting within ourselves. Do we want a fight? Are we forced to participate due to an obligation towards our community? Neither of these questions matter if the superiority complex of a so called 'leader' comes into play.
'The Colour of God' is an insightful, beautiful and informative book on race, religion, diaspora, gender and discrimination. It's the author's account, or rather her memoir on life events that shaped her and made her into the empowering woman she is.
It brings into perspective various misconceptions we come across in daily life, and why it is important to question religious/community practices if it doesn't appeal to us. As a person living in a country that is in constant war with a Muslim country, people are indeed very outright in throwing around allegations and accusations against the very Muslims who live around us.
There's so much more for us to learn and understand. If we see the world in a singular mind without allowing room for thought and improvement, we might as well declare war on people who seem different to us.
Read this book. Please.
November 7, 2023
The events of the book were relatable, as irrespective of religion, conservative and patriarchal methods were the same all around the world. After a while it would seem recurring and boring to read the same old story and the same impact on the author, but that’s how these conservative ideas get drilled into the new generation.
https://archanaonline.com/book-review...
https://archanaonline.com/book-review...
October 6, 2021
Reading memoirs is not something I usually do, but in this one, I felt some of my own experiences and thoughts reflected back at me. This was a heartfelt and inquisitive memoir; you felt like you were growing with the author.
May 2, 2023
autobiography, the life of Ayesha, so far in her 40's, her family, her faith & how she sees womanhood through her cultures. beaurifully written, sad and funny, relatable. well worth a read. audiobooj
November 10, 2023
The author spoke at our college book festival, she was so engaging and inspiring! This is a poignant, powerful but very readable book.
May 27, 2025
Good memoir of Muslim life in Canada and US.
March 28, 2022
Pakistani migrants need to read this book. One of the most relatable texts I have ever read. I am at home with the metaphors, and anecdotes. Ayesha's writing is beautiful, challenging especially balancing perspectives, which is difficult because your perspective of a perspective is still another perspective.
May 18, 2021
“So the lesson I learned was this: the powerless have only a merciful God to rely upon, whereas the powerful can rely on the mercy of the state.”
an ode to Muslim women - to Islam even as the author, Ayesha Chaudhry, navigates her own spiritual and intellectual journey with it. She speaks on society’s expectations and silencing of Muslim women - how people only listen to confirm biases rooted in Islamophobia. Chaudhry found herself unable to tell her story and also exhausted from constantly proving her humanity because of the politicized nature of the veil. To rob someone’s story of complexity and depth is to dismiss their humanity.
An ode to South Asia. This memoir explores the impact of British colonialism and the violence of partition where millions of people were displaced and forcibly moved between Pakistan and India. Chaudhry also interrogates how this story is told in history books. Those in power attempt to diminish their crimes and erase people’s pain by calling it a “migration” in their dominant narratives to keep from taking responsibility.
As a South Asian Muslim woman in Canada, she highlights the plight of immigrants, of her family. Her discourse on the settler colonial state and patriotism is powerful and necessary.
An ode to her family indeed. She shares on joy, loss, her husband’s beauty, her decision to not have children, her mother who inspired her to become an Islamic scholar.
I love this book. I love memoirs that intentionally tell personal stories to examine wider historical and political themes. There’s so much more in here, so please read for yourself. Thank you @sofia_reading for sharing this recommendation and for the wonderful author interview.
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#thecolourofgod #southasia #southasianauthors #southasianbooks #muslimliterature #muslimbooks #muslimwomen #muslimstories #bookstagram #memoir #bookrecommendations #bookreflection #booklover #bookreview #bookblogger #bipocreads #bipocbooks #diversereads #southasianhistory
an ode to Muslim women - to Islam even as the author, Ayesha Chaudhry, navigates her own spiritual and intellectual journey with it. She speaks on society’s expectations and silencing of Muslim women - how people only listen to confirm biases rooted in Islamophobia. Chaudhry found herself unable to tell her story and also exhausted from constantly proving her humanity because of the politicized nature of the veil. To rob someone’s story of complexity and depth is to dismiss their humanity.
An ode to South Asia. This memoir explores the impact of British colonialism and the violence of partition where millions of people were displaced and forcibly moved between Pakistan and India. Chaudhry also interrogates how this story is told in history books. Those in power attempt to diminish their crimes and erase people’s pain by calling it a “migration” in their dominant narratives to keep from taking responsibility.
As a South Asian Muslim woman in Canada, she highlights the plight of immigrants, of her family. Her discourse on the settler colonial state and patriotism is powerful and necessary.
An ode to her family indeed. She shares on joy, loss, her husband’s beauty, her decision to not have children, her mother who inspired her to become an Islamic scholar.
I love this book. I love memoirs that intentionally tell personal stories to examine wider historical and political themes. There’s so much more in here, so please read for yourself. Thank you @sofia_reading for sharing this recommendation and for the wonderful author interview.
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October 31, 2022
A surprise discovery. This is easily one of the best books I've ever read exploring the challenges of growing up with, within, and beyond religious fundamentalism.
May 21, 2022
The world is better with this book in it ~
May 14, 2021
Ayesha S Chaudhary is a professor of Gender and Islamic Studies at the University of British Colombia. A crisis of faith brought on by the sudden death of her nephew led The author to re-examine her upbringing as a Canadian Muslim with parents, who she says adopted a puritanical interpretation of Islam after failed attempts at assimilation into Canadian society.
Ayesha writes in an unapologetically honest, intellectual, passionate, thought provoking and sometimes humorous way about the impact that patriarchy, colonialism, fundamentalism, feminism, assimilation, body image, sexual abuse, mother-daughter relationships and also grief amongst many others has on people and on their religious outlook. I literally devoured the book but had to keep going back to re-read parts of it in order to process what I had just read. Some of it I could resonate with and some made me slightly uncomfortable until I could see why the author was including it. It was enlightening to read Ayesha’s views and opinions on certain Islamic and non Islamic matters.
This book is not written in the traditional linear format of a memoir and left me with a lot of questions which were alluded to but never clarified. Instead through glimpses of her own life, or that of family members, readers are left to self-examine and reflect in order to get a better understanding of the emotional processes and life choices which make a person who they are.
I was also dubious about the title and it forced me to think about why it was titled as such. There is a verse in the Quran (Sura Baqarah 2:138) which begins with Sibgathullah, which is also the name of Ayesha’s nephew, and can be translated to mean the “colour/ hue/ religion of Allah.”
This verse had never stood out to me before and it’s amazing how we come across things which make us reflect in life.. Islam is more than just the outward appearance which identifies us as Muslim, although this is important as when you colour or dye something, the outward colour is what you see first...it is also about the way in which we absorb or immerse ourselves in the religion, both outwardly and inwardly, through our behaviour and interactions and how it becomes embedded in our inner core.
It is clear that as parents we have a huge influence on our children and the paths they follow just as children have an influence on the paths parents take too. This is a book which, depending on your outlook, will draw you in and leave you to deeply contemplate and is definitely one which will stay with me for many reasons.
Thank you to @sofia_reading for bringing this book to my attention and for your lovely post about the title. Thanks also to @oneworldpublishing and @the_colour_of_god for sending me an ARC in return for an honest review. I actually found this book quite difficult to review as there was so much packed into it and if I included quotes I would be including the majority of the book! It is definitely one which is worth reading and I feel i have gained a lot from it.
Ayesha writes in an unapologetically honest, intellectual, passionate, thought provoking and sometimes humorous way about the impact that patriarchy, colonialism, fundamentalism, feminism, assimilation, body image, sexual abuse, mother-daughter relationships and also grief amongst many others has on people and on their religious outlook. I literally devoured the book but had to keep going back to re-read parts of it in order to process what I had just read. Some of it I could resonate with and some made me slightly uncomfortable until I could see why the author was including it. It was enlightening to read Ayesha’s views and opinions on certain Islamic and non Islamic matters.
This book is not written in the traditional linear format of a memoir and left me with a lot of questions which were alluded to but never clarified. Instead through glimpses of her own life, or that of family members, readers are left to self-examine and reflect in order to get a better understanding of the emotional processes and life choices which make a person who they are.
I was also dubious about the title and it forced me to think about why it was titled as such. There is a verse in the Quran (Sura Baqarah 2:138) which begins with Sibgathullah, which is also the name of Ayesha’s nephew, and can be translated to mean the “colour/ hue/ religion of Allah.”
This verse had never stood out to me before and it’s amazing how we come across things which make us reflect in life.. Islam is more than just the outward appearance which identifies us as Muslim, although this is important as when you colour or dye something, the outward colour is what you see first...it is also about the way in which we absorb or immerse ourselves in the religion, both outwardly and inwardly, through our behaviour and interactions and how it becomes embedded in our inner core.
It is clear that as parents we have a huge influence on our children and the paths they follow just as children have an influence on the paths parents take too. This is a book which, depending on your outlook, will draw you in and leave you to deeply contemplate and is definitely one which will stay with me for many reasons.
Thank you to @sofia_reading for bringing this book to my attention and for your lovely post about the title. Thanks also to @oneworldpublishing and @the_colour_of_god for sending me an ARC in return for an honest review. I actually found this book quite difficult to review as there was so much packed into it and if I included quotes I would be including the majority of the book! It is definitely one which is worth reading and I feel i have gained a lot from it.
February 23, 2022
The Colour of God by Ayesha S Chaudhry
I picked up The Colour of God entirely on @sofia_reading's recommendation who put me in touch with the publishers. Sofia has never let me down with a recommendation and The Colour of God was a beautiful book.
The Colour of God is memoir that touches on love, loss, family, identify, citizenship, marriage and more. Ayesha Chaudhry explores her relationship with Islam and how her family's relationship with faith changed in response to the racism they experienced in Canada.
She speaks openly and honestly about her relationship with faith. She talks about her experiences of growing up wearing the niqab and the judgement she faced. However the way Chaudhry wove this into a wider narrative about the policing of women's clothes and appearances and how women who wear very little are also condemned and sexually objectified. She points out the double standards of the patriarchy and shows it doesn't matter how she outwardly identified, the patriarchy would choose a reason to condemn her because she's a woman. Whether that's because she doesn't meet eurocentric beauty standards or related to her choice of clothing.
"To see the humanity of someone who decides not to cover in the way you think best, you have to love her."
She is continually aware when retelling her story of how it could be used against her to confirm the prejudices of those who condemn Islam. However throughout the memoir she retells her experiences with wit, humour, intelligence and love which serve as a balance to rejecting those prejudices.
I will admit I found this book a little heavy to begin with as Chaudhry talks about a family loss which personally hit home hard for me. However, her discussions on grief were tender and emotional and I appreciated how she explored those emotions and I wrote a lot in my journal about this and the personal impact it had on me.
Chaudhry packs a lot in her memoir and it's a really brilliant read! I'll leave you with one final quote that really touched me.
"It was as if the earth was reminding us, teaching us, that we are always changing, from moment to moment. Change is part of us. It is essential to us. It is the only constant in life. Nothing stands still."
I picked up The Colour of God entirely on @sofia_reading's recommendation who put me in touch with the publishers. Sofia has never let me down with a recommendation and The Colour of God was a beautiful book.
The Colour of God is memoir that touches on love, loss, family, identify, citizenship, marriage and more. Ayesha Chaudhry explores her relationship with Islam and how her family's relationship with faith changed in response to the racism they experienced in Canada.
She speaks openly and honestly about her relationship with faith. She talks about her experiences of growing up wearing the niqab and the judgement she faced. However the way Chaudhry wove this into a wider narrative about the policing of women's clothes and appearances and how women who wear very little are also condemned and sexually objectified. She points out the double standards of the patriarchy and shows it doesn't matter how she outwardly identified, the patriarchy would choose a reason to condemn her because she's a woman. Whether that's because she doesn't meet eurocentric beauty standards or related to her choice of clothing.
"To see the humanity of someone who decides not to cover in the way you think best, you have to love her."
She is continually aware when retelling her story of how it could be used against her to confirm the prejudices of those who condemn Islam. However throughout the memoir she retells her experiences with wit, humour, intelligence and love which serve as a balance to rejecting those prejudices.
I will admit I found this book a little heavy to begin with as Chaudhry talks about a family loss which personally hit home hard for me. However, her discussions on grief were tender and emotional and I appreciated how she explored those emotions and I wrote a lot in my journal about this and the personal impact it had on me.
Chaudhry packs a lot in her memoir and it's a really brilliant read! I'll leave you with one final quote that really touched me.
"It was as if the earth was reminding us, teaching us, that we are always changing, from moment to moment. Change is part of us. It is essential to us. It is the only constant in life. Nothing stands still."
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