Contents
Introduction vii
Umma: It Takes a Village
Soda Bottles and Zebra Skins —Sam
Pierstorff 3
Mother’s Curse—Arsalan Ahmed 16
The Ride—Ramy Eletreby 21
A Grown-Ass Man—Alykhan Boolani 31
Who I Needed to Be—Yusef Ramelize 44
An Unlikely Foe—Yousef Turshani 52
A Pair of Photos—Ahmed Ali Akbar 61
Sirat: The Journey
The Other Iran–Iraq War—Ibrahim Al-Marashi
75
Just One Kiss—Maher Reham 86
AwkwardMan—Zain Omar 99
In the Unlikeliest of Places—A. Khan
107
Planet Zero—John Austin 114
How Did I End Up Here? —Arif Choudhury
124
Springtime Love—Mohamed Djellouli 133
Finding Mercy—Anthony Springer Jr. 143
Prom, InshAllah—Haroon Moghul 150
Sabr: In Sickness and in Health
The Promise—Alan Howard 163
Fertile Ground—Khizer Husain 169
On Guard—Stephen Leeper 179
Our Way Lies Together—Dan I. Oversaw
190
Echoes—Mohammed Samir Shamma 198
Becoming Family—Randy Nasson 212
Glossary 223
Acknowledgments 229
Contributors 231
About the Editors 237
Ayesha Mattu is a writer and international development consultant.
She lives in San Francisco.
Nura Maznavi is a civil rights attorney, writer, and Fulbright
scholar. She lives in Chicago.
“This is a magnificent collection. It’s all here: love, loss,
confusion, sex, and more than sex, that magical quest for intimacy.
In short, what it means to be human: seeking, finding, losing,
cherishing. A wonderful contribution to American Muslim narratives
in their own voices.”
—Omid Safi, author of Memories of Muhammad: Why the Prophet
Matters
“This diverse and humane anthology documents what heartbreak and
hilarity goes down (often in silence) in the American-Muslim
community. It should also confuse government agents.”
—Ali Eteraz, author of Children of Dust: A Portrait of a Muslim as
a Young Man
“Intimate and compelling, Salaam, Love is a glimpse of the
emotional balancing act American Muslim men face as they navigate
the demands of faith, family and their own hearts. A
must-read.”
—G. Willow Wilson, author of Alif the Unseen
“Salaam, Love is an important book because it sheds light on a
subject that is unknown and scary to many Americans: Muslim men and
their relationship to love, sex, and intimacy. It’s a book
that shows how similar we all are, how much we have in common, when
there’s so much hate-based propaganda floating around about how
different we all are. But beyond being an important book, it’s
also a great read. Funny, sad, cool, hot, counterintuitive,
and perhaps most importantly, sexy.”
—David Henry Sterry, author of Chicken: Self-Portrait of a Young
Man for Rent
“While many of the tales end in marriage, none ignore the flaws and
difficulties presented by romantic relationships. Throughout, there
are men who lost love, lost themselves and found things they
weren’t looking for, as well as those still searching. Whether read
all together or in single doses, faith and love abound, and there
is no shortage of entertainment. In the introduction, the
editors write, ‘There’s nothing like a good love story to connect
us to one another and also help satisfy our curiosity about the
lives of others.’ This collection proves the honesty in that
assertion.” —Kirkus Reviews
“Simultaneously lighthearted entertainment and an important
addition to public discourse around the place of Islam in America.…
Indeed, the entire collection seeks to offer as much variety as
possible, with stories reflecting a broad range of sexuality,
ethnicity, religiosity, and romantic success. In this way, it
pushes back against common cultural stereotypes of both Muslims and
men, showing Muslims with a full range of ordinary American life
experiences and showing men with tender and heartfelt emotions that
they articulate beautifully. For insiders to the community, this
work will prompt joyful recognition as well as thoughtful
exploration of different experiences; for outsiders, it will
counter one-dimensional negative images about American Muslims. For
everyone it will be an insightful, thoroughly charming read.”
—Publishers Weekly
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