My Way

Mona Siddiqui, OBE, is one of the UK's leading commentators on religious affairs. Professor of Islamic and Interreligious Studies at the University of Edinburgh, she has written many books, which include How to Read the Qur'an, the Good Muslims and Christians, Muslims and Jesus.

'In his best novel, The Power and the Glory, Graham Greene observed that hatred was a failure of imagination. This is particularly true of religious hatred, which is an increasingly toxic element in the confusions that beset the human community today. Mona Siddiqui's new book is the perfect antidote to this virulent condition, because it invites us to enter imaginatively into the religious experience of a scholar from the Muslim tradition who expresses herself with rare wisdom and moderation. By sharing some of her most intimate experiences as a woman of faith who is also a grateful inheritor of the freedoms won by the Enlightenment, Siddiqui negotiates her way through the narrow defiles of religious disagreement with poise and grace. She has written a helpful and beautiful book.' Richard Holloway, formerly Bishop of Edinburgh, author of Looking in the Distance: The Human Search for Meaning and of Leaving Alexandria: A Memoir of Faith and Doubt 'In this honest and moving account of a journey of faith, Mona Siddiqui addresses personal experiences of love and death, home and work, and belonging and otherness. Skilfully interweaving Islamic religious reflection about God and sex, human dignity and temporality, religion and multiculturalism, violence and forgiveness, the author has written a compelling narrative that displays throughout her conviction that "belief in God is about hope in life." All who search for meaning and for a life worth living, Muslims and non-Muslims alike, will learn and benefit from it.' Miroslav Volf, Henry B Wright Professor of Theology, Yale University, author of Allah: A Christian Response 'Mona Siddiqui is one of our most important scholarly voices on Islam in the West. In this lovely book, we hear for the first time her own story. She writes from a deep place of authenticity and reflection about her own particular experiences, helping us to better understand the lives of millions of Western Muslims. It is that rare book, equally at home in the hands of a scholar, a student, or anyone wishing to learn more about what it means to be human.' Amir Hussain, Professor of Theological Studies, Loyola Marymount University, and Editor, Journal of the American Academy of Religion 'My Way couldn't be a more timely and eloquent reminder of how much value Islam places on education - for girls as well as boys. Mona Siddiqui's own personal journey is peppered with her considerable erudition on Muslim issues. This is a book everyone will gain from reading, whatever their background, and whether they be policymaker or interested general reader.' Razia Iqbal, Presenter, BBC News

• List of PlatesAcknowledgementsNotes on PresentationForeword by Rowan WilliamsPrefaceOne : Home: Past and PresentTwo : Marriage and DesireThree : Death, Dignity and the Passage of Time Four: Christian, Muslims and DialogueFive: Religion, Multiculturalism and the Public SpaceSix : Faith in GodNotesIndex