Islam: A Novel About the Islamic World Based on a True Story

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER ● From the author of The Sisterhood ● Based on a true WWII story

1941. Nazi-occupied Bosnia. A Jewish family manages to escape the transport to Auschwitz. With nowhere to hide, they resort to a Muslim woman whom the family knew before the war. At night, the frightened gaunt figures knock on the woman's door. Will she take them in? For how long?

Based on a true story of the life of Zaynab Hardaga, recognized by the Holocaust Muesuem of Israel as Righteous Among the Nations.

The story covers seven decades of history, ending with the Bosnian Wars of the 1990's. With Bosnia bombarded, it is time for Israel to pay back its dues to the woman who defied the Nazis. Will Israel step up to its promise to help all Righteous Among the Nations who endangered their lives to save Jews?
Even if the family in question is Muslim?

"This unusually eloquent story is about the fragile relationships between mothers and daughters, men and their countries, humans and their gods... Loyalty and compassion are the ties that bind these stories into one of the most lyrical, moving and unexpected plot you'll ever read."−The New York Times

"A marvelous historical novel... the story of a young Bosnian girl in Sarajevo and her incredible upbringing. An old-fashioned kind of novel that really sweeps you away."−O, The Oprah Magazine

Islam is an ambitious work. Like Dubois's previous novels, the setting is WWII Europe, but this time the author covers eighty years of tumultuous history of war and oppression and tells it on an intimate scale, through the life of one couragious woman."−Daily Telegraph

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BOOK EXCERPT © All rights reserved. Reprinted by permission:


PROLOGUE

At first she didn't have a name.

Ahmed's wife, Aisha, looked at him, feeling guilty about the newborn. "I wish I had bore you a son."

Ahmed put his hand on hers. "Shhh... Don't say anything."

The old midwife wiped Aisha's sweaty forehead. Aisha was exhausted; the birth had taken nearly a whole day. She looked at the baby girl. The baby looked back at her. She did not cry. She just laid on her mother's chest, her eyes wide open.

Aisha looked at Ahmed worriedly. "Why does she not cry?"

Ahmed touched the baby's tiny fingers. "She has smart eyes."

The midwife said, "With such big eyes, she will have good luck."

Aisha sighed and closed her eyes, "I wanted to give you a boy..."

Ahmed put his finger on her lips, "Don't say that. She will be our source of pride, you will see."

*

Time passed quickly. The seventh day's celebrations were approaching, yet Ahmed and Aisha still did not have a name for the newborn girl. Aisha liked none of the names Ahmed proposed. Lost, Ahmed decided to go and consult with the imam.

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END OF EXCERPT (To read further click on the book cover, where you can read more using the Look Inside Feature!)