Reader's Guide: March 2009

	Standing Alone in Mecca by Asra Q. Nomani

A former Wall Street Journal reporter, Nomani has invented her own nonfiction genre: gender-sensitive Muslim travel writing. An excellent companion to Nomani's first book, Tantrika, this memoir treads similar ground, chronicling her pilgrimage to Mecca, or hajj, in 2003. Throughout the book, Nomani is filled with self-doubt and healthy frustration with her Islamic faith. The portions describing hajj, particularly the other pilgrims' warmth to her infant son, are original and enjoyable. [...] The second half of the book records Nomani's pioneering struggle at her mosque for equal treatment of women...

1. What are the contradictions Asra lived with and how did they affect her choices?

2. What was the role of Islam in Asra's life?

3. What role did Asra's father play in her developing struggle with Islam?

4. How did the hajj change Asra?

5. What did the ancient women of her religion teach her for today's living?

6. What were Asra's tactics for change within her faith community?

7. Do you identify with Asra's spiritual struggle? If so, how?

8. Who have been your female spiritual mentors?