Analysis of Children of Dust - A Memoir of Pakistan by Eteraz Ali - Book Report/Review Example

Review: Children of the Dust Introduction Children of Dust: A memoir of Pakistan, is about a Pakistan male’s journey of autonomy framed against the backdrop of global Islam deeply located inside a neglected diaspora. It focuses on the pathos, pain as well as laughter amongst American-Muslim constrained by such concepts as “the war of ideas” and “the clash of civilization (Eteraz 19).” Eteraz’s true gifts of a storyteller is evident as he narrates the story of each young individual figuring out the meanings of religion, life and people based on issues attached to both children raised by Muslims and Americans. How Journey is a Common Motif in Spiritual Writings Initially, Eteraz is identified as The Promised- Albir ul Islam meaning perfume of Islam and this triggers his parents’ for him to attain a pious life following his father’s earlier covenant (mannat) with God long before his birth. “Ya Allah! If you give me a son, I promise that we will become a great leader and servant of Islam.” Eteraz future life is predetermined following his journey and mother to Hajj while a baby rubbing his chest on the Ka’ba’s wall in Mecca aimed making him receive blessings from Allah to be a religion’s reverence which actually shaped his life. Ali goes through twist and turns as he thrives to achieve the laid covenant the father had entered in readiness to his writing career. Early life is revealed to be embedded on an imaginary journey starting from his childhood dessert Pakistan life as he goes through madrassa education as well as the fanatical tales about being possessed by jinns, visited by angels as well as death by black magic. His life is further shaped where he is portrayed as a teen immigrant to the Bible Belt based on home fundamentalist parents as well as American teen life experience. His experience is further amplified as he is portrayed as a college campus as he makes ends meet with internal battle to strike a balance between piety and sexuality making him travel to Pakistan to get a hijabi wife making realized that conflicts between Islam and fluid nature between heretical and orthodox (Eteraz 11). While in Manhattan, he discovered his descendent amplifying his fundamentalism hence developed a passion for Islam after becoming Abu Bark Ramaq. He thus gets to explore his faith based on secularism and extremism, the main opponents dismissing Osama as messianic pretender and opportunist. Eteraz’s and His Family’s Experience of the Islamic Ethos in Pakistan and America With respect to Pakistan life, the family is deeply-rooted in Islamic culture based on the father initial covenant with God long before The Promised- Abir ul Islam was born. The mother is seen taking him and rubbing his chest in hajji to bless him to become reverence of Islamic religion. In the Pakistan dessert, Abir joyfully embraced his young manhood and youthful sweetness with his father and mother. The parents are portrayed as so loving and caring towards him based on the strictness of Muslim family within a Muslim country. The family is surrounded by many aunts, grandparents, cousins and uncles. Life in rural Pakistan entails his mother, Ammi engaged in weaving Koran lessons marred with folks of stories of Islam, as well as the Jinn on daily life. These developments portrays Abir’s imagination and reality of young world (Eteraz 14). Abir joins Madrassa education but would soon leave following his father, medical doctor acquires a visa to work in America. This makes the family depart to Alabama, every immigrant’s dream destination. On the other hand, the American-Amir and his parent’s life experience is marred with a lot of movements as they seek for opportunity and later settled in Bible Belt. While in Alabama, Amir legally altered his name after joining a high school intentionally against his teenage sexual angsts and shyness in order to distance himself from his parents’ fundamentalism. This grows the tension between Amir and his loins as well as the parents. While Amir is off to college in Manhattan, The fundamentalist-Abu Bakr Ramaq changes further his name upon discovering Abu Bakr Siddiq’s descendent who was a truth storyteller. Being from a companion of prophet as well as first Caliph of Islam, Abu’s fundamentalism is evoked hence becoming Abu Bakr Ramaq, sparks of light accounting for his current passion for Islam (Eteraz 18). Amir further understand his faith facing his antagonist, secularism and extremism. In his adulthood, they moved back to his native Pakistan land to race his noble lineage and to find a pious Muslim wife where he discovered his non-relation to Abu Bakr but of Hindu’s origin and would then be called Siddique. He is tagged an American hence threatened by Taliban-thugs and family escorted to American hastily by his uncle’s military unit. How Islam/The Islamic Ethos is expressed in Contemporary Pakistani Culture To Pakistan, Islamic culture and faith has to be strongly upheld and any antagonizing faith has to be thwarted down. This is revealed as portrayed by Amir’s parents, while the father engaging in mannat with God, the mother goes to Mecca and rubs Ali’s chest on hajji. These attest to the strong believe in Islamic culture. The sole purpose of the covenant is to promise God the if Ali is born, he would emerge a stronger Islamic leader, reverence of the religion while journey to Mecca is aimed at asking for blessing to guide Ali life which actually validated over the next 30 years. While in America, Ali could not get married to an American lady but had to travel back to his native land to get a pious Islamic wife and also trace his nobble lineage. This deeply rooted belief in Islamic faith is also evident when Ali vows to confront the opposing faiths, secularism an extremism (Eteraz 16). He is convince upon reading the Satanic Verses advocated for by Zaid Shakir who tags secularism as anti-Islamic making him realized that the main born of contention is between reason and Islam. He thus attaches the liberating freedom attributable to reason as a curse distinguishing the hereafter (Creator) and here (creation). Impacts of Islamic culture worsens when he is forced to vacate his native town tagged as American and Hindus by Taliban-Style thugs following his discovery of non-relation to Abu Bakr. Eteraz’s Experience of How Islam is perceived by the Population in US Amir ul Islam is brought out as a postmodern person while in America. The name combination of both assumed and given name showcases that Islam is only reclaimed to help him internalize and become manageable. He regrets his Pakistan failure and criticizes its backwardness since he is not be rated as pious Muslims he ought to be. He thus shifts to Christian University and study Philosophy, Postmodernism (his revenge and sex) focusing on bane of Islam. He is convinced that Islam and followers accounts for his failures as he tries to impress others people with piety as he honesty unfolds his failures. Lessons Learnt from Eteraz’s Experiences Contributing to Better Social Experience The reformer- Ali Eteraz, “Noble Protest”, he neglects legal associate work and researched, wrote made internet-based friendships in order to rescue Islam from ‘idiots.’ He abandons his faith following lost job, money and family and travelled to Las Vegas. He rebuilds following few months of despondency and travelled to Kuwait to bring Asians on board to aid in Islam reformation. He established Islamic think tank to confront extremist militancy driven by the need to regain Islamic religion as equality, peace as well as justice to fulfil his covenant. He finally visited his mother in California as an innocent man again, “My little Abir, You grew up all these years, just to become innocent again.” This makes us learn to be focused on patient in order to meet our goals despite the sufferings one might be subjected to in order to get our identity and true meaning of life and understanding of faith and culture (Eteraz 76). Work Cited Eteraz, Ali. Children of Dust: A Portrait of a Muslim As a Young Man. New York: HarperOne, 2011. Print. Read More