Now They Call Me Infidel: Why I Renounced Jihad for America, Israel, and the War on Terror
A political and personal odyssey from hatred to love
When Nonie Darwish was a girl of eight, her father died while leading covert attacks on Israel. A high-ranking Egyptian military officer stationed with his family in Gaza, he was considered a ?shahid,? a martyr for jihad.
Yet at an early age, Darwish developed a skeptical eye about her own Muslim culture and upbringing....more
When Nonie Darwish was a girl of eight, her father died while leading covert attacks on Israel. A high-ranking Egyptian military officer stationed with his family in Gaza, he was considered a ?shahid,? a martyr for jihad.
Yet at an early age, Darwish developed a skeptical eye about her own Muslim culture and upbringing....more
Paperback, 272 pages
Published
November 6th 2007
by Sentinel Trade
(first published November 13th 2006)
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
This book is not yet featured on Listopia.
Add this book to your favorite list »
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
658)
Apr 03, 2008
Hope Corizzo
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
anyone
Recommended to Hope by:
Jennifer G.
This selection is for two book groups. It was recommended by a neighbor who prefers non-fiction.
I was a bit bored in the beginning pages, until I realized that I needed the history of egypt to accept Ms. Darwish's POV on radical Islam and current terrorist tactics. It was important to understand the succession of leaders in Egypt, the ordinary family dynamics, education system, economics and information flow of Egypt from the 1950s to present time to not feel overwhelmed and skeptical of her c...more
I was a bit bored in the beginning pages, until I realized that I needed the history of egypt to accept Ms. Darwish's POV on radical Islam and current terrorist tactics. It was important to understand the succession of leaders in Egypt, the ordinary family dynamics, education system, economics and information flow of Egypt from the 1950s to present time to not feel overwhelmed and skeptical of her c...more
An insightful discussion of Islam from the viewpoint of someone who grew up Egyptian Muslim but converted to Christianity and became a US citizen. Darwish very clearly lays out her specific issues with different aspects of Islam and how they impact people's lives and attitudes. The ideas are compelling, but the actual voice is somewhat dry. In addition, the clear opinion sometimes seem to push aside other explanations behind the "radicalism" discussed. That being said, the book is a worthwhile r...more
Ms Darwish has my utmost respect for writing this book. THe courage it takes for her to speak out against the twisted teaching of Islam, against the radical Muslims, is unimaginable. She placed herself in constant danger for writing a book like this. THus I don't believe in the accusation that it's all a lie and that she was never a Muslim. I don't believe anyone would conjure up stories like this in an attempt to gain profits. There are better, SAFER ways to get rich.
The book is easy to read f...more
The book is easy to read f...more
Nonie Darwish's fascinating peak into the mind of a Muslim woman, Now They Call Me Infidel (Sentinel 2006) takes the reader through her life as she shares the events that shaped her opinions and ultimately caused her to leave her homeland Egypt and make her life in America. It is a history of Egypt and why it changed from a middle class somewhat prospering nation that valued effort, hard-work, kindness, and honesty to a socialist society that ultimately destroyed the middle class of workers and...more
Nonie Darwish was a young girl in Gaza, whose father was stationed by the Egyptian government to maintain law and order in the Gaza Stip. Her description of life under the Egyptians is dismal. They live a life of harsh conditions and are largely confined to an open air prison. Poor coinditions led to intifada against the Egyptian government. To fix the situation her father was sent o make life better and organize fedayeen squads to atack Israel. Life in Gaza is not easy when returning from Cairo...more
This is an AWESOME book. I read this for a school assignment, but afte reading only the first chapter or two, I decided that I would have wanted to read this book regardless of whether it had been assigned or not.
Mrs. Darwish gives a very thorough, poignant, eye-opening account of Islam and Arab culture, both as someone born and raised within such an environment, as well as an immigrated outsider looking into the various situations and circumstances that such a society faces on a daily basis. F...more
Mrs. Darwish gives a very thorough, poignant, eye-opening account of Islam and Arab culture, both as someone born and raised within such an environment, as well as an immigrated outsider looking into the various situations and circumstances that such a society faces on a daily basis. F...more
This was an eye-opening book that every American should read. Her life in the imprisoning culture of the Arab countries and the freedom she found here in the States has given her a unique perspective that many outspoken Muslim supporters don't have. She discusses in a very honest way the contradictions and hypocrisy of modern Islam without being insulting to Muslims. She approaches it as a Muslim that had to leave because of those issues, and respectfully asks Muslims everywhere to make Islam th...more
Read this book!
It was a lively book-club discussion/contraversy. This woman is amazingly brave to write a book that made it so she could never return to the middle east. She has faced that very scaaaary radical Islamic machine and made her best effort to save America from terrorism. We are a bit naive.
I learned a lot from this. I thought it was repetitive at times, especially near the end though. It rings so true to be that our democracy, free speech, and political correctness are often used aga...more
It was a lively book-club discussion/contraversy. This woman is amazingly brave to write a book that made it so she could never return to the middle east. She has faced that very scaaaary radical Islamic machine and made her best effort to save America from terrorism. We are a bit naive.
I learned a lot from this. I thought it was repetitive at times, especially near the end though. It rings so true to be that our democracy, free speech, and political correctness are often used aga...more
I truly wish this book were in every stocking this Christmas. The author of this book is the daughter of an Egyptian Army Lt. General, Mustafa Hafez, who was martyred in 1956 when serving under Nasser's administration. The first half of the book presents the history of conflict between Egypt, Gaza, Palestine (and the entire Middle East) -- I would venture to say, it is not the record of account that any of us learned in High School, which makes it so important to read. What we are experiencing t...more
Very pro-American/anti-Islam book. It is interesting to hear a former Arab speak out so passionately against their culture that breeds terrorists. If nothing else, it will make you feel better about being an American.
I also have to say that I read this book while I was studying Isaiah. All of a sudden Isaiah makes a lot more sense.......
I also have to say that I read this book while I was studying Isaiah. All of a sudden Isaiah makes a lot more sense.......
Simply put, Muslim student organizations wanted to advocate "Islam as a religion of peace" through intimidation and arguments that made no sense.
p 230
To some Islamic idealists, what muslims are doing on earth - terrorism and jihad - is necessary and will be forgiven because they have good intentions to spread Islam to those who dont know they need it. ... In their minds, the ideal of peace will be achieved later when Islam dominates the world. They reason that peace can wait until that great ach...more
p 230
To some Islamic idealists, what muslims are doing on earth - terrorism and jihad - is necessary and will be forgiven because they have good intentions to spread Islam to those who dont know they need it. ... In their minds, the ideal of peace will be achieved later when Islam dominates the world. They reason that peace can wait until that great ach...more
This book ends much better than it starts, and it is the first book for which I considered punctuation, paragraph transitions, and chapter allocations to be a signification part of a review. It is not enjoyable to have to do a drill-down on how a book is edited, but it is the poor editing of this book that originally lowered my rating of the text. Had it not been for the subject matter combined with both the intent and voice of the author, this book would have received a one-star rating and plac...more
This was somewhere between three and four stars for me, but I decided to round up. I can sum up my feelings about this book by saying that it's something I'd have liked to read as part of a book club or class. I'd like to have read it with those who are more informed than I about Islam in general, and I'd also like to have sat down with a map while reading and a better historical and cultural understanding of the topic in advance of reading.
I very much enjoy memoirs, but have a hard time simply...more
I very much enjoy memoirs, but have a hard time simply...more
I should start off by confessing that I haven't actually read this book. I did, however, hear the author speak about it at Virginia Tech in 2007, which I feel provides an adequate basis for comment.
The book is called "Now They Call Me Infidel." I don't know who "they" are, but I can assure you it's not what everybody I know calls Darwish. Given Darwish's annoying propensity to confuse reality with her well-timed con artistry, I wouldn't be surprised if she's disingenuously substituting "infidel...more
The book is called "Now They Call Me Infidel." I don't know who "they" are, but I can assure you it's not what everybody I know calls Darwish. Given Darwish's annoying propensity to confuse reality with her well-timed con artistry, I wouldn't be surprised if she's disingenuously substituting "infidel...more
This is probably the scariest book i've ever read. She's basically shouting; "The Muslims are coming, the muslims are coming!" And she's right. The problem is: What are they coming to do? Some say to oppress and force everyone in the world to conform to their destructive religion by any means necessary. And some others say that they just want to be free to spread their religion by any means peaceful.
A very informative book by an author who apparently doesn't understand the difference between All...more
A very informative book by an author who apparently doesn't understand the difference between All...more
The author grew up in Gaza and Egypt, the daughter of martyr for "jihad"--a holy war. Her style of writing is kind of repetitive, but her story and insight into the Middle East and Muslim culture is interesting. She champions America and its freedoms and tells how terrorists are abusing the very land and freedoms they are seeking to overthrow. If it's too slow reading, skim the first part to get a sense of her childhood, then read the second half to gain her insights into what is happening here...more
Nonie Darwish was born in Cairo. Her father, Colonel Mustafa Hafez, served in the Egyptian army in Gaza. Darwish went to elementary school in Gaza. The Palestinians in Gaza were prevented from entering the rest of Egypt, even though Gaza was part of Egypt. Egypt intentionally kept the Palestinians in Gaza in poverty, in order to make Israel look bad. In Gaza in the 1950s there were two primary political ideologies, Communism and the Muslim Brotherhood. In 1955 the Palestinians staged an intifada...more
I enjoyed reading this book. I agree with many points of view of the author. I believe that Muslims are not bad people but the people who interpret the scriptures for their personal gain is the ones who are evil. Once again just like Christians used the Crusades and Inquisition to dominate one and other in the name of God, people use religion for domination. I wish the government was more strict and get ride of the extreme Muslims who believe in killing people in the name of religion like what h...more
Oh, my!!! I highly recommend this book. I learned so much about the history of the Arabs hatred for Israel. This author is writing from her own personal experiences. She now lives in the U.S. and I applaud her for taking her message to college campuses. She is a brave woman to do that. I'm afraid most of us Americans have our heads in the sand.I wish I could write a better review.....go to Amazon and read some of those reviews. I was just so blown away by what she wrote.
Aug 09, 2011
Danica Page (One Page at a Time)
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
middle-east,
biographical-autobiographical
This book opened my eyes to different perspectives and cultures. An interesting read. I picked this up at the library intrigued by the title. It's not typically the type of book I'd read, but I'm glad I read it. A beautiful read...that everybody should read.
It will cause you to do some deep soulsearching and reflect on your beliefs.
I loved it so much I decided to blog about it:
http://danicapage.blogspot.com/2011/0...
It will cause you to do some deep soulsearching and reflect on your beliefs.
I loved it so much I decided to blog about it:
http://danicapage.blogspot.com/2011/0...
Loved this book! Great insight into the minds of the Arab nations. Explains why they hate Israel and the US and Europe. It is interesting and informative. I think a must read for all of us in the US during this time of terrorism and jihad. This woman has risked her life to come out as a Muslim for peace. She talks specifically about how her religion can be a religion of peace, but it has to start with reforming what is being taught to Arab children.
I wanted to hear an insider's perspective on how radical Islam is affecting the non-radical Muslim. It's a scary movement like Nazi Germany where people are asked to fore go reason and suppress questioning of leadership or the state's intentions. It's not an allegory but a recipe for disaster, which can strike the heart of any nation when an ideology grows bigger than the true meaning of religion.
They say that there are two sides to every story. When it comes to terrorism, there are many more than two sides. Nonie Darwish's father was a Muslim Shahid who was the head of Egyptian military intelligence in Gaza when he was killed in 1956. She grew up in Gaza and then Egypt and was educated in British and American schools there and moved to the US at age 30. She shares about the extreme poverty in Egypt and the many problems caused by the government, the Muslim religion and the culture of th...more
Although the title sounds a bit like sucking up, and it has those moments,I was a really really good read. I liked the reflections on how having more than one wife makes the women in her life so distrustful of each other that they become completely isolated and alone. Why do we allow that ladies? This and many other well thought out reflections are why I love this book.
Nov 13, 2010
Catherine
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
political,
biography-autobiography
Very good read! This is the daughter of a Muslim "martyr" of high Egyptian military rank. She is a very brave woman. I applaud her willingness to speak for what is right no matter what the consequence. Fellow Christian brethren, Nonie does not say whether or not she fully embraces Christianity just that she is drawn to it. Still a very good read. highly recommend it! :)
Overall: some interesting insights into Egyptian culture and definitely worth a read. However, not as strong as Ayaan Hirsi Ali's "Infidel".
Strengths: Reveals how Muslim politicians manipulate populace into blind hatred of Israel, America and the West. Also shows how poorly women are treated in modern Muslim society and attempts to provide answers as to why moderate Muslims in the west don't speak up against the Wahabbists. The most powerful part is how she's able to forgive and love those who k...more
Strengths: Reveals how Muslim politicians manipulate populace into blind hatred of Israel, America and the West. Also shows how poorly women are treated in modern Muslim society and attempts to provide answers as to why moderate Muslims in the west don't speak up against the Wahabbists. The most powerful part is how she's able to forgive and love those who k...more
The only thing that keeps me from giving this five stars is that the author tended to "beat a dead horse" when making her points. Still, her point was not to write a book of beautiful prose - it was to enlighten Americans regarding the reality of radical Islam which she did with great success. Her stories and insights are inspiring and sometimes terrifying. Her bravery is to be commended!
I was quite dissapointed about this book. I agree with one of the reviews, indicating that there should've been more effort in the editing. The author's points and arguments were repeated and oftentimes drawn out. I also don't think there was enough emphasis given to explain that the true-essence of the Koran & Islam, which is completely different than the fanatical interpretation fueling politics & culture of mostIslamic states. While this book provides a generalized opinion of muslims...more
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »

Loading...

















An anti-Islam book? I disagree.
Darwish make it very clear that she still considers herself a Muslim. She plainl...more
updated May 04, 2010 07:09pm