Nine Parts of Desire

There are many political, religious, and cultural factors that shape the lives of Islamic women. Islam is one of the world’s fastest growing religions; however, Brooks argues that “Islam’s holiest texts have been misused to justify the repression of women, and how male pride and power have warped the original message of this once liberating faith.” The book also shows these factors have slowly been taking away women’s rights, rather than furthering them. The specific topic of this book is the oppression of women. Its overall purpose is to understand the women behind the veils and why the Muslim women take up the hijab. The purpose is also to show how political, religious, and cultural factors shape the women’s lives. It is written for the average westerner because they have been exposed to more negative and one-sided views about the religion, however they are clueless about what really goes on in the religion of Islam, which concludes that there are many stereotypes and judgments on the subject. Brooks is probably used to this because she was raised in Australia as a Jew. Knowing about the Jewish background and how they were discriminated against could have been an important factor in the writing of Nine Parts of Desire: The Hidden World of Islamic Women. New York Times reports that “She wanted to avoid the many judgments and assumptions, but add a valid account of the women in the Muslim world.” “Nine Parts of Desire is the story of Brooks’ intrepid journey toward an understanding of the women behind the veils, and of often contradictory political, religious, and cultural forces that shape their lives” (Nine Parts of Desire Summary). I conclude that Brooks takes the subject personally and she also has an axe to grind. This is because “She looks at it from the heart..mixing historical perspective with piercingly observed journalism”(Newsday). Meaning that she feels for the women of the Islamic world but she wants to discuss what is not right with the people who