When Only God Can See -The Faith of Muslim Political Prisoners by Walaa Quisay and Asim Qureshi – Review

At a time where more and more people are being arrested for their political beliefs, many of whom are Muslims, this book is an important illustration of what life behind bars entails. The level of psychological warfare these people have to navigate, even before being charged with any offense is bewildering. Using a prisoner’s faith as a weapon against them and the degrading, humiliating and often illegal methods that are employed to get confessions is astounding. How are we allowing these prisons and these systems to operate in spaces we call humane. How can we raise children in a world that treats humans in ways that most of us would never even think to treat an animal?

A Muslim in Paris

So, earlier this month, when my husband presented me with two tickets to Paris, I had to hide my trepidation behind a wide smile. Had my anti-French rhetoric calmed down in the past 12 months enough for him to think France was a safe space for Muslims? Had he not read the recent article in Al Jazeera highlighting Frances state-sponsored Islamophobia and the subsequent violence that followed? Did my husband even love me? Why was he sending me into the belly of the beast and disguising it as a Romantic getaway?