Imran Ahmad

The Perfect Gentleman, A Muslim Boy Meets the West by Imran Ahmad (pp 333). This is one of the most interesting social commentaries in the guise of a memoir I’ve ever read. Much of it is written from a youthful perspective that effectively uses naïveté ignorance (used non-pejoratively) to shed light on physical difference, relationships (mostly imagined), discrimination, racism, classism, school, culture, family, and above all religion. As the author, a Pakistani transplant along with his family, living in England and later Scotland, moved through childhood and into adulthood (including more relationships—also mostly imagined), higher education, politics, cars, and work, he increasingly talked about religion. As he was ‘accosted’ by evangelical Christians in obnoxious and repeated attempts to pull him away from Islam (sometimes harshly), he openly explores the two religions, their similarities & dissimilarities, faith versus rationally based beliefs, the historical Jesus and Muhammad, his own temptations, religious practice, comparisons of theological precepts and their real world applications, and more. His observations about himself, his beliefs, his very real doubts, his fellow believers, all the while making honest comparisons with other religions (though mostly Christianity and its adherents) are fascinating. All of this very heavy material is explored within a mostly lightweight framework and it seamlessly flows in, out, and through more mundane and secular elements of everyday life. Refreshingly, Ahmad is effortlessly humorous, never breaking a sweat while revealing humor in everyday events and situations. Because his views on all aspects of life come from an angle literally foreign to most of us, his observations are delightfully askew and above all insightful. This is an amazingly easy read, yet is as thoughtful and provocative a book as I have read in recent memory.… (meer)

The author has a very direct, matter-of-fact writing style that I enjoyed. He lost me at the end though. I followed the author from childhood into his mid-twenties and then a jarring jump into his forties. What the? There is no explanation, absolutely nothing to shed light on what happened to the relationships of his youth. I am left to guess at how he actually came to be the man presented at the end of the book. I enjoyed reading his memoir but I resent being "yada, yada, yada"-ed through some clearly life changing events.

I received this book via Goodreads' giveaway program.

… (meer)