- This brilliant and profound novel dives deep into what it means to be a Muslim in Australia in our current traumatic times. Randa Abdel-Fattah brings nuance, clarity, and a high level of emotion to the political and social drama in which we are all currently enmeshed. She brings considerable depth to the story by creating characters that inspire but also challenge us.
- Hannah is a Muslim journalist at a mainstream newspaper The Chronicle (maybe The Sydney Morning Herald). Her husband Jamal is a PhD student and part time lecturer at Joseph Banks University. His family live in Gaza. Hannah's boss is Peter who believes, or more accurately, is intellectually trapped in, conservative establishment thinking. (I was reminded of the barely readable journalist Peter Hartcher).
- Ashraf (Ash), also Muslim, is a senior academic at the university, and Jamal's PhD supervisor. Jamal wants to email colleagues to support sanctions against Israel, but Ash is hesitant and cautious as usual, and advises him against it.
- Nabil is a Muslim-Palestinian year 12 student at a Muslim private school who protested on the University grounds wielding a Hamas flag. He was arrested by the police for an act of 'terrorism'. Jamal gives a speech at a pro-Palestinian rally in Sydney, defends Nabil, and is accused of antisemitism by the Israeli lobby.
- There are tensions within the academic community and also the media. The ‘objectivity, balance and neutrality’ position of a frightened media is in the spotlight. According to Hannah’s media bosses her LinkedIn sharing of pro-Palestinian posts is not ‘impartial’. (Hints of the Antionette Lattouf/ABC issue here). Tensions within the academic community as well are increasing and university administrations are hopelessly confounded.
- Hannah and Jamal are also the parents of a young child, which adds to their stress. They’re both trapped in the cage of the media and the cage of the university system. But their passion, commitment and courage run deep. Hannah had an ‘irrepressible… insufferable, passion for fairness, for justice’. Being 'vigilant' about what they say and do is not acceptable.
- Ash gets funding from the Department of Home Affairs to support creative projects in the immigrant community. He approaches his sister-in-law Fayza, the principal of the Muslim school, to bring students into the program, but she adamantly refuses. 'It’s counter-radicalisation work by another name’ she claims, and accuses him of not ‘standing for anything’. He’s too accommodating. A placid fence-sitter, afraid he’ll upset his University superiors. Yet ‘he felt like he was stuck in a tiny corner in a large structure… they were, and this was so crucial, all victims here’. He knew there was a contrast between activism and abstract analysis. When interviewed by a pro-Israeli ABC journalist about Nabil he was even accused of antisemitism.
- Jamal is eventually called to a meeting with a senior university administrator regarding formal complaints received in relation to two of his social media posts. He had called for an end to the Zionist State. He was forced to retract and delete his posts and academic identity. Ashraf was happy with that outcome.
- But Jamal will not cave to insipidity. He'll continue to post on other sites. And Hannah finally determines she'll remain strong and defiant in support of Palestine, despite putting her job at risk. She won't cave.
- Abdel-Fattah has presented the issues and captured the mood perfectly in all its power and complexity. Her book is a must read.
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