Kamran Pasha on "Mother of the Believers"

When I decided to write Mother of the Believers, my novel on the birth of Islam, I realized that I was wading into controversial waters. The book, which tells the story of Prophet Muhammad’s young wife Aisha, was guaranteed to attract attention. A similarly themed novel, The Jewel of Medina by Sherry Jones, had become the center of a media storm when its initial publisher canceled release of the book out of fear of a Muslim backlash. And so I knew I was walking into a potential minefield with my own take on Aisha’s story. But instead of hiding from controversy, I decided that I would face the danger head on, by making my case on the Internet months before the book’s publication. And in the process, I created an online buzz about the novel long before anyone had a chance to even read a word.

Having watched Ms. Jones experience, and being aware of the ugly legacy of the whole Salman Rushdie affair, I decided to first establish my credentials as someone who was qualified to even approach the subject matter. Unlike most other novelists in this arena, I am a practicing Muslim. I take my faith very seriously and wrote this book both to illuminate Islam as I see it, but also to address many of the negative attacks that have been launched against my religion over the past few years.

Islam in general has a bad rap in the West as a violent and misogynistic faith, both perceptions that are false and belie the Islam I know and live, which is a religion of love, peace and harmony. And so I wanted to tell the story of Islam’s birth from the point of view of an empowered woman, Aisha, who was a scholar, a politician and a military commander who led armies into battle. She was also the most beloved of Prophet Muhammad’s wives and it was in her arms that the founder of Islam passed away. I knew that Aisha single-handedly shattered all stereotypes of the oppressed Muslim woman, and I hoped that telling her tale would begin a much-needed dialogue about the true nature of Islam. But first I had to present myself as someone whose opinion was worth listening to on the subject. The big question was how could I establish myself as a unique voice amid the cacophony of opinions regarding Islam in the media?