It is riveting to watch a liberal, fiercely independent young American transform into a Muslim and an Egyptian daughter-in-law. wins the reader over with her courage, her keen intelligence, her insatiable hunger for truth, and her fine writing. A life-altering adventure in love, faith, and surrender. deserves attention not just for the clarity of style and her shrewd observations, but for her sincerity and courage in following her own truth.” The Globe and MailĮloquent.

A remarkable journey, one that illuminates the humanity in us all.” The Seattle TimesĬaptivating. Wilson’s memoir offers the reader valuable insights into the Islamic faith. The Butterfly Mosque is replete with insights into faith, family, cross-cultural courtship and the inevitable clash of cultures,' making it an absorbing read. Torn between the secular West and Muslim East, Wilson records her intensely personal struggle to forge a 'third culture' that might accommodate her values without compromising them or the friends and family on both sides of the divide.

They begin a daring relationship that calls into question the very nature of family, belief, and tradition. She settles in Cairo, where she attempts to submerge herself in a culture based on her adopted religion and where she meets Omar, a man with a mild resentment of the Western influences in his homeland. Inspired by her experience during a college Islamic Studies course, Wilson, who was raised an atheist, decides to risk everything to convert to Islam and embark on a fated journey across continents and into an uncertain future. Willow Wilson's remarkable story of converting to Islam and falling in love with an Egyptian man in a volatile post-9/11 world, was praised as 'an eye-opening look at a misunderstood and often polarizing faith' ( Booklist) and 'a tremendously heartfelt, healing crosscultural fusion' ( Publishers Weekly).

The butterfly mosque by g willow wilson