Its not about islam itself, its about how islam is used in a certain country. You call it propaganda but lets not forget that this "problematic books" of khalid hosseiny are the reason people in all around the world are getting to know about the invisible pain and suffering of the people in afghanistan.
And just in that turn he is a liar. He really a propaganda piece. He created a fictional tale and sold it like a real story. It was used by the US to support a 20 year long war. In which the afghn goverment with us support promoted pedophilla, drug use and warlords. The taliban aint the best people on earth but so much of what the us media says is full of lies. And wat the disapora try to promote with another us invasion
@@raqibali5977 Khaled Hosseini is from Afghanistan and will relate to the suffering of the people of his own country. It is like how Indian writers don't write about problems in Europe or Afghanistan.
@@maryamjan6727 Writers from India or rest of the world are as wrong as Khalid ignores the suffering of rest of the world in his work and choose to walk on a way which Islamophopes and modernist spread, I hope after the recent developments in Palestine world eyes will open specially to those modernist muslim who take their morality from West and America....
@@raqibali5977 I understand what you are saying but I like that said writers mostly write about the issues they have experienced which does add authenticity to their writing. A person in India might want to write about issues in Afghanistan, but they might not have sufficient knowledge and experience of living through that, and then can not do justice to their writing or the subject of writing.
We are not supposed to believe Rasheed in what he says about the prophet and we can clearly see that he has no idea what he's talking about. He literally calls Karl Marx "Karl marxist". I read both of these instances as dramatic irony
thats true, I think Hosseini is trying to portray Rasheed as an abusive uneducated misogynistic basic afghan man. and trust me I have seen and met afghan men just like him, they exist
While I agree with some of your points, the quote you mentioned ('Maybe there will be hope when Bush's bombs stop falling') is missing an essential bit of context within the narrative. Firstly, a few sentences earlier, Lalia pushes back against this view when she argues with Tariq, saying 'Not so bad? People dying? Women, children, old people? Homes destroyed again? Not so bad?', establishing Hosseini's view that Bush's actions are neither proportional nor justifiable. This line acknowledges that US imperialism is not successful in its assumed goal of 'liberation' and was vastly detrimental to the Afghan people. Furthermore, directly after the quote you referenced, Laila argues that she cannot bring herself to agree with the view that 'maybe there will be hope when Bush's bomb's stop falling', even if she was unduly harsh to Tariq during their argument. The paragraph proceeds 'But she cannot bring herself to say it, not when what happened to Babi and Mammy is happening to someone now in Afghanistan, not when some unsuspecting girl or boy back home has just been orphaned by a rocket as she was. Laila cannot bring herself to say it. It’s hard to rejoice. It seems hypocritical, perverse.' Hosseini acknowledges that the view that US imperialism is a ‘liberating’ force is, in fact, 'perverse'. I do not believe that, considering your quote's surrounding context, Hosseini is in any way justifying Bush's military action. If anything, I believe he agrees with your perspective, and my own, by emphasizing the cost of this violence. However, I broadly agree with your comments on islamophobia, although I am unsure if this was an outwardly malicious point from Hosseini. As a non-Muslim, I am aware of my blind spots in this regard, but I feel the mention of the prophet was meant to be a criticism of fundamentalism. Hosseini may have been trying to present how Islamic fundamentalism distorts the teachings of the Qur'an to suit their societal beliefs. Rasheed and his relationship with the women in the novel have always appeared to me as a microcosm for wider Afghan fundamentalism seen in the provinces outside of Kabul, which further affirms that this was not meant as a generalized Islamophobic attack. However, I see your point that taken outside of a more nuanced space, maybe into the mind of western readers with already preconceived islamophobia, that this could be damaging. Maybe, as a secular Muslim, Hosseini did not consider that this is how the line could be interpreted by non-Muslims. As you mentioned, Islam is also presented in a beautiful way within the novel. As a child, Mariam's lessons with Mullah Faizullah about the Qur'an are her sanctuary, inspiring her to seek further education. Later in the novel, she describes the prayers he taught her as her only possession in the world, a precious gift she gives to her proxy-granddaughter, Aziza. This leds me to believe that the novel is more nuanced than you present it as. I am aware this is an overwhelmingly large comment, and I could go on longer, but I feel I have rambled enough. This is a book I really love; it is a beautiful love letter to Afghan culture as well as its women. Hosseini’s work humanizes these women in a way that has been absent in most western media since 9/11. He treats them not as victims, but powerful, individualized characters, conveying the power of female friendships and motherhood. For this reason, this novel is fundamental in presenting the suffering of a voiceless group that needs an advocate now more than ever.
I do need to look into his presentation of Pakistan, though. I vaguely remember his presentation of the refugee camps and prisons as being largely negative, but I can see your point about omitting Pakistani involvement in the war being problematic.
Hi Sara, this author prevented these flaws in his next book, "And the Mountains Echoed." By the way, Khaled Hosseini's books inspired me. I hope he can publish more books in the future. I am a Chinese "fan" of his book.
I don't know what made you think that what Rashid said or did can represent Islam! And the quotation of Rashid u r talking about is not anything that can represent Islam in anyway. Rashid was just trying to comfort Mariam and trying to normalize that this is what all married couples do and all married couples did from time immemorial, prophet SW. And his wives did it too, it's nothing to be ashamed of. So that Mariam get used to her married life. The writer just depicted sort of reality what a girl like Mariam faces. Readers r not gonna judge Islam by Rashid's character. Rather they will judge Islam by character like Mullah Faizullah.
THANKYOU!!! I said it in the last video and i'll say it again THIS needs to be preached. We as muslims need to start recognizing the propaganda we are surrounded by. Tbh i found this book way more problematic than "The kite runner", because of how they literally portrayed Pakistan in a positive light. I being a Pakistani cannot emphasize enough on the fact that the Pakistan military intervetion ruined both Afghanistan and Pakistan's government. It was our Army that caused the separation of Pakistan in 1971 and many other conflicts. I'm so glad you mentioned this. Lots of Love from Pakistan✨
Who said he portrayed Pakistan in positive light??? Read the book again. In the book when the driver who takes Amir to get Saurabh in Wazir Akbar Khan road, he mentions Chechens, Arabs, Pakistanis, etc those who are responsible for demise of Afghanistan. Also he mentioned as well that there were many of Asif's men in Pakistan itself who wouldn't stand a chance like here in India. He had to run for his own safety to Islamabad another Pakistan city.
All of your points related to islamophobia are wrong. By your accent I assume you don't belong to asia. As a person who lives in Muslim majority country of aisa, I can confirm that all the things khalid described about Islam are those which are believed by 99.99% of Muslims in my region. I can even give you fatwas by the Muslim ulemas of my region to prove my point. Let me know if you need any.
My biggest gripe with this book is that it felt like it was all trauma porn and little plot. I greatly despise the casual tone in which rape and abuse against girls is depicted. I'm always skeptical of how male authors use these devices against female characters. Also, yes thank you for pointing out the weird propaganda. I was so frusturated reading certain parts because of that. And lack of distinction between real Islam and stereotypical cultural beliefs had me ready to put the bookndown all together lol
A nice critical perspective. There are characters who practiced 'normal Islam.' The likes of Laila's and Tariks family. On the other hand, There is Rashid who practices the 'Fundamental Islam' So it's up to the reader to identify how the characters practiced their belief. I don't think that if the writer tries to draw the line between 'normal Islam', and 'Fundamental Islam". He did his best to show how faith can be abused among politicians. (As a remark @ 2:48 you mentioned that Mariam forced to Marry Jalil. Jalil is her father. It is rather Rashid.) By the way the story has many resemblance with my country (Ethiopia) civil war period. For that reason I have translated "A Thousand Splendid Suns" in to Amharich (our official language)
Non muslim here. Thank you, just finished the book, found this video and, yes, at times I felt that it kind of had a set political view instead of just keeping neutral and focusing on the story. Thanks for sharing your knowledge and demystifying the issues around orientalism and fundamental Islam. Blessings.
I'm currently reading A thousand splendid suns right now, and couldn't shove off the weird "islamic" ideologies that were pusehd forward to me. The book seems overall a beautifully heartbreaking interpretation of a CULTURE (not islam), Mariam feels trapped having to serve rasheed and obey all of his orders. Its honestly terrifying to know that these are infact examples of real life accounts of what happens in many marriages, not only specifically islamic ones. What truly was disheartening for me was the way islam was portrayed in the book overall. Mariam doesn't seem to understand the true teachings of islam due to the fact that she isn't educated enough, and so she believes rasheed and everything he forces her to do. I'm not sure whether or not i should continue reading it, the storyline is great, the messages in it aren't
Hi. I'm from Poland and I've had quite different emotions while reading this book. I've noticed many positive connections to Islam, which was difficult to comprehend to me, for the main characters didn't connect the religion in their brains with their horrible husband, and they were still praying and reading "Coran" after all they have been through. I've read three books settled in Afghanistan, including this one. The other two are "Zoya's story: an Afghan woman's battle for freedom" by Zoya, John Follain and Rita Cristofari and "The Bookseller of Kabul" by Åsne Seierstad. Could you please write some titles of the books you recommend?
The author is merely pointing out how some people misrepresent Islam. The title of the book is itself from Maulana Rumi’s poetry.. spirituality and humanity transcend organised religion itself.
I really appreciate this video. While I still like The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns for their writing style and still see them as good fiction I was always uncomfortable with aspects of the book that portrayed the entirety of Afghani society as unjust. The biggest evidence of this is Mariam in A Thousand Splendid Suns who is the most innocent and blameless character in the novel objectively - morally upright and always hard-done by in life - and yet she ends up with the most horrible end. Ultimately we as muslims have a slew of negative media from the non-muslim perspective but even the market of generally successful Muslim/ex-Muslim writers (the status of these people is often ambigious and I think purposefully so) end up portaying largely Muslim societies as corrupt, hypocritical and dangerous. Another good example of this is From a Crooked Rib by Nuruddin Farah. While it is probably true that in any given society, muslim included, there will be issues of corruption and miscarriages of justice, but what is the probability that these are the only stories we have to tell? That is why it comes across as deliberate propaganda at worst and feeding into it at best.
Pray tell how is it Islamophobia? You can’t invalidate whatever Marian and Laila had to go through because it puts your religion in a bad light, this is the reality of many women, you can’t silence them, if your reflection in the mirror looks dirty you clean yourself not the mirror. You can’t brush the hardships and suffering of Muslim women under the rug and cross your fingers that it will disappear, if Rashid exhibits misogyny and abuse contrary to that Tariq is gentle and kind. The book was never about politics or Islam it was about sacrifice,suffering and hardships of women which you just prove by neglecting that.
regarding _Uses orientalist and Islamophobic Syntax_ this is what actually makes the reader more glued to the book. no one would read it if such stuff isn't used in a book ; hadn't it been used, it would turn up like every other bland book. though i'm not a big fan of hosseini's works but i do get the point he wanted to put forth. _everyone_ , literally everyone hates rasheed..... this statement that you've mentioned is really sarcastic to the readers. every statement made by rasheed is hated by the audience and whatever he says is considered wrong and problematic by the audience. it's like saying - "I'm here to rob you because you're a cat" said the thief ...... and making a fuss about it that this book is spreading hate about cats ( yes ik it's a dumb eg. but i don't even know what to give an exampple as). i mean it's the thief who said it. similarly when rasheed said it, it was RASHEED and not hosseini. 🤍🤍🤍
I see what you mean and maybe you're right, if Hosseini didn't use orientalist and islamophobic syntax, noone would read it. But I would argue there is so many more negatives associated with the fact he did use it and it did in fact was and still is very popular. The book ends the situation in Afghanistan with the US going in to save the people. Something that never happened and instead killed more afghans. I think the fact Hosseini was eating dinners with Bush (the man who was murdering afghans) while writing books about afghanistan, says so much about the author and his books.
@@sarainsuburbia His actions and attitudes are problematic, but they serve to underscore the larger societal issues rather than promoting Islamophobia or orientalism. Rasheed's treatment of Mariam and Laila prompts readers to confront the harsh realities of gender inequality and domestic violence in Afghan society. Regarding your point about Hosseini's association with political figures, it's important to acknowledge that authors often engage with various individuals and institutions, sometimes for reasons beyond mere endorsement. While Hosseini's dinners with political figures like Bush may raise eyebrows, it's not fair to dismiss his entire body of work based solely on these associations. After all, "A Thousand Splendid Suns" stands on its own merits, offering a powerful exploration of resilience and hope in the face of adversity.
Its not about islam itself, its about how islam is used in a certain country. You call it propaganda but lets not forget that this "problematic books" of khalid hosseiny are the reason people in all around the world are getting to know about the invisible pain and suffering of the people in afghanistan.
And just in that turn he is a liar. He really a propaganda piece. He created a fictional tale and sold it like a real story. It was used by the US to support a 20 year long war. In which the afghn goverment with us support promoted pedophilla, drug use and warlords. The taliban aint the best people on earth but so much of what the us media says is full of lies. And wat the disapora try to promote with another us invasion
When khaled hosseni going to write a book over witch hunting in Europe and Sati Or it's not their interest?
@@raqibali5977 Khaled Hosseini is from Afghanistan and will relate to the suffering of the people of his own country. It is like how Indian writers don't write about problems in Europe or Afghanistan.
@@maryamjan6727 Writers from India or rest of the world are as wrong as Khalid ignores the suffering of rest of the world in his work and choose to walk on a way which Islamophopes and modernist spread, I hope after the recent developments in Palestine world eyes will open specially to those modernist muslim who take their morality from West and America....
@@raqibali5977 I understand what you are saying but I like that said writers mostly write about the issues they have experienced which does add authenticity to their writing. A person in India might want to write about issues in Afghanistan, but they might not have sufficient knowledge and experience of living through that, and then can not do justice to their writing or the subject of writing.
We are not supposed to believe Rasheed in what he says about the prophet and we can clearly see that he has no idea what he's talking about. He literally calls Karl Marx "Karl marxist". I read both of these instances as dramatic irony
thats true, I think Hosseini is trying to portray Rasheed as an abusive uneducated misogynistic basic afghan man. and trust me I have seen and met afghan men just like him, they exist
100%% especially when it noted how he did not fast in Ramadan, ?did not pray?, possessed those magazines, etc.
While I agree with some of your points, the quote you mentioned ('Maybe there will be hope when Bush's bombs stop falling') is missing an essential bit of context within the narrative.
Firstly, a few sentences earlier, Lalia pushes back against this view when she argues with Tariq, saying 'Not so bad? People dying? Women, children, old people? Homes destroyed again? Not so bad?', establishing Hosseini's view that Bush's actions are neither proportional nor justifiable. This line acknowledges that US imperialism is not successful in its assumed goal of 'liberation' and was vastly detrimental to the Afghan people.
Furthermore, directly after the quote you referenced, Laila argues that she cannot bring herself to agree with the view that 'maybe there will be hope when Bush's bomb's stop falling', even if she was unduly harsh to Tariq during their argument. The paragraph proceeds 'But she cannot bring herself to say it, not when what happened to Babi and Mammy is happening to someone now in Afghanistan, not when some unsuspecting girl or boy back home has just been orphaned by a rocket as she was. Laila cannot bring herself to say it. It’s hard to rejoice. It seems hypocritical, perverse.'
Hosseini acknowledges that the view that US imperialism is a ‘liberating’ force is, in fact, 'perverse'. I do not believe that, considering your quote's surrounding context, Hosseini is in any way justifying Bush's military action. If anything, I believe he agrees with your perspective, and my own, by emphasizing the cost of this violence.
However, I broadly agree with your comments on islamophobia, although I am unsure if this was an outwardly malicious point from Hosseini. As a non-Muslim, I am aware of my blind spots in this regard, but I feel the mention of the prophet was meant to be a criticism of fundamentalism. Hosseini may have been trying to present how Islamic fundamentalism distorts the teachings of the Qur'an to suit their societal beliefs. Rasheed and his relationship with the women in the novel have always appeared to me as a microcosm for wider Afghan fundamentalism seen in the provinces outside of Kabul, which further affirms that this was not meant as a generalized Islamophobic attack. However, I see your point that taken outside of a more nuanced space, maybe into the mind of western readers with already preconceived islamophobia, that this could be damaging. Maybe, as a secular Muslim, Hosseini did not consider that this is how the line could be interpreted by non-Muslims.
As you mentioned, Islam is also presented in a beautiful way within the novel. As a child, Mariam's lessons with Mullah Faizullah about the Qur'an are her sanctuary, inspiring her to seek further education. Later in the novel, she describes the prayers he taught her as her only possession in the world, a precious gift she gives to her proxy-granddaughter, Aziza. This leds me to believe that the novel is more nuanced than you present it as.
I am aware this is an overwhelmingly large comment, and I could go on longer, but I feel I have rambled enough. This is a book I really love; it is a beautiful love letter to Afghan culture as well as its women. Hosseini’s work humanizes these women in a way that has been absent in most western media since 9/11. He treats them not as victims, but powerful, individualized characters, conveying the power of female friendships and motherhood. For this reason, this novel is fundamental in presenting the suffering of a voiceless group that needs an advocate now more than ever.
I do need to look into his presentation of Pakistan, though. I vaguely remember his presentation of the refugee camps and prisons as being largely negative, but I can see your point about omitting Pakistani involvement in the war being problematic.
Hi Sara, this author prevented these flaws in his next book, "And the Mountains Echoed." By the way, Khaled Hosseini's books inspired me. I hope he can publish more books in the future. I am a Chinese "fan" of his book.
I don't know what made you think that what Rashid said or did can represent Islam! And the quotation of Rashid u r talking about is not anything that can represent Islam in anyway. Rashid was just trying to comfort Mariam and trying to normalize that this is what all married couples do and all married couples did from time immemorial, prophet SW. And his wives did it too, it's nothing to be ashamed of. So that Mariam get used to her married life.
The writer just depicted sort of reality what a girl like Mariam faces.
Readers r not gonna judge Islam by Rashid's character. Rather they will judge Islam by character like Mullah Faizullah.
THANKYOU!!! I said it in the last video and i'll say it again THIS needs to be preached. We as muslims need to start recognizing the propaganda we are surrounded by. Tbh i found this book way more problematic than "The kite runner", because of how they literally portrayed Pakistan in a positive light. I being a Pakistani cannot emphasize enough on the fact that the Pakistan military intervetion ruined both Afghanistan and Pakistan's government. It was our Army that caused the separation of Pakistan in 1971 and many other conflicts. I'm so glad you mentioned this.
Lots of Love from Pakistan✨
You're so very welcome!! I agree there is overt propaganda everywhere and it needs to be called out. Thank you for watching!!! Much love to you!
Who said he portrayed Pakistan in positive light??? Read the book again. In the book when the driver who takes Amir to get Saurabh in Wazir Akbar Khan road, he mentions Chechens, Arabs, Pakistanis, etc those who are responsible for demise of Afghanistan. Also he mentioned as well that there were many of Asif's men in Pakistan itself who wouldn't stand a chance like here in India. He had to run for his own safety to Islamabad another Pakistan city.
glad u recognize the seperation in 1971
All of your points related to islamophobia are wrong. By your accent I assume you don't belong to asia. As a person who lives in Muslim majority country of aisa, I can confirm that all the things khalid described about Islam are those which are believed by 99.99% of Muslims in my region. I can even give you fatwas by the Muslim ulemas of my region to prove my point. Let me know if you need any.
My biggest gripe with this book is that it felt like it was all trauma porn and little plot. I greatly despise the casual tone in which rape and abuse against girls is depicted. I'm always skeptical of how male authors use these devices against female characters.
Also, yes thank you for pointing out the weird propaganda. I was so frusturated reading certain parts because of that. And lack of distinction between real Islam and stereotypical cultural beliefs had me ready to put the bookndown all together lol
I felt these too while reading. Thank you for bringing this up. Jazakallah khair
A nice critical perspective. There are characters who practiced 'normal Islam.' The likes of Laila's and Tariks family. On the other hand, There is Rashid who practices the 'Fundamental Islam' So it's up to the reader to identify how the characters practiced their belief. I don't think that if the writer tries to draw the line between 'normal Islam', and 'Fundamental Islam". He did his best to show how faith can be abused among politicians. (As a remark @ 2:48 you mentioned that Mariam forced to Marry Jalil. Jalil is her father. It is rather Rashid.) By the way the story has many resemblance with my country (Ethiopia) civil war period. For that reason I have translated "A Thousand Splendid Suns" in to Amharich (our official language)
Non muslim here. Thank you, just finished the book, found this video and, yes, at times I felt that it kind of had a set political view instead of just keeping neutral and focusing on the story. Thanks for sharing your knowledge and demystifying the issues around orientalism and fundamental Islam. Blessings.
literally half of this is from an already existing article, and its barely reworded
What article?
I'm currently reading A thousand splendid suns right now, and couldn't shove off the weird "islamic" ideologies that were pusehd forward to me. The book seems overall a beautifully heartbreaking interpretation of a CULTURE (not islam), Mariam feels trapped having to serve rasheed and obey all of his orders. Its honestly terrifying to know that these are infact examples of real life accounts of what happens in many marriages, not only specifically islamic ones. What truly was disheartening for me was the way islam was portrayed in the book overall. Mariam doesn't seem to understand the true teachings of islam due to the fact that she isn't educated enough, and so she believes rasheed and everything he forces her to do. I'm not sure whether or not i should continue reading it, the storyline is great, the messages in it aren't
Really good video, I also thought the praise of US intervention was pretty odd at the end of a thousand splendid suns.
thank you!!
Hi. I'm from Poland and I've had quite different emotions while reading this book. I've noticed many positive connections to Islam, which was difficult to comprehend to me, for the main characters didn't connect the religion in their brains with their horrible husband, and they were still praying and reading "Coran" after all they have been through.
I've read three books settled in Afghanistan, including this one. The other two are "Zoya's story: an Afghan woman's battle for freedom" by Zoya, John Follain and Rita Cristofari and "The Bookseller of Kabul" by Åsne Seierstad.
Could you please write some titles of the books you recommend?
The author is merely pointing out how some people misrepresent Islam. The title of the book is itself from Maulana Rumi’s poetry.. spirituality and humanity transcend organised religion itself.
I loved a thousand splendid suns!!
So are the other Afghan historical fiction books you can recommend?
Jalil is mariams father they were never married
I really appreciate this video. While I still like The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns for their writing style and still see them as good fiction I was always uncomfortable with aspects of the book that portrayed the entirety of Afghani society as unjust. The biggest evidence of this is Mariam in A Thousand Splendid Suns who is the most innocent and blameless character in the novel objectively - morally upright and always hard-done by in life - and yet she ends up with the most horrible end. Ultimately we as muslims have a slew of negative media from the non-muslim perspective but even the market of generally successful Muslim/ex-Muslim writers (the status of these people is often ambigious and I think purposefully so) end up portaying largely Muslim societies as corrupt, hypocritical and dangerous. Another good example of this is From a Crooked Rib by Nuruddin Farah. While it is probably true that in any given society, muslim included, there will be issues of corruption and miscarriages of justice, but what is the probability that these are the only stories we have to tell? That is why it comes across as deliberate propaganda at worst and feeding into it at best.
Hey, I will like to see more vedios of yours, like book recommendation,book reviews etc.thank u
I'm fine with Muslims.
👏
Peace be upon your people.
Is Khaled Hussain or his books problem?
That guy is probably a CIA asset
Both!
I agree that the narrator always depicts men as cruel creatures and women as victims
Clearly seems like you haven’t read his work
Pray tell how is it Islamophobia? You can’t invalidate whatever Marian and Laila had to go through because it puts your religion in a bad light, this is the reality of many women, you can’t silence them, if your reflection in the mirror looks dirty you clean yourself not the mirror. You can’t brush the hardships and suffering of Muslim women under the rug and cross your fingers that it will disappear, if Rashid exhibits misogyny and abuse contrary to that Tariq is gentle and kind. The book was never about politics or Islam it was about sacrifice,suffering and hardships of women which you just prove by neglecting that.
Are you the Sara who wrote the article about Kite Runner on Medium?
regarding _Uses orientalist and Islamophobic Syntax_ this is what actually makes the reader more glued to the book. no one would read it if such stuff isn't used in a book ; hadn't it been used, it would turn up like every other bland book. though i'm not a big fan of hosseini's works but i do get the point he wanted to put forth. _everyone_ , literally everyone hates rasheed..... this statement that you've mentioned is really sarcastic to the readers. every statement made by rasheed is hated by the audience and whatever he says is considered wrong and problematic by the audience. it's like saying - "I'm here to rob you because you're a cat" said the thief ...... and making a fuss about it that this book is spreading hate about cats ( yes ik it's a dumb eg. but i don't even know what to give an exampple as). i mean it's the thief who said it. similarly when rasheed said it, it was RASHEED and not hosseini.
🤍🤍🤍
I see what you mean and maybe you're right, if Hosseini didn't use orientalist and islamophobic syntax, noone would read it. But I would argue there is so many more negatives associated with the fact he did use it and it did in fact was and still is very popular. The book ends the situation in Afghanistan with the US going in to save the people. Something that never happened and instead killed more afghans. I think the fact Hosseini was eating dinners with Bush (the man who was murdering afghans) while writing books about afghanistan, says so much about the author and his books.
@@sarainsuburbia His actions and attitudes are problematic, but they serve to underscore the larger societal issues rather than promoting Islamophobia or orientalism. Rasheed's treatment of Mariam and Laila prompts readers to confront the harsh realities of gender inequality and domestic violence in Afghan society.
Regarding your point about Hosseini's association with political figures, it's important to acknowledge that authors often engage with various individuals and institutions, sometimes for reasons beyond mere endorsement. While Hosseini's dinners with political figures like Bush may raise eyebrows, it's not fair to dismiss his entire body of work based solely on these associations. After all, "A Thousand Splendid Suns" stands on its own merits, offering a powerful exploration of resilience and hope in the face of adversity.