Status
Available
Call number
Publication
Moody Publishers (2012), Edition: New, 320 pages
Description
Religion & Spirituality. Nonfiction. HTML: "I lived in Afghanistan for five years. I learned the rules �?? I had to." Riveting and fast paced, In the Land of Blue Burqas depicts sharing the love and truth of Christ with women living in Afghanistan, which has been called "the world's most dangerous country in which to be born a woman." These stories are honest and true. The harsh reality of their lives is not sugar-coated, and that adds to the impact of this book. Through storytelling, the author shows how people who don't know Christ come to see Him, His truth, and His beauty. The stories provide insight into how a Jesus-follower brought Jesus' teachings of the Kingdom of God to Afghanistan. They reveal the splendor of Christ, the desire of human hearts, and that precious instance where the two meet. All of the names ofthose involved�??including Kate's�??plus the locations have been changed to protect the participants.… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member jo-jo
What would it be like to be immersed in a society where everyone has different values and beliefs than you? The author of In the Land of Blue Burqas shares her experience with us. In an effort to protect herself and anyone who may have helped her she has taken on the pseudonym of Kate McCord.
As a
While McCord lived in Afganistan working for a NPO, she had to learn about the Muslim way of life. She found a way to do this that allowed her to share her faith at the same time. It was interesting to finally hear some facts about the Muslim way of life. Did you know that they actually believe that Jesus is a prophet? There is quite a difference as to what they believe Jesus will accomplish when he does return.
I enjoyed this book that documents McCord's non-judgmental journey. My book club consists of mostly christian ladies so the book was enjoyed by everyone. With themes of faith and cultural differences I believe that many of you would enjoy this book as much as I did. I highly recommend this book for either personal leisure or as a book club selection.
As a
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christian I hear so many negative things about Muslims. I do understand that they have different ideals and goals than we do, but I struggle to think that every Muslim in the world wants me dead. As McCord has conversations with Muslims about them praying for her demise, she confronts them in a logical way that does not make them defensive. Although many admitted to the truth of their violent prayers, she also developed close friendships with many others.While McCord lived in Afganistan working for a NPO, she had to learn about the Muslim way of life. She found a way to do this that allowed her to share her faith at the same time. It was interesting to finally hear some facts about the Muslim way of life. Did you know that they actually believe that Jesus is a prophet? There is quite a difference as to what they believe Jesus will accomplish when he does return.
I enjoyed this book that documents McCord's non-judgmental journey. My book club consists of mostly christian ladies so the book was enjoyed by everyone. With themes of faith and cultural differences I believe that many of you would enjoy this book as much as I did. I highly recommend this book for either personal leisure or as a book club selection.
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LibraryThing member Maydacat
This is an account of a Christian woman from the USA who spent five years in Afghanistan, working on projects to help the people there, but most of the book focuses on her informal meetings with Afghan women. Their situation is heartbreaking. And while the men there secretly, forcefully and always
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tried to convert her and make her a Muslim, she could say nothing about becoming a Christian, except for what it means to her and how she follows the Honorable Jesus, as she usually refers to him. The stories that the author tells of women who live in Afghanistan are eye-opening and hard to believe. For instance, a man is considered to be quite a good husband, if he doesn’t beat his wife too much. The trials and stresses of everyday life that the women endure are bad enough, but the fact that they have little or no say in the things that affect them is hard to comprehend. That Kate McCord dealt with these hardships and saw the injustices first hand, day after day, must have been hard to bear. Yet, her faith in Jesus never wavered, her reason for being there at that time never questioned. Only when it became clear that to stay any longer meant certain death did she leave. This book is an informative and quick read about a culture and a religion that many of us know little about. The story is fascinating yet frustrating, and the author is to be admired for her courage in first living and then telling us this story. Show Less
LibraryThing member hnau
Hellspark by Janet Kagan has introduced me to the concept of culture, that Silent Language we all speak without knowing, those subconscious assumptions we call “logical” or “obvious” or “natural” but cannot really explain. We are blind to our own culture. When we explore another
Kate McCord has lived in Afghanistan for five years, working for a NGO. But this book is not about providing training and humanitarian aid. Her work is only the background for a more personal journey, learning the language and the culture. As a foreign, female, single, non-muslim project manager she had to find and invent the rules that apply to her in Afghan society, where something like this simply does not exist, where all women marry at age 11 to 19.
Wearing a scarf, but not a burqa. The complicated rules of sitting apart from men in public transportation. Social interactions. Explaining herself without giving offense. She has to be deliberate in what she does and what she says. She describes her actions as well as the cultural implications: “I didn't look directly at either man. That would be rude.” Living as a foreigner in a gender-segregated society, she has access to both worlds, the public space dominated by men, and the private area of women.
Afghan culture is very much intertwined with religion, and even our own, mostly secular western culture was shaped by religion for hundreds of years. (Remember, we are blind to our own culture.) Through this book, I have learned much about three cultures: my own, the culture of Muslim Afghanistan, and that of the New Testament.
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culture, we learn way more about our own. Anthropology and speculative fiction have this in common: by exploring strange and foreign ideas, at the same time we broaden our horizon, and we learn more about ourselves.Kate McCord has lived in Afghanistan for five years, working for a NGO. But this book is not about providing training and humanitarian aid. Her work is only the background for a more personal journey, learning the language and the culture. As a foreign, female, single, non-muslim project manager she had to find and invent the rules that apply to her in Afghan society, where something like this simply does not exist, where all women marry at age 11 to 19.
Wearing a scarf, but not a burqa. The complicated rules of sitting apart from men in public transportation. Social interactions. Explaining herself without giving offense. She has to be deliberate in what she does and what she says. She describes her actions as well as the cultural implications: “I didn't look directly at either man. That would be rude.” Living as a foreigner in a gender-segregated society, she has access to both worlds, the public space dominated by men, and the private area of women.
Afghan culture is very much intertwined with religion, and even our own, mostly secular western culture was shaped by religion for hundreds of years. (Remember, we are blind to our own culture.) Through this book, I have learned much about three cultures: my own, the culture of Muslim Afghanistan, and that of the New Testament.
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LibraryThing member chickadee2
If you are having a bad day...read this and be encouraged that you are not alone and things can be MUCH worse. You could be a woman in Afghanistan.
True story of a woman's experiences as a worker with an NGO in a smal village in that country. Her love for the women especially and her conversations
True story of a woman's experiences as a worker with an NGO in a smal village in that country. Her love for the women especially and her conversations
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there with the people she worked with and met will open your eyes to many things. I dare you to read this book! Show Less
LibraryThing member REINADECOPIAYPEGA
My emotions were all over the place reading this, even more so than in Kabul Beauty School. The authors of these 2 books could not be more different, religion aside.
I know I would never be interested in doing what the author did, nor Deborah Rodriguez from the other book either. I would not want to
One of the most disturbing things in this book is that someone told the author that if anyone owns a Bible he is automatically Christian and therefore must be executed. What ???
They marry their little girls off to men who sometimes are old enough to be their fathers, without even knowing who the man is. I can not even begin to imagine being told at 12, I will soon be a bride and have to have sex and endless amounts of male offspring in the 4th grade. Unthinkable to my Western mind, child's rights/protection stance as an ex social worker in child welfare. It is worse than living in the Dark Ages. Women are covered from head to toe, have to walk soundlessly, get beaten regularly, rarely leave the mud huts they live in, most are illiterate and infant mortality is high.
I would never in a million years put myself in harms way and live in such wretch conditions only to be told by some man there that his Koran says anyone who is not Moslem should be killed.
There are far more causes I support with my heart and wallet that actually does a bit of good.
This would not be one of them - but God bless her soul for doing what she felt called to do even if it meant getting kidnapped, murdered or blow up by a bomb. The holiday from hell.
I know I would never be interested in doing what the author did, nor Deborah Rodriguez from the other book either. I would not want to
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cope with sporadic water ( having OCD with no access to available running water would be my worst nightmare ), spotty electricity, bad drivers, constant staring and never ending attempts at converting me. It is also a fairly no hope situation, as in this country converting to another religion means execution. One of the most disturbing things in this book is that someone told the author that if anyone owns a Bible he is automatically Christian and therefore must be executed. What ???
They marry their little girls off to men who sometimes are old enough to be their fathers, without even knowing who the man is. I can not even begin to imagine being told at 12, I will soon be a bride and have to have sex and endless amounts of male offspring in the 4th grade. Unthinkable to my Western mind, child's rights/protection stance as an ex social worker in child welfare. It is worse than living in the Dark Ages. Women are covered from head to toe, have to walk soundlessly, get beaten regularly, rarely leave the mud huts they live in, most are illiterate and infant mortality is high.
I would never in a million years put myself in harms way and live in such wretch conditions only to be told by some man there that his Koran says anyone who is not Moslem should be killed.
There are far more causes I support with my heart and wallet that actually does a bit of good.
This would not be one of them - but God bless her soul for doing what she felt called to do even if it meant getting kidnapped, murdered or blow up by a bomb. The holiday from hell.
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LibraryThing member KWharton
The author seems to be a lovely, faithful, honest, loving, caring and (mostly) culturally humble person. I enjoyed reading about her time in Afghanistan and what she learnt while she was there. I think that Americans and many of the rest of us in the West also need to learn many of the lessons she
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mentions, such as gratitude, the joy of giving, and for men to treat women with respect. Show Less
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2012-05
2013
Physical description
320 p.; 8.5 inches
ISBN
0802408141 / 9780802408143
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