Monday, May 11, 2009

Book Review: My Hope for Peace by Jehan Sadat

This blog entry was provided by Bassem, at the Reference Desk. This book is currently on the Staff Picks shelf...come and see what else he is reading!


Born to a Christian British mother and a Muslim father, Jehan Sadat, a life long activist for women’s rights and widow of the assassinated Egyptian president Anwar Sadat takes us on a tour of Egypt modern History.


Jehan Sadat talks about two dates in her life; the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the United States and 10/6/81 the day her husband was assassinated by Muslims fanatics because of the Peace Treaty he signed with Israel.


In My Hope for Peace, Mrs. Sadat draws a plan for waging real peace that takes place on three fronts: first, through the good offices of governments and international treaties as they negotiate treaties. Second, takes place on an interpersonal level, in our behaviors and actions toward our presumptive enemies. Third, takes place on waging peace within ourselves- in our intentions.
In this book you will read about a president and his wife that led Egypt toward peace with Israel after years of war. It is an excellent book to learn about the Camp David Peace Treaty between Egypt and Israel from a very close reliable source, Jehan Sadat. It is the peace treaty that kept peace between the two countries since 1979 till today.


Jehan Sadat presents in her book; her vision and her husband’s to modernize Egypt and lead the country to prosperity. She talks about the history of women’s rights in Egypt in the last 100 years.


Mrs. Sadat corrects in her book some of the misconceptions of the west about the Middle East by giving a clear picture of social life, traditions and habits of Egyptians.


She gives us practical solutions of how the West and the East can reconcile and how the Muslims, Christians and Jews can live in harmony after years of hatred and enmity.


The book represents a personal hope for every man or woman who lost a close one and the life after the losing of dear ones as Jehan Sadat talks about her life after losing her husband and the changes that happened to her and her academic life teaching in Maryland University using that experience to illustrate the culture differences between Egypt and The United States of America.








"Peace is always treated as such an impossible goal, a utopian dream, but if regular people can cultivate the intention of peace- toward ourselves, toward the planet in which we live and the people with whom we share it- then insha’allah, God willing, we can achieve it."
Jehan Sadat