In these thoughtful essays, Sheema Khan--Canadian hockey mom and Harvard PhD--gives us her pointed insights on being a modern and liberal, yet practising, Muslim, especially in Canada. Tackling a host of issues, such as terrorism and fanaticism, human rights post 9/11, Islamic law, women's rights, sharia, and the meaning of hijab, she explains Islam to the greater public while calling for mutual understanding and tolerance. She tells us "Why Muslims are angry," and protests, "You can't pigeonhole 1.6 billion Muslims," while calling on Muslims to "acknowledge the rise of fanaticism." She explains the plausibility of Islamic financing and applies the Charter of Rights to Canada . "Can there be Islamic democracy?" she asks, and then, "Will Quebec adopt France 's peculiar brand of liberty?" Provocative and original, even-handed and conciliatory, these essays are an important contribution to an urgent modern debate.

Sheema Khan's profile page

Sheema Khan writes a monthly column for The Globe and Mail on issues pertaining to Islam and Muslims. She holds a PhD from Harvard University in chemical physics, along with numerous patents on drug delivery technology. She has served on the Board of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, and is the founder and former chair of the Canadian Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-CAN). She has testified as an expert witness on Muslims in Canada and has appeared before a number of parliamentary committees. She is currently a patent agent in Ottawa.

"These short essays shift topics and connections readily, modestly advocating for intercultural dialogue in every compact paragraph." --Canadian Literature

"I will never see my own country quite the same again. I thank Sheema Khan for lending me her eyes and giving all Canadians the precious and welcome gift of her words. Her insight into everything from religion to hockey--often thought to be the same thing in this country!--is blessed with intelligence and humour." --Roy MacGregor, author of Canadians: A Portrait of a Country and Its People

"From women's issues to terrorism to Islamophobia, Of Hockey and Hijab takes the reader on a journey to explore many contemporary issues affecting Muslims in Canada and abroad. Khan's book is a must read for all." --Monia Mazigh, author of Hope and Despair

"Sheema Khan reflects on issues ranging from discrimination from others to religious patriarchy from within, faced by her Muslim coreligionists in Canada and abroad. She does so with empathy, wisdom, and humour, concluding that reasonable accommodation on the part of non-Muslims and a proper reading of the Koran and understanding of the teachings of the prophet Muhammad would lead to an Islam that would be perfectly compatible with Canada 's unique multicultural experiment." --Michael Adams, President, Environics Institute