From: RUKHSANA KHAN <irrualli>
Date: Sat, 6 Jan 2001 23:48:10 -0800

I also agree that a writer can write about any culture they choose. I am not at all for censorship of this kind.

I think Linda Sue raises an excellent point when she said:

"There is an odd kind of

(I may not be saying this very well. What I mean is, if you find

I think the key to writing about another culture authentically is getting so emersed in it that you almost identify with it. That things don't look exotic, but natural and even somewhat logical.

Also one problem I have with books that are written by those outside the culture is that they often perpetuate stereotypes, and transmit misinformation One of my main concerns with Shabanu is that there are a couple of erroneous statements regarding Islam.

I know for a fact that Ms. Staples passed the book by members of the Pakistani community, but it seems their information was also flawed, so the misinformation about Islam gets passed across, second hand.

I think writers can make the mistake of ensuring the nitty gritty details are correct while ignoring glaring differences in thought patterns and ideologies.

(I actually wrote an article on this very subject on my website. For those who may be interested it's at http://www.rukhsanakhan.com )

I think anyone who writes from outside a culture will be scrutinized by members of that culture much more carefully. I think that's fair, and I think that's only to be expected.

Like Uma said, writers can no longer assume that people from the cultures they're writing about won't be reading them.

Rukhsana
Received on Sun 07 Jan 2001 01:48:10 AM CST