Ayesha Chaudhry New Book “The Colour of God”
June 14, 2021
Congratulations to 2016 Wall Scholar Dr. Ayesha Chaudhry on the release of her new book The Colour of God (One World Publications). Dr. Chaudhry worked on this book project during her time at the Insitute in 2016-17. According to Dr. Chaudhry, being part of the multi-disciplinary Wall Scholars Program helped Dr. Chaudhry cultivate her ideas and her voice. She was further supported by PWIAS in hosting a workshop entitled “Of Essay and Memoir: Narrating The Lives of Muslim Women”, where she workshopped her book in progress.
The Colour of God is the story of a child raised in Canada by parents who embraced a puritanical version of Islam to shield them from racism. By revisiting a series of pivotal moments in her life, Dr. Chaudhry examines the colonial, racialized, and gendered beliefs and ideals with which she was raised. Braiding together Western, South Asian and Quranic storytelling styles, Chaudhry weaves her personal experiences with social commentary, and invites us to reimagine our ideas of self and family, state and citizenship, love and loss.
In Dr. Chaudhry’s words, “In its essence, this book is a non-linear story about grief, love and belonging in a diaspora created by colonialism. Through a series of stories, I explore the ways we try to belong, find home, feel whole, and the kinds of violence that accompany so many forms of belonging. I try to think compassionately and critically about family, religion, nationalism, capitalism, patriarchy and race, among other things.”
Dr. Chaudhry will be in conversation with award-winning author, Dr. David Chariandy about The Colour of God as part UBC’s IGNITE Book Club on June 30, 2021. To attend the online event, please register through IGNITE Book Club.
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