It's not what you think. It's not what you're expecting. It's not a defense, a diatribe, or an endorsement. Osama's Jihad, instead, is an extraordinary novel that takes you from New York City to Cairo to Makkah and back again, as our protagonist, Osama, grows from childhood to manhood through a series of dizzying experiences.
After the death of his beloved father, the adult Osama is adrift in guilt, recriminations, and self-doubt. Despite their strong and devoted relationship, an incident in the family years before had uprooted the adolescent Osama, his mother, and sister from New York to Cairo. Osama finds a passionate and all-encompassing love in neighbor Nora, but shocking revelations about her lead to anguish, scarring, and possibly permanent ruin.
It is clear that Osama needs to acknowledge his past and accept his own culpability as well as find a road to his future. We identify with him as his vulnerability and self-loathing threaten to overtake his desire to live and to see his son grow to manhood. Indeed, Osama is living his jihad, the spiritual struggle within that every human must confront and triumph over
Osama's Jihad is a story with universal relevance, that is unique in its ability to cross between post terrorism irrationality and the unifying powers of love, understanding, and acceptance. It bridges cultures, nationalism, and religions in a way unlike anything you've read before.
