Aymann Ismail: Becoming Baba

From Slate staff writer Aymann Ismail comes an exquisite memoir about fatherhood, religion, and the search for identity in an ever-shifting world.

The son of Egyptian immigrants, Aymann Ismail came of age in the shadow of 9/11, tracking the barrage of predatory headlines pervading the media and influencing the popular consciousness about Muslims. After a series of bomb threats were directed at his Islamic school in Teaneck, New Jersey, just a few miles from downtown Manhattan, his parents—anxious that it was no longer safe to be so explicitly Muslim—enrolled him in public school, where he was the only Muslim his new friends had ever met. In the privacy of their home, they turned to their faith for guidance on how to live, adhering to traditional notions about gender roles, and avoiding the putative American dangers of alcohol, sex, and rebellion.

And yet, Aymann is undeniably an American teenager, negotiating his place in multiple worlds while chafing against the structures of his upbringing. He eventually embarks on a career in political journalism, in part to establish his own version of things. In time, though, he also gains a deeper understanding and appreciation for his parents' values and sacrifices—his father’s grueling work ethic as a town car driver, and his mother’s adeptness at managing their itinerant family.

When Aymann meets and falls in love with Mira, a woman with her own ideas about the modern Muslim family, his world shifts yet again. After Mira gets pregnant with their first child, Aymann begins to reckon with his past, future, and the beliefs that have shaped his life. What does it mean to be a Muslim man? More still, what does it mean to be any man—and a father to a baby boy and girl? And how best to honor one’s cultural heritage while holding space for change and discovery?

In lucid, confident prose, Aymann Ismail questions the sturdy frameworks of religion and family, the legacies of his childhood, and what will become his children's ethical and intellectual inheritance. To reckon unflinchingly with these questions offers him a road map for his young Muslim children on how to navigate the singular journey into adulthood.

Aymann Ismail is an award-winning Slate magazine staff writer whose journalism focuses on identity and religion. He is the creator of the Slate video series "Who's Afraid of Aymann Ismail?," in which he offers an intimate portrayal of American Muslims. Ismail also hosts "Man Up"--a podcast exploring men, relationships, family, race, and sex--which seeks to provide a blueprint for navigating discussions of masculinity. In addition to Slate, his work has been featured on CNN, The New York Times, NPR, GQ, The Atlantic, Columbia Journalism Review, and The Huffington Post. Ismail’s writing has been nominated for the National Magazine Award in reporting and he has won a Writers Guild Award. He lives in Newark, New Jersey with his family.

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