Becoming a Muslim wasn’t easy. It isn’t for any person in Spain who takes that step, given the country’s Catholic heritage, even if it is more cultural than religious. And the difficulty only grows when the person in question is a woman, and one who chooses, like Amanda, to wear the veil. Why is Islam the fastest-growing religion in the world? What is it like to be a Muslim in Spain? What obstacles does a newly converted Muslim face? And above all: are Spanish people ready to turn their back on the Islamophobic prejudices permeating their society, which decided to erase all traces of Islam from its territories half a millennium ago?
There are many books that talk about Islam, but the majority are academic, and many others are written by non-Muslims. The result: their authors approach Islam as spectators, bringing along their prejudices and using them to build a discourse that reinforces preconceptions.
