Randa abdel fattah biography of michael
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Randa Abdel-Fattah on multiculturalism, Islam and a love story
Three years ago, Australian-Muslim writer Randa Abdel-Fattah decided to leave her full-time lag career to undertake a PhD on the rise of Islamophobia. While åtagande her thesis, she’s also managed to publish her eighth book, When Michael met Mina, in which she explores issues of multiculturalism, refugees and racism.
Abdel Fattah told The Point Magazine about the inspiration behind her latest book, her frustrations at the tone of the current national conversation on racism, and about her confronting experience of being face-to-face with far-right anti-Muslim groups.
What inspired your book When Michael met Mina?
Just over three and a half years ago, inom quit lag and started a PhD to explore racism, specifically Islamophobia, from the point of view of its perpetrators. While I was conducting my fieldwork, interviewing people, attending anti-Islam and anti-refugee rallies, a character popped into my head
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We asked author, Randa Abdel-Fattah to tell us a little about how her timely YA novel, When Michael Met Mina developed. Her answer is of course, gracious and thoughtful. The book explores topics not only of interest to Australian young people, but also to many others across the globe.
How does racism affect people’s everyday lives? How does it affect the victims– and the racists, too? Just over three and a half years’ ago I quit law and started a PhD to explore just that question. I wanted to unpack racism, specifically Islamophobia, from the point of view of its perpetrators. While I was conducting my fieldwork, interviewing people, attending anti-Islam and anti-refugee rallies (challenging ugh stuff), a character popped into my head. Well, two to be precise. One was a young Afghan refugee. A ‘boat person’ we see maligned and stigmatized by both sides of politics. Bright, fierce, courageous, scarred, she wouldn’t budge from my head. I thought about what it would mean for th
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Randa Abdel-Fattah
Randa Abdel-Fattah is an internationally published award-winning author. Her novels include Does My Head Look Big in This?, Ten Things I Hate About Me, Where The Streets Had A Name and Noah's Law. Her children's novels are Buzz Off, The Friendship Matchmaker and The Friendship Matchmaker Goes Undercover. Randa's first adult novel is the cleverly named No S-x in the City, described as an unadulterated Aussie chick-lit with a twist: lead character Esma is a devoted Muslim which adds an interesting layer to the 'girl tries to meet boy' narrative.
A passionate human rights activist, Randa is frequently sought for comment by the media and has appeared on television programs such as the ABC’s Q & A, the ABC’s First Tuesday Book Club, SBS’s Insight and Channel Seven's Sunrise.
Randa is a regular speaker at schools and writer’s festivals in Australia and overseas. She uses her writing, talks and workshops to address issues of identi