Writing on Islam as a non-Muslim: Lesley Hazleton
Lesley Hazleton is an award-winning writer whose work focuses on the intersection of religion, history, and politics. She is a former reporter focusing on the Middle East as well as a celebrated author and award recipient of The Stranger’s Genius in Literature Award.
Despite her accolades, she continues to face a large barrier in her writing on Islam, she is not a Muslim. This conversation between Rizwan Mawani and Lesley Hazelton asked the questions: do you need to be a Muslim to write about Islam? what benefits or challenges does a non-Muslim face when commenting on religion he or she is external to?
Lesley spoke openly about her experience of writing about Islam as a non-Muslim. She shared how and why she began researching Islam and what she discovered during her writing process. The audience was highly engaged in this conversation and asked thoughtful questions about the ability to properly understand the Prophet as someone external to Islam.
