Persepolis for the Muslim

I suppose for me Persepolis wasn’t all that surprising as far as the information on the culture goes. I am personally of Muslim decent, and my mother’s ancestors are Persian (Iranian). Most of, if not all of the information presented in the book were things that I have read previously and had known either through my parents or through various international news sources. Regardless, I thoroughly enjoyed this graphic novel. For many people, this book was an eye opener into the Muslim culture and ways of doing things. The Middle East hasn’t had all that great of a self image in the past years, and this graphic novel does a good job in educated the masses. For me personally, I took much enjoyment from the book in the way that it was presented.

Using a graphic novel as a choice of media can be very difficult. It can be very easily viewed as silly, not serious at all and therefore in some way can lose credibility. The author was not only able to maintain her credibility in her methods, but present them in a lighthearted and at times comically way. This to me really stuck out as unique because issues and disagreements in Islam tend to be taboo, so for her to present it in a way that was not all that serious and at the same time credible. The issues of a youth growing up in an Islamic society but at the same time in a modern world is something that I found very relatable and proved to me that her audience was not just those that did not know about Islam but for those that are active practicers of the faith.