Seeking Sanctuary

by Hilda Reilly

"Seeking Sanctuary" is a rich and detailed journey into Sudan, a country that crystallizes present fears and prejudices about Islam, extremism and borderless global terrorism. It is told through the eyes of convertspeople intimately familiar with the western world but who have chosen Sudan and its apparent discomfort over their former existence. The result is not the cliched clash of cultures, or a narrative of awkwardness, but an uplifting account of joyful assimilation. The book provides an extraordinary insight into the religious journey to conversion. Its focus on the individual stories reveals the enormous complexity of motive, the subtlety of the experience, and the need for sensitivity rather than commonplace suspicion. It explains how the concerts have molded their own belief systems out of a common set of values to create an existence that allows them to feel comfortable about themselves and their environment for the first time. It contains a fascinating collection of intimate portraits, and individual discoveries."

Hilda Reilly is the author of "Prickly Pears of Palestine."