Leap of Faith (Queen Noor)

Discussion Questions
Use our LitLovers Book Club Resources; they can help with discussions for any book:

• How to Discuss a Book (helpful discussion tips)
• Generic Discussion Questions—Fiction and Nonfiction
• Read-Think-Talk (a guided reading chart)

Also consider these LitLovers talking points to help get a discussion started for Leap of Faith: 

1. How would you describe this book: as a storybook romance, a glossy celebrity memoir, or an informative account of Jordanian politics and culture? How does Queen Noor come across in her book?

2. Lisa Halaby was raised in the U.S. as a young woman of American/Jordanian descent. What changes did she undergo in becoming "Queen Noor"? How difficult would you have found that adjustment? Would you have accepted King Hussein's proposal (with or without Abba)?

3. How does Noor come to understand the world's views of Arabs? Do you agree with Queen Noor in her assessment? Why does she think it's difficult for the Arab world to receive fair and respectful treatment by the news and entertainment media?

4. What is Noor's perspective on the Arab-Israeli conflict? How does she view her husband's role in that conflict? Criticism has been leveled that the book and writer are anti-semitic. Is that a fair charge?

5. What are some of the efforts made by Noor to improve women's rights in Jordan—and how serious were her efforts? Do you think she helped to empower her countrywomen ... or not?

6. Discuss Noor's account of King Hussein's relationship with Iraq's Saddam Hussein, especially the king's efforts to work with Saddam during the 1991 Iraq war. What does she suggest are the long-term consequences of the king's inability to negotiate a settlement?

7. Although reserved in her comments, what are you able to glean about Noor's relationship with her husband..and with her eight step-children? Consider, also, the time during which the king was ill and dying.

8. In what way did Noor attempt to redefine the role of Jordan's queen? What part, if any, did she was she able to play in the country's governance? Where did her power or influence lie?

9. What have you taken away from Queen Noor's account of her life in Jordan? Has Leap of Faith enlightened you? Has it shed light on the history and relationship between the Muslim world and the U.S., particularly in light of 9/11? Has it altered your perception of the Middle-East, its cultural or political attitudes?

10. What does the book's title refer to? What "leap of faith" ... and whose?

(Questions by LitLovers. Please feel free to use them, online or off, with attribution. Thanks.)

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