Preconceived Notions

It's crazy: A black man is neck and neck with a woman for the Democratic presidential nomination, while a Mormon is in the mix for the GOP nod. This is such a different America than even a few years ago — has the bigotry passed us by? Are we really different, or did we just transfer our prejudices into a 9/11-shaped weapon of mass destruction? Anyone who's ever eyeballed an Arab in the airport knows that answer. The words "Islamic" and "terrorist" have fused together in our national psyche, and Melody Moezzi is pissed off about it.

Instead of throwing a temper tantrum, Moezzi chose a more politic path when she wrote War on Error: Real Stories of American Muslims. "I am a Muslim. I have friends who are Muslim, and none of us look like the people I see on television," she says. Tonight starting at 7:30 p.m. at the Tattered Cover, 2526 East Colfax Avenue, the Iranian-American author discusses the twelve very real people portrayed in her book. "After reading this book, you can say, 'I know twelve Muslims,'" she says. "When you know something about people, it's so much harder to hate them."

The program is free. For more information, visit www.tatteredcover.com or call 303-322-7727.
Mon., Jan. 28, 2008