Missing The Muslims: Why the West Doesn't Understand Islam (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781532805769)

I was born in Michigan, and earned a B.A. degree from Hope College, in Holland, Michigan, in 1988, and a J.D. degree from Wayne State University Law School, in Detroit, Michigan, in 1992. I've practiced law for nearly 25 years. In 2006, my wife and I decided to move with our three girls to Istanbul, Turkey. I taught in the Law Faculty of Yeditepe University in Istanbul for 2 years. Following that, I taught in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at Sabancı University, in Istanbul, for 6 years. Courses given there included Comparative Constitutional Law (Turkey and the U.S.); Law, Business, and Society; Comparative Legal Thought; and, History of Western Law. We all learned Turkish (granted - the kids is better than ours), and made many new friends. Talking with the girls as they grew up in Istanbul about the fact that different cultures are often that - just different - not better/worse or good/bad was an education for us all. Living and working in another country was enriching to the entire family in many ways, some of which we're only just beginning to discover. In 2012 we, (plus the 2 kittens bought on arrival in Istanbul, by then comfortably middle-aged felines) moved back to the U.S. Since then I've practiced law again, and taught a little as an Adjunct Professor, while my wife is teaching High School ESL. Our three girls are either at Michigan State or will start in Fall 2016. They've enjoyed their Turkish classes there. Our oldest shares her Turkish poetry online, and our middle child regularly trades good-natured insults in Turkish and Arabic with some of the Turkish and Arabic dorm staff. We currently reside in the quiet and green resort community of Holland, Michigan, but miss Turkey and our friends there.