Review limited to Goodreads due to 2 star rating.

I had a whole lot of hope for this book. I couldn't figure out what bothered me about this book and another reviewer nailed it.

I felt like this author had an incredibly important job to do in the writing of this book. IMHO, this is a topic that a GLARING spotlight should be shined on. I felt the author fell short on that task that other reviewers stated he did in the documentary by the same name. This book had the feeling of a tell all book. I felt the message got lost due to talking about hookups among other events. I don't know if this is perception in what I wanted out of the book which was a STRONG finger pointing. On that note, learning more about the book and documentary, I am on a mission to find/watch the documentary. Once I do, if other reviewers are correct, I'd recommend the documentary over the book.

Reviewed for publisher for honest review.

I quite enjoyed the book and I certainly learnt a lot, read a lot of new information. In most parts it was nice to read but of course, this is a memoir and of course the author is a kind of controversial figure, as far as i can find out, already because of a documentary. I did enjoy the book moderately and it was enlightening in some parts but slightly boring in some others.

A Sinner in Mecca

As a Muslim myself, I felt drawn to this book as performing the pilgrimage is obligatory to all Muslims who are able to do so. So what happens when that Muslim is gay and being so goes against everything that Islam seems to stand for.

What I found was an incredibly brave and interesting memoir. Yes, homosexuality isn’t permitted in Islam (as in many other religions) but being gay isn’t necessarily a choice and so does that mean that gay people are any less pious that heterosexual people?

What I found was a very raw and informative account of what Islam is. It also details a lot about ISIS. I enjoyed reading about all this and I learned an awful lot. Sharma has provided the reader with a lot of information about these areas and while it makes for a great read, I would have loved the account to have been a bit more personal. Four very big stars from purplebookstand.

I was lucky to be provided with an ARC of this book and I voluntarily provided this review.

I gather from Sharma's own descriptions in the book that he's something of a controversial figure, and I can see why he would be, but this was a very interesting inside view of the Muslim world and the Hajj in particular, from the point of view of a gay man who has lived in South Asia and the United States as well as spending time in various parts of the Middle East, and therefore has experience with many different localities of Islam. Some parts of the book were quite difficult to read, some parts entertaining. I don't know that I fully agree with everything that Sharma says, but I'm glad that I read this book and glad to know about Sharma's work.

I think I expected more...
Having not seen the film, and not knowing much about the author, other than what I googled, I expected a lot from this tale. I'm from an Asian background myself and involved with things LGBT, but, I had to take this with more than a pinch of salt.

Yes, I'm, from a distance, familiar with Hajj and Islam, having grown up in a country with a large Muslim population, and I'm also a little familiar with the Mutaween and Wahhabism, having had to research and fact-check for an author, so those aspects of the tale do seem pretty accurate. However, I am not convinced as to the author's claims/inferences about the multitude of closeted gay men that he claims to have come upon. And, I couldn't quite believe in his supposed new-devotion to Islam, or in his supposed love for his husband, given that he was contemplating an encounter with a shopkeeper, during Hajj, and only the thought of being caught by the Mutaween prevented it.

There was a lot to like about this book, but there were also a few flaws. I was expecting the book to focus solely on the author's Hajj, but the book also spent a great deal of time detailing background information and thoughts on the nature of Islam and the Muslim world. This resulted in the book sometimes feeling a little disjointed. I would have liked there to have been more focus on the actual Hajj trip and the rituals and preparations for it. Despite having a few flaws, I did enjoy the book and felt that I learned new information from it. I would recommend it to some one interested in Islam or the Middle East. The only reason I say I would not recommend it to my students is that I feel like this would be a little over their level, but if a student was interested in any of the subjects discussed, then I would recommend they check this book out.