Passing Through the Dream…- Rebecca Masterton

Passing Through the Dream… is a collection of short stories that fuses the culture of Western Europe with esoteric Islam. Enter a world where time and space melt away to reveal hidden truths; where the darkness of the twenty-first century is infused with the light of comedy and humour and where unexpected events can turn your view of life inside-out.

 Dr Rebecca Masterton has graduated with a BA in Japanese Language and Literature; an MA in Comparative East Asian and African Literature and a PhD in Islamic literature of West Africa, in which she critiqued the effects of secularism and colonialism upon traditional Islamic teachings on the self, from the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. Dr Masterton has been teaching for nearly fifteen years through different media, including one-to-one tuition; short courses at Birkbeck College, University of London; BA and MA programmes at the Islamic College in London, both in-house and on-line; and on-line classes for the Islamic Institute for Postgraduate Studies (Damascus and Birmingham). She has also lectured widely at conferences both in Europe and the United States. Currently she is developing a series of online short courses on Islam and the humanities at Online Shi‘a Studies

Sample Chapter

Chubsy and the Rose of Qamsar

Uncle Mudassar looked at him, puzzled, contemplating. He turned to the samovar in front of him, underneath which a short candle warmed the tea. There were also four glasses, a large bowl of sugar lumps and a plate of cream cakes. Uncle Mudassar picked up the plate and offered the cakes to Chubsy.
'What are they?' demanded Chubsy.
'Cream cakes', said Uncle Mudassar. 'Iran is famous for its cakes.'
'Yeah I know what cream cakes are. I have seen cream cakes before', Chubsy retorted defensively, irrelevantly.
Affecting a kind of nonchalance, he reached out and took one, although Arifa could see that he was not sure if he should eat it.
'Eat it', said Uncle Mudassar, and he smiled.
Without returning the smile, Chubsy put the whole cake in his mouth. Uncle Mudassar poured him some tea and placed the glass on a saucer, accompanied by two sugar lumps. He held the saucer out to Chubsy, who took it while still negotiating the cream cake, which at last he swallowed. Uncle Mudassar then poured tea for Arifa and, likewise, offered her a cream cake. After that, the two elderly gentlemen helped themselves. Uncle Mudassar sat with nothing.
'So where's your nuclear bomb?' Chubsy suddenly asked, raising a curious eyebrow.