India, May 14 -- But you don't look like a Muslim," is a phrase which any liberal follower of Islam can certainly expect to hear at least once, if not several times during the course of her life. If you ask, "What am I supposed to look like?", the person more often than not beats a hasty retreat. However, the reason that the phrase has been taken out of everyday life and makes an appearance in writing is because as a shared resonance, it is the title of Indian writer, critic and literary historian Rakhshanda Jalil's latest book.

The 40 essays in her book under the four broad topics of identity, culture, religion and literature were written over a long period of time where some were commissioned, others were in the nature of academic pape...