Young Americans are picking up the Qur’an ‘to understand the resilience of Muslim Palestinians’

Readers find themes that align with their values as they seek to grow empathy' for a religion long vilified in the west

Megan B Rice loves reading. She started a romance novel club on the instant messaging platform Discord and posts book reviews on TikTok. Last month Rice, who is 34 and lives in Chicago, used her social media accounts to speak out about the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

I wanted to talk about the faith of Palestinian people, how it's so strong, and they still find room to make it a priority to thank God, even when they have everything taken away from them," she said in an interview.