This time over on Neil Williamson's blog. There are several reviews posted there, but here's the money quote for "Insha'Allah":
Insha’Allah by Matthew Cook (Interzone) – This is the second Matthew Cook story I’ve come across in Interzone this year, and I’ve been impressed with the quiet sure-footedness of his writing. There may be question over whether the society of the Muslim-settled planet under threat from alien attack is enough of an extrapolation from a similar contemporary society to warrant being drawn as science fiction, but I greatly enjoyed the story nevertheless.
I'm not sure I completely agree with the assertion that my fictitious society MUST be sufficiently different from any contemporary society to warrant its inclusion in a science fiction story, but obviously if I said that the story is not at least in part an echo of our current world's troubles I'd be lying. That said, I do feel that the specific tropes available in sci-fi add to the story. The real question seems to be: should I have made the story MORE "science-fiction-y" than it already is? Some reviewers seem to feel so.
As for what *I* feel, well...
..
