SECULAR MUSLIM GOES TO MECCA-MY PERSONAL JOURNEY: PART I
My Islamic education came to an abrupt end when I was nine years old.
I was raised in a secular home with Islam as a backdrop for special occasions that required some semblance of order—funerals, weddings and naming of babies. My father was an academic who studied all religions, with a slight preference for Islam. Jeja, my mother, wasn't a devout Muslim either, but feared God’s wrath. So, once a week…
SECULAR MUSLIM GOES TO MECCA: KAABA ENLIGHTENMENT - PART IV
There is no place on Earth as cherished, as holy, to as many people as the Kaaba, home of God, located in the Saudi Arabian city of Mecca. During Hajj, the Mecca’s population almost doubles to 6 million.
I arrived in Mecca four days ago to perform Umrah. While preparing for my pilgrimage I did not have a specific spiritual agenda or expectation, but…
WHERE DO I BELONG?: MY REVEALING JOURNEY AS AN AFGHAN AMERICAN AFTER 9/11
Two weeks ago I spoke at WovenWorld 2016 Summit in San Francisco. Normally I'm asked to speak about— Afghanistan, Afghan women, Afghan culture—speaking about myself felt self congratulatory.
While putting this presentation together, I dug deep to better understand my own struggles, insights and motivations. What came fore was even surprising to me.
PORK EATING AFGHANS - MY REFUGEE STORY
I read this fictionalized short story of my family's accidental run in with pork and the trials of resettlement in a foreign land in my writer’s workshop. Many people shared that they too had similar experiences. I realized that perhaps there are similar stories out there that we can all relate to on some level. This post is in honor of World Refugee Day 2014.
SECULAR MUSLIM GOES TO MECCA- PILGRIMAGE PREP 101: PART II
As we celebrate Nowroz, the Afghan New Year, I’m planning an adventure—my first pilgrimage to Mecca. Yesterday I posted about how I, a secular Muslim with little knowledge of Islam, decided to take this journey.
This post is about the arrangement details of the trip.
Before preparing spiritually for the pilgrimage…
SECULAR MUSLIM GOES TO MECCA AND RETURNS WORLDLY: PART V
Last week I returned home after spending three weeks in places women normally don’t choose to go for fun—Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan. Yup, I made a quick jaunt to Kabul after my pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina. Read about my trip to Afghanistan in my next post. Here’s the concluding post on my pilgrimage.
FOOD IN AFGHANISTAN - A FAMILY AFFAIR
Last week when I was in Kabul, I was staying in a guest house located in the Shar e Now (new city) district which used to be a very high-end neighborhood with paved roads, fancy shops. It was where foreigners would hang out along with wealthy modern Afghans. Today the only thing it has in common with its glorious past is …
MY WRITING PROCESS BLOG TOUR - #MondayBlogs
Thank you David Colin Carr, for inviting me to participate in “My Writing Process Blog Tour.” You've pulled me out of the writer's abyss and plunged me into the transformative world of @MondayBlogs.
Below are the answers to the questions I've been asked to answer in this post:
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SECULAR MUSLIM GOES TO MECCA—MUSLIM FACES: PART III
In my two days travel to reach Medina—the first stop for my pilgrimage—I was surprised to discover numerous families making the long journey from Fremont, South Africa and Pakistan to do Umrah. My children are complaining about our upcoming summer rafting trip in the Grand Canyon—I wonder what they would say about…
HOW MY AFGHAN FAMILY RESCUED CHRISTMAS
I think back to 1998 when my husband Jim and I hosted our first Christmas holiday get together. We had been married for two years at the time, were living in a tiny apartment, and I worked a busy jobs which left no time to cook. Although I had spent a couple of holidays with Jim’s family, I had never played hostess.
ARE MUSLIMS BARBARIANS?
Last week over dinner, my 13 year-old daughter Aria asked me if I had heard about the film on Prophet Muhammad and the resulting riots. Of course I had. I was reading every bit of news about it.
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