BOOKS
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It’s Not What You Think
An American Woman in Saudi Arabia
Arcade Publishing, Oct. 2022
Offered an influential position at Riyadh’s most prestigious hospital, she first has to obtain her husband’s permission to work.
In public spaces, she quickly encounters the morality police but also learns the freedom of the abaya.
Women in Riyadh do not work in public places, yet they hold positions of authority within corporate culture.
Through Sabeeha’s eyes, we see how Saudi and Western expat cultures coexist within the boundaries of “don’t ask, don’t tell,”
how traditions define the identity of the Saudi nation, and how to discern what is “culturally appropriate” versus what is required legally.
As she dons pilgrim’s garb, we join her on the hajj, to discover the intensity and spiritual high of the devout.
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We Refuse to be Enemies. How Muslims and Jews Can Make Peace, One Friendship at a Time.
Arcade Publishing, April 2021.
Growing up in Pakistan, Sabeeha had never met a Jew, and her view was colored by the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In his youth, Walter never met a Muslim, and his opinion was shaped by Leon Uris’s Exodus. Yet together they have formed a friendship and collaboration. Tapping their own life stories and entering into dialogue within the book, they explain how they have found commonalities between their respective faiths and discuss shared principles and lessons, how their perceptions of the Other have evolved, and the pushback they faced. They wrestle with the two elephants in the room: the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and polarizing material in the histories and holy texts of Judaism and Islam. And they share their vision for reconciliation, offering concrete principles for building an alliance in support of religious freedom and human rights.
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Threading My Prayer Rug. One Woman's Journey From Pakistani Muslim to American Muslim.
Arcade Publishing, July 2016. Paperback, Sept. 2017.
This is the story of the Americanization of Islam, through my experience. It is the journey of my pursuit to define an American Muslim identity for myself, my children, and now my grandchildren; and my transformation from a Pakistani Muslim to an American Muslim. It’s the story of a mother, who, propelled by her passion to raise her children in the Muslim faith, found warmth of the American soil fertile ground for her dreams to thrive. And it is the portrayal of the resilience of the American people, who extended their welcoming arms to a faith community in good times, and when under fire. This is a story of survival, and a story of hope.
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Op-Eds & Articles
THE BALTIMORE SUN “American Muslims and Jews Must Stand Together Amid Tragedies in the Middle East.” Nov. 7, 2023
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NEWSWEEK “I’m American. I felt at peace living in Saudi Arabia.” My Turn section. October 8, 2022
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WASHINGTON JEWISH WEEK “Muslim-Jewish Alliance in America Must Not Be Derailed by Israeli-Palestinian Conflict” Feb. 2, 2022
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THE BALTIMORE SUN “With the Taliban in charge, what will happen to Afghanistan’s women?” Oct. 5, 2021
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NEW YORK DAILY NEWS “Let Women Make the Hajj: Half of Muslim Pilgrims are Unjustly Limited.” Opinion Section. July 11, 2021
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THE BALTIMORE SUN "Jews and Muslims Must Stand Together and Refuse to be Enemies". May 28, 2021
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NEW YORK DAILY NEWS “Ramadan in the age of COVID: A personal snapshot” April 22, 2021
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THE WALL STREET JOURNAL Biden’s Refugee Decision is a Moral One.’ Opinion section, in the Houses of Worship column. April 22, 2021
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FORWARD “‘What are you all eating? Hold it up to the camera, let’s see.’ Ramadan adapts to Zoom” Scribe, Forward. May 15, 2020
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THE WALL STREET JOURNAL ‘The Meaning of Mecca.’ Opinion section, in the Houses of Worship column. August 9, 2019
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HOW AMERICA MAKES RAMADAN EASIER 'How America Makes Ramadan Easier.' Opinion section, in the Houses of Worship column, June 1, 2018
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NEW YORK DAILY NEWS ‘Borrow the best from every faith: One Muslim’s appreciation of Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, & Buddhism.’ Opinion section. December 13, 2018
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SALON.COM When Is Eid-al-Fitr? an excerpt from Threading My Prayer Rub. June 13, 2018
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SALON.COM 'Not A Mosque, and Not at Ground Zero,' an excerpt from the book. Sept. 23, 2017
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'THE WALL STREET JOURNAL Ramadan, American Style.’ Opinion section, in the Houses of Worship column, June 23, 2017
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TIFERET JOURNAL "Was Love Arranged?" Tiferet Journal, Spring 2017. Excerpt from Threading My Prayer Rug.
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL 'Memories of Hajj, from Mother to Son' Opinion section, in the Houses of Worship column. September 9, 2016.
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THE WALL STREET JOURNAL ‘My Muslim Christmas in July', an excerpt from the book.’ Opinion section, in the column Houses of Worship. July 8, 2016
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OUR TOWN ‘Ramadan Without The Fast,' an excerpt from Threading My Prayer Rug, featured in Our Town newspaper. June 20, 2016
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LIBRARY ZINE! VOICES FROM ACROSS THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY
All Are Welcome
What’s Faith Got To Do With It
Vol. 2. Issue 3. Winter/Spring 2018. Page 21