How Muslims are Treated in the U.S.

ABC news: 20/20 did an experiment, as they always do, on how people will react to a Muslim woman being unjustly denied service by a clerk. The clerk and the woman were both actors but what 20/20 wanted to see was whether people would stand up for the woman or not.

The results were polarized: 22 people did or said nothing; 13 people stood up for the woman including walking out of the store; 6 people sided with the clerk.

As a Muslim woman myself, who covers her head, I was moved to tears just watching this program. Although I have not faced such prejudice, it still rules my life. My parents are very reluctant to let me go out at night or travel alone because they constantly fear for my safety. Most people that stop me on the street are just curious about my reasons for covering up, and I'm more than happy to answers their questions, but the few who resort to verbal abuse or violence indirectly constrain my freedom.

Check out the YouTube video below for the 20/20 experiment.

Book Review: A Thousand Splendid Suns

I recently finished reading "A Thousand Splendid Suns" by Khaled Hosseini. It is his second novel (first one was called "The Kite Runner") and is breathtaking. It follows the life of two Afghan women, Mariam and Laila, who are married to the same man. Laila is the educated daughter of a teacher whereas Mariam is the illiterate and illegitimate daughter of a very wealthy man who refuses to acknowledge her presence to the world. The story follows these two women from their pre-Taliban childhood to their married lives with their husband Rasheed in the post-Taliban era. You will be amazed by Laila and Mariam's friendship, smile at their shared moments, cry at their struggles, and be angered by atrocious treatment of women by Taliban.

The novel is extremely well written and heart breaking. Beware that it is a very emotionaly charged book. There were moments during my read when I wanted to throw the book across the room, but couldn't do it because it was borrowed from the library. =P

I highly recommend this novel as well as "The Kite Runner" and I promise that you will not regret it. I have recommended both these book to numerous friends and colleagues and they all loved it.

Check out the video below to hear Khaled Hosseini talk about this book.

Feel free to post your reactions and Happy Reading!

First Steps into Blogosphere

Hello all,
I am so excited to have started this blog. I hope to post interesting tidbits as well as opinion pieces on here to facilitate healthy discussions or just for entertainment.
Check back soon for updates!