Some stories are just too sweet to pass over. I was at the Islamic Center of New York University for an iftar, preceded by a sermon.
Read moreWelcome to My Table
I was skeptical at first. I received an email from Shoulder to Shoulder asking me if I would be interested in participating in their program, “Welcome to My Table,” …They were proposing that they pair me up with a family for an interfaith iftar via Zoom.
May We Have Many More
If someone had walked into my home yesterday, she would have said, “Only in New York!” In a Muslim home, with Quranic calligraphy gracing the walls, a Jewish woman says the Hanukah prayer over the menorah and candles, while the soft sounds of Silent Night, Holy Night play from the replica of Nativity Scene, and the ladies munch over Santa chocolates wrapped in red and silver wrappers.
Read moreMy Blind Dates
I had never dated. Not once in my life. But that’s another story. If you want to know more about my date-less life, you will have to read my memoir. For the last two years, I have been back-to-back in blind dates. Sometimes I meet them for coffee, sometimes for dinner, and sometimes I meet up in their homes, staying overnight. Separate bedrooms.
The Last Prayer
My phone was on silent. I was at the library, at the Writers Circle, reading my piece on the pipe-bomber... Walking back home, the pipe-bomber was still on my mind. Khalid was waiting by the door. “Did you hear?” He asked.
Read moreMay I Borrow Your Faith
“What gifts does your faith tradition bring to the table, and what gifts in other faiths do you admire and would like to adopt?” the Bishop asked.
Read moreI Felt Ashamed
T’was the Third Sunday in Advent, and I, a Muslim woman, had been given a place of honor at The Church of St. Paul & St. Andrew in New York City. Every year, the pastor invites me to participate in services, and read passages from the Quran from the chapter of Mary. But this year was different.
Read moreWhen You Go In Loaded, & Leave Empty Handed. Or Is It The Reverse?
I was engulfed by hugs. This is not what I had come prepared for. I had been invited to come to a Wellness Day celebration at a church, where I had taken a table in the exhibit hall, to display my wares—my book. I had lugged the bag-on-wheels, laden with heavy, hard cover books,
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