Six year ago, I was part of a group of Muslims and Jews who met at a hotel just over the Green Line in the West Bank for an interfaith text study.
Read moreFor The First Time. . . .
For the first time in five months, we saw our children and grandchildren in person
Read moreKilling for Honor
Hagia Sophia: In the name of God
Skin-Deep
“I am looking for a suitable match for my son. Do you know of anyone? She should be from a respectable family, pretty, and light-skinned.” That was the criteria in the society of Pakistan,
What Ancestry.com Couldn't Do. . . .
‘I can’t find my half-sister. Can you help me?’ was the message I received at 10:00 p.m.
My encounters as a writer have taken me down many an adventurous path, but nothing as enticing as this.
Zoomed into Marriage
Artist: The bride. With Henna businesses closed, she turned artist and painted one hand
And why should weddings be left behind. This spring, we had not one, but two family Nikahs on Zoom. If that is a new term for you, Nikah is Urdu for ‘Muslim Marriage’—the religious ceremony, that is.
Read moreVendor Woes: Pandemic & Fines
He was gone! Shelter-in-Place had been in effect for two days when I ventured out to get some vegetables from the street vendor . . . . He was not there; not him, not his cart. Maybe he is sick.
Read moreDon't Call Me By My Name
“Sabeeha Baji, let me ask you. . .. ,” Uzma Jafri said. “I cannot address you as Sabeeha or my lips will burn.”
They Were Following Orders
Why did the cop push his knee down on Floyd’s neck? Why did they push & shove an old man, and leave him bleeding? Because they know they can get away with it. They know they won’t be prosecuted, and if prosecuted, won’t be convicted.