Laughing All the Way to the Mosque: The Misadventures of a Muslim Woman

by Zarqa Nawaz

Overview

Being a practicing Muslim in the West is sometimes challenging, sometimes rewarding and sometimes downright absurd. How do you explain why Eid never falls on the same date each year; why it is that Halal butchers also sell teapots and alarm clocks; how do you make clear to the plumber that it's essential the toilet is installed within sitting-arm's reach of the tap?

Zarqa Nawaz has seen and done it all.

And it's not always easy to get things right with the community either: Zarqa tells of being asked to leave the DBW (Dead Body Washing) committee after making unsuitable remarks; of undertaking the momentous trip to Mecca with her husband, without the children, thinking (most incorrectly) that it will also be a nice time to have uninterrupted sex; of doing the unthinkable, and creating Little Mosque on the Prairie, a successful TV sitcom about that very (horrified, then proud) community.

You have to laugh.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780349005942
Publisher:	Little, Brown Book Group
Publication date:	02/05/2015
Sold by:	Hachette Digital, Inc.
Format:	eBook
Sales rank:	463,644
File size:	550 KB

About the Author

Zarqa Nawaz created Little Mosque on the Prairie for Canadian television, and has spent much of the past six years writing comedy pilots for ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX, and touring the world as a sought-after public speaker. She has been interviewed or profiled by CNN, the BBC, the New York Times and Al Jazeera. She lives in Regina with her family.

Table of Contents

Introduction ix

Recess 1

Hairy Legs 7

Hijab 12

Muslim Summer Camp 20

Medical School Reject 36

Sami 52

How to Name a Muslim Baby 70

Hajj 77

BBQ Muslims 106

Coming Full Circle on Circumcision 123

Water jug Blues 130

The Packing Crate 139

Behind the Shower Curtain 157

Little Mosque in the City 169

Jinn - A Muslim Thing 180

Eid Dinner 189

Dying, Muslim-Style 208

Acknowledgements 222

Editorial Reviews

03/14/2016
In this entertaining memoir, Nawaz, creator of the hit sitcom Little Mosque on the Prairie, writes about her life as a Canadian Muslim woman of Pakistani origin. She addresses serious social issues—suspicion of Muslims after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, gender relations in Islam, the struggle to fit in as an immigrant child—but always with a humorous and light touch, deftly balancing obvious commitments to her religion, her country, and her family with an irreverent approach to the status quo. Nawaz’s stories are sometimes specific to her Muslim life: she describes going on the hajj and wearing the hijab, as well as her parents trying to arrange her marriage. But non-Muslim readers will relate to many of the stories, such as those about being a self-conscious preteen or dealing with work/life balance as the mother of four children. Nawaz’s self-deprecating wit is endearing, and her simple, factual tone provides education without ever being boring. This memoir provides an important glimpse into the everyday life of a Western Muslim family, but, even better, it is a laugh-out-loud story that everyone can enjoy. (May)

Publishers Weekly

A sort of Muslim Miranda—Sunday Times

She's sarcastic and irreverent but warm-hearted, and her writing has something of the great Nora Ephron's about it - she's witty and quick, but never takes herself too seriously—Independent

Nawaz tells it like it is in this hilarious, frank and enlightening memoir about growing up Muslim. The bit where, as a moody teenager, she decides to wear the hijab purely to 'out-Muslim' her mother is brilliant—Glamour

Muslim readers will find in Nawaz a passionate advocate for women's rights within the community and a fierce defender of her faith as one of peace. The non-Muslim reader will find her an accessible and entertaining guide to the practicalities of her religion—Telegraph

From the Publisher