Muslim Girl by Amani Al-Khatahtbeh

Author:Amani Al-Khatahtbeh
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Simon & Schuster

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4 Laura Bush, “Radio Address by Mrs. Bush,” The American Presidency Project, November 17, 2001, http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=24992.

5 Seymour M. Hersh, “Torture at Abu Ghraib,” New Yorker, May 10, 2004, http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2004/05/10/torture-at-abu-ghraib.

Chapter 4

Reem, Diana, and I were eagerly counting down the minutes until it was iftar time—or time to break our fast after what we mutually agreed was a long Ramadan day. In the brief moments leading up to our first sip of water, Diana remarked, “This minute is longer than a minute on the stair climber,” and I couldn’t help but burst out laughing. We observed that this Ramadan was the longest fasting days that we had probably ever experienced. Reem and I graduated from high school together, and also attended Rutgers University together, where she became the vice president of Muslim Girl’s first collegiate chapter, founded on our campus. We had planned events together, and I always admired how much esteem Reem gave her leadership position. Not only did she pick up all the slack whenever something needed to get done, but her killer outfits on our big nights were second to none. I loved watching her shine.

We were sitting in a booth in an Olive Garden in New Jersey, where we finally settled after dodging long lines at the Cheesecake Factory and a nearby Thai spot, and rushed to catch iftar (while we were waiting, we noticed droves of veiled Muslim women and their families file in, including two of our former classmates from college, who had been smart enough to make reservations ahead of time). Now we were squirming in Olive Garden’s leather seats, taking in whiffs of the delicious basket full of freshly baked breadsticks, until—finally—it was time.

That’s how I ended up with a mouthful of breadsticks when a waiter from our section interrupted me: “Hey, excuse me, are you the founder of MuslimGirl.com?” Mid-chew, I responded, “Yes, I am,” kind of shocked that someone would recognize me from the website here in my hometown, even at dinner. It had been happening more and more recently, but I never took it into any account. My little brother Ameer told me about a recent encounter at the bank, when the teller asked, “Are you Amani’s brother? I recognize your last name.” When he affirmed and asked if she knew me, she said, “Oh, no, I just really love what she’s doing.” It started to hit me when I got invited to the Halal Guys’ grand opening, where the owners escorted me away from the line swirling around the block, introduced themselves, and fixed me and Ameer up with some free dinner. A couple of weeks earlier, I’d heard that one of my former high school teachers, who once said my writing was unimpressive, wanted to catch up with me. It was all pretty cool, especially since I’d started the website in high school, right here.

“I was at Clinton Global Initiative University, I heard you speak,” the waiter said. “I thought you were amazing! The way you responded to Bill Clinton was just so cool.

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