The Heroine Next Door by Zeena Nackerdien

Author:Zeena Nackerdien
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: BookVenture Publishing
Published: 2015-02-11T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 9

Khadija’s heartbreak

Facebook posts

1. Photo of Khadija and untagged beau on her timeline: Guess who took me to Monaco this weekend 

2. Luke 6:31: “And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them”

Khadija bint Khuwaylid was the first wife of the prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H.). She was also the first person to convert to Islam, after hearing the prophet’s descriptions of the Qur’anic revelations received from the angel Jibreel (Gabriel) at the Meccan cave, Hira. Unfortunately, Leila’s friend, Khadija, did not share the pious traits and business acumen of her namesake. Khadija’s therapist would later ascribe her cruel behavior to early years of heartbreak. Khadija, who usually rationalized everything she did by blaming someone or something else, was brilliant at disguising her true motives with assertive speeches and outbursts. There was no doubt that her tirades were eloquent and laden with enough general truths and contortions of religious guidance to steer listeners away from her true intentions. For instance, one of her speeches given to younger women confused about navigating the bridge between being observant Muslims and integrating into Western society, had the entire audience nodding and murmuring in agreement. “Anyone that tells you that growing up as a conservative Muslim woman, albeit with relatively broadminded parents, is easy is lying to themselves. If you traverse numerous cultures, religions, and gender biases, you learn to develop coping strategies as well as a keen appreciation of what makes different people tick. This does not necessarily translate into a high emotional IQ or an ability to navigate the chessboard of life. Quite the opposite happens in many cases. Some blame their religious yoke and immerse themselves in Western lifestyles hoping to find happiness. Others, like certain Saudi princesses that will go unnamed, live lives of hedonistic excesses abroad and return home, clothed in hijab, preaching piety to their Muslim sisters. A few brave souls tackle the issue of women’s rights from within their borders. The rest of us tend to get lost in the larger debates about jihads, prejudices, overemphasis on sexuality in the West etcetera. Is there a middle ground? Can a modern Muslim woman assert her independence and maintain her identity while tending to a family, or is she doomed to get lost between the two extremes of wannabe-suicide bomber and Western harlot? Will she be trapped among the competing demands of her imam/family/atheist/Christian/Jewish/fill-in-the-blank religious partner, or can she push through the confusion to find her own voice?” The young women, almost without exception, hung on to every word.

However, Khadija was a fallible human being and secretly envied the innocence and beauty of her youthful audience. She also had sexual appetites that overpowered her intellect. Although she chose lovers known for their discretion, she knew that, if the extent of her sexual experience was known, she would be cursed as moertat or a religious apostate. Fortunately, the punishment for having sex outside of wedlock in her community was not as lethal as in other countries. She was merely shunned for brief periods, e.

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