Plano Reads: Threading My Prayer Rug by Sabeeha Rehman

Join Second Tuesday Book Club in July for our virtual discussion of Sabeeha Rehman’s memoir, Threading My Prayer Rug.

We will meet on Tuesday, July 14, at 7:15 p.m. using Zoom. Register for this session by sending an email to Cathe Spencer or fill out your information on Zoom here. You can join this Zoom book club session via computer or phone.

Threading My Prayer Rug One Woman’s Journey from Pakistani Muslim to American Muslim by Sabeeha Rehman

Available from the library in these formats: Print | eBook

Sabeeha Rehman moved from Pakistan to New York with her husband after her arranged marriage took place very quickly in 1971, expecting to stay just two years. Forty years later, she has published this warmly written memoir, which offers “a refreshing view of American life observed through Muslim eyes,” and is also “a luminous story of the personal journeys of a lifetime.”

This is such a warm and honest book, and filled with the richness of a happy family life. Ms. Rehman does not deny the difficulties of her experience as an immigrant newcomer to the United States, noting that it was an ongoing struggle to teach her sons about Islam in the 1970s and 1980s, when there were relatively few Muslims in America. But she prevailed, and today, an American citizen, she remains a strong advocate for interfaith understanding. A retired hospital administrator, she has undertaken a second career as a writer and speaker on behalf of America’s Pakistani Muslim community. This is an interesting and heartwarming story!

Sabeeha Rehman’s website is filled with photos of her husband and family, including the wedding pictures that she describes in her book. She also writes frequent blog posts for the site, in which she shares her thoughts on the themes of her memoir and her life today.

Threading My Prayer Rug was shortlisted for Stanford University’s 2018 Saroyan International Prize for Writing. It was also named to TLA’s 2019 Texas Topaz Nonfiction Reading List, another great source of interesting reading for adults.

Be sure to register for this session by sending an email to Cathe Spencer or fill out your information on Zoom here.