Qanta Ahmed

This memoir will give readers unfamiliar with Saudi Arabia and their strict laws a look into their culture. Dr. Ahmed herself was unprepared for some of the things she encountered there, in spite of being Muslim herself. Being confronted by the religious police for infractions seemingly as minor as showing a lock of hair could have terrible consequences. She gave detailed accounts for some aspects of life there, especially her journey to Mecca. Other things were left without much explanation, for instance, why her visa in the USA was not extended and why she chose to go to Saudi Arabia. The book could have profited from some tighter editing, but it was an enlightening memoir. The abhorrent treatment of women there and the astounding lack of religious freedom are mind boggling to anyone born and raised in the United States as well as other countries where freedom reigns.… (mehr)