Pakistani Authoress Wins
Accolades
By Maliha Masood
Disillusioned with her nine
to five existence as a Seattle dot-commer, Maliha Masood needed
a fresh lease on life. So she submitted her letter of resignation
and decided to embark upon an open-ended journey. Unsure of
where she would go or when she would return, she bought a
one-way ticket to Paris. After traveling around Europe for
six months, Masood felt herself drawn to the Middle East and
arrived in Cairo at the height of Israeli/Palestinian tension
in September 2000.
Fueled by curiosity and unbridled wanderlust, Pakistani-born
Masood ventured on a yearlong expedition through Egypt, Jordan,
Lebanon, Syria and Turkey. Part travel memoir, part cultural
commentary, Zaatar Days, Henna Nights: Adventures, Dreams,
and Destinations Across the Middle East (Seal Press/February
2007/$15.95), chronicles a behind the scenes look at the world's
most newsworthy region. Transitioning from professional cog
to adventuress, Masood recounts the pleasures of an impromptu
picnic with a Kurdish family and the uncanny sound of silence
in the Sahara. She befriends a cross-dressing couple in the
streets of Damascus, convenes with Sufi mystics and gets mistaken
for a spy in the mountains of Turkey. Navigating the duality
between her Islamic roots and Western culture, Masood offers
insights and entertainment in the hearts and minds debate
as someone who belongs on both sides. She also speaks to the
experience of a Muslim female traveler adrift in the Arab
world with "no alibi other than raw will power and madness."
After a year and a half on the road, Masood culminated her
journey in Istanbul, satisfied with her "spiritual warfare."
She returned to Seattle just ten days prior to the events
of September 11. Having experienced up-close the culture,
people and politics of the Middle East, Masood found a new
objective. Now, instead of having all the answers, she would
simply seek to ask better questions. With beautifully-crafted
language, Zaatar Days, Henna Nights will invite the
reader to share in the intimate experience of one woman's
quest for self-discovery that would lead half way across the
world, but somehow remain strangely close to home.
Born in Karachi , Maliha Masood came to the States at the
age of twelve and grew up in Seattle, WA. Fluent in her native
Urdu, Arabic and French, she studied International Business
at the University of Washington and worked as a research analyst
in the IT sector. An award-winning writer in creative non-fiction,
Maliha's essays and commentaries on women, culture and Islam
have been featured in Al-Ahram Weekly, Asia Times and the
anthologies Voices of Resistance, Waking up American and Bare
Your Soul: A Thinking Girl's Guide to Spirituality.
Maliha also appeared in and co-wrote the PBS aired documentary
Nazrah: A Muslim Woman's Perspective.
An avid public speaker, she is the founder and president of
Diwaan, an Islamic cultural institute geared towards interfaith
dialogue. Maliha earned her Master's in Law and Diplomacy
from Tufts University in Medford, MA in May 2004. She has
worked in Pakistan at the International Crisis Group and the
Human Rights Commission before moving back to the Pacific
Northwest.
Zaatar Days, Henna Nights Adventures, Dreams, and Destinations
Across the Middle East
Publication Date: February 2007
Published by Seal Press, an imprint of Avalon Publishing Group,
Inc.
$15.95/300 pages
ISBN 1-58005-192-8
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