Author Ayisha Malik. Courtesy Amber Ahmed
Author Ayisha Malik. Courtesy Amber Ahmed

Book review: Sofia Khan is Not Obliged; she’s also not exactly the ‘Muslim Bridget Jones’



Sofia Khan has just rejected her boyfriend Imran on account of a “hole-in-the-wall”. Unfortunately she’s not referring to an ever-handy cash point, but rather an improvised doorway between adjoining houses.

“But what normal human being would ask another human being to live with a cohort of mother, father, brother and sister-in-law with two children, complete with a sister and brother-in-law and three children next door, and a hole-in-the-wall joining the two houses? (Just writing that sentence about so many people confused me; imagine living with them),” she writes.

Love and living arrangements may come in all shapes and forms: there is living with the in-laws – Sofia’s older sister Maria is all set to move in with her after her wedding; and even polygamous marriage, the practicalities of which her friend Hannah has to navigate as she shares her new husband Zulfi with his first wife and their children; but Sofia absolutely draws the line at a “hole-in-the-wall”.

Sofia is a publicist at a large London publishing house (as was Malik, incidentally) and it turns out that her “HITW” situation, combined with the mere mention of Hannah the “co-wife”, is enough to have her bosses salivating at the idea of a real tell-all book about Muslim dating and marriage (as, apparently, were Malik’s own bosses at one point, although Malik never wrote the book).

At first Sofia isn’t exactly enthralled by the idea. “Who’d have thought my parents and the publishing world industry would share such similar interests,” she writes, but a surprisingly lucrative advance, combined with her gung-ho attitude, soon has her signing on the dotted line.

As such, in a crafty little twist on the traditional chick-lit format, Sofia Khan is Not Obliged is less an account of the heroine's pursuit of love, and more that of her search for inspiration for her book on the subject.

In fact, everything about this novel challenges expectations. Any preconceptions a Western reader might have of Muslim women as “other” – oppressed, unfulfilled and leading lives impossible to relate to – are immediately dismissed. Sofia and her friends are all women making active choices about how they want to live their lives.

Sofia’s parents are certainly keen for her to settle down, but they’re not exactly forcing the situation. There is plenty about her and her generation’s attitude to finding a partner that they don’t quite understand, perfectly illustrated in a blog piece Sofia writes about the problem of not clicking with people (the book is written in diary format with some blog posts). After hearing the term used over and over again, her mother finally asks: “What is this … click?”

“When our immigrant parents crossed an ocean,” Sofia explains to her reader, “forevermore, they also crossed certain boundaries of understanding, which, of course, they didn’t quite understand.”

But rather than becoming focal points of the like used in a previous array of novels dealing with the subject of second-generation immigrants struggling to make sense of their own identities, torn between their cultural heritage and that which they have grown up in, instead Malik uses such moments of confusion as comic devices.

Most refreshing of all, Sofia doesn’t need to undergo some sort of wild identity crisis before she gets her happy ending. She’s bored rather than bothered by people who are surprised she wears a hijab while no one else in her family does; even her mother doesn’t get it, convinced it will put potential husbands off – as Sofia jokingly points out, “What is the point of being a saint-like daughter to immigrant parents when my decisions are met with derision?”

And she takes it in her stride when her “makeshift prayer room” at work is suddenly turned into a medical room, complete with huge glass pane in the new door so she’s on show for anyone and everyone to see, “arse in the air”.

Perhaps not quite as pithy as Bridget Jones – a tighter editing could no doubt have cut a quarter of the text without any loss in terms of plot – but with its light, comic confessional tone, the diary entry format, and even some echoes between the plots, the comparison is inevitable – albeit without Bridget’s alcohol consumption or romances.

“Dating a devout Muslim is like dating someone back in the nineteenth century,” Sofia explains in one of the early chapters of her book. This alone should sell the book, but the opportune by-product is that readers will also discover a sharp, funny but ultimately very normal portrait of life as a British Muslim.

Lucy Scholes is a freelance journalist who lives in London.

thereview@thenational.ae

Other workplace saving schemes
  • The UAE government announced a retirement savings plan for private and free zone sector employees in 2023.
  • Dubai’s savings retirement scheme for foreign employees working in the emirate’s government and public sector came into effect in 2022.
  • National Bonds unveiled a Golden Pension Scheme in 2022 to help private-sector foreign employees with their financial planning.
  • In April 2021, Hayah Insurance unveiled a workplace savings plan to help UAE employees save for their retirement.
  • Lunate, an Abu Dhabi-based investment manager, has launched a fund that will allow UAE private companies to offer employees investment returns on end-of-service benefits.
German intelligence warnings
  • 2002: "Hezbollah supporters feared becoming a target of security services because of the effects of [9/11] ... discussions on Hezbollah policy moved from mosques into smaller circles in private homes." Supporters in Germany: 800
  • 2013: "Financial and logistical support from Germany for Hezbollah in Lebanon supports the armed struggle against Israel ... Hezbollah supporters in Germany hold back from actions that would gain publicity." Supporters in Germany: 950
  • 2023: "It must be reckoned with that Hezbollah will continue to plan terrorist actions outside the Middle East against Israel or Israeli interests." Supporters in Germany: 1,250 

Source: Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution

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If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.

When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.

How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
How to protect yourself when air quality drops

Install an air filter in your home.

Close your windows and turn on the AC.

Shower or bath after being outside.

Wear a face mask.

Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.

If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
 
Started: 2020
 
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
 
Based: Dubai, UAE
 
Sector: Entertainment 
 
Number of staff: 210 
 
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
Tailors and retailers miss out on back-to-school rush

Tailors and retailers across the city said it was an ominous start to what is usually a busy season for sales.
With many parents opting to continue home learning for their children, the usual rush to buy school uniforms was muted this year.
“So far we have taken about 70 to 80 orders for items like shirts and trousers,” said Vikram Attrai, manager at Stallion Bespoke Tailors in Dubai.
“Last year in the same period we had about 200 orders and lots of demand.
“We custom fit uniform pieces and use materials such as cotton, wool and cashmere.
“Depending on size, a white shirt with logo is priced at about Dh100 to Dh150 and shorts, trousers, skirts and dresses cost between Dh150 to Dh250 a piece.”

A spokesman for Threads, a uniform shop based in Times Square Centre Dubai, said customer footfall had slowed down dramatically over the past few months.

“Now parents have the option to keep children doing online learning they don’t need uniforms so it has quietened down.”

Emergency

Director: Kangana Ranaut

Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry 

Rating: 2/5

Some of Darwish's last words

"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008

His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.

COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
 
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
How to help

Donate towards food and a flight by transferring money to this registered charity's account.

Account name: Dar Al Ber Society

Account Number: 11 530 734

IBAN: AE 9805 000 000 000 11 530 734

Bank Name: Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank

To ensure that your contribution reaches these people, please send the copy of deposit/transfer receipt to: juhi.khan@daralber.ae

Paatal Lok season two

Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy 

Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong

Rating: 4.5/5