My faith has helped me find my inner strength
A memoir about being an American Muslim, and her relationships with mentor Hillary Clinton and ex-husband Anthony Weiner
1
As a child of South Asians, do you feel like your family is a case study for the American dream?
Absolutely! My parents got some wonderful opportunities in the US. They came from generations of strivers. That’s why I chose to open the book with my grandmother, who, in 1912, living in Hyderabad, told her parents that she wanted to go to school. This was when women and girls in her community did not go to school. She was just eight years old, and demanded an education. She grew up to raise five daughters and three sons. My mother was one of them. She became a Fulbright scholar. When she came to the United States, she met my father who was from Delhi. He too was a Fulbright scholar at the University of Pennsylvania. They’ve had an extraordinary life, and I feel lucky to be their daughter.
2 3
You still have family in India and Pakistan, don’t you?
Yes, my father’s sister and so many cousins still live in Delhi. I also have family in Karachi and Lahore. My mother’s family moved from Bombay at the time of Partition.
Hillary Clinton once said, “I have one daughter. But if I had a second daughter, it would [be] Huma.” Do you think of her as a mother figure?
She has been very much my mentor and a friend in addition to being an extraordinary boss who has taught me so many things and taken me on so many adventures over the years. In fact, a few years ago, we came on a girls’ trip to India and travelled mostly in Rajasthan. We have had the most amazing experiences together. We are working on many projects together, helping democratic organizations in our country. She also has a production company now, as part of which she is making television shows, and I am involved with those.
4
What role has faith played in your life, especially when the breakdown of your marriage became an ugly public spectacle?
I was raised in a family of practising Muslims. My parents did not force us. They showed us by example. They would go to the mosque, pray, encourage us to follow, but there was no compulsion, from what I can remember. Faith has always been a beautiful part of my life. What is Muslim prayer at the end of the day? It is a form of meditation. It is stepping back from the world for a singular conversation between you and a higher power. Prayer always brings me peace. It resets me in a good way, especially when I am having challenges of the kind that you just described.
A lot of shame is attached to broken marriages, wherein women get blamed unfairly regardless of the specifics of a situation. My faith has helped me find my inner strength in times like these.