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Emily Reece
Malcolm Campbell
UWRT 1103
9/14/15
A Thousand Splendid People
I have always been curious. I have always asked questions and challenged what I am
learning. I grew up very Christian. My father has a Masters in Divinity and a Doctorate of
Ministry in Evangelism & Church Growth. I went to church regularly and was almost certain of
my faith. However, despite my Christian upbringing I never felt the pressure to blindly follow a
religion. My parents welcomed curiosity and thinking with an open mind. I can remember having
deep conversations with my father about religion and how it all came to be.
Throughout school I took several world studies and religion classes. My curiosity to
explore other religions and cultures had less to do with disbelief in my own religion than to
solidify what I already believed to be true, and why I believed it. During my senior year of high
school, I began reading a book called A Thousand Splendid Suns, by Khaled Hosseini.
Coincidentally, I was working at Subway with several people who were of Muslim descent. I
began talking with them about their customs and beliefs and began to notice parallels with the
characters in the book with people in my own life.
This real life connection was particularly intriguing to me because it is not very common
for a white, Christian, female to be venturing out of her comfort zone to question and challenge
beliefs. Having people to talk to about their religion rather than read about it in a history book
drove my curiosity further into religion and the differences between two of the worlds largest
religions.

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I can remember specific conversations with one of my coworkers, Nasrin, who wore a
hijab. I talked with her about the characters in the book and the parallels I noticed. The characters
in the book were made to wear either a hijab or burqa, according to tradition. I remember asking
Nasrin why this was necessary and how she felt about it. She told me she is at the age where,
technically, she doesnt have to wear a hijab anymore, but she is so used to it that it doesnt feel
right without it. In her exact words, Its like my safety net when I go out in the world. This was
an interesting concept to me because Ive never had to wear something to cover my head. While
modesty is important in Christianity, it is not to that extreme. She also told me that her daughter
had not worn a hijab, until high school that is. She said she didnt want her to wear one because
she didnt think it was necessary and she didnt want her to be seen any differently by the other
kids. Her daughter insisted that she wanted to wear it and she wanted to represent her religion.
Upon completing the book, I had more questions than ever and I began looking forward
to working Nasrin just so I could talk about what I had read. I also had the opportunity to work
with her two twin sons, who are my age. I talked with them about certain customs and elements
of extremism that I didnt understand. I remember a specific conversation with Taha, about why
they dont eat pork and the amount of prayers they must do each day. While I would consider
myself very open minded, I must have come off with a little bit of attitude because when I
questioned Taha about some of the things they could eat, he replied curtly, You know it says the
same thing in the Bible, right? Some people just dont take it as seriously.
Yeah, but why do you?
I dont know, he said. Its just how it is.
He continued by explaining that some things in Islam were taken more seriously because
it is a newer religion compared to Christianity. There were extremist Christians when

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Christianity first started, just like there are extremist Muslims. Ill never forget the look on his
face when talking about ISIS and him saying They make us look bad, they give us a bad name.
I had never thought of the Muslim religion from the perspective of a Muslim or from the
perspective of someone my own age. It helped me to realize that sometimes we limit ourselves
by our American perspective by not truly engaging in conversation to learn what other people
truly believe and why they believe it. Taha helped me to realize that there are extremist Muslims,
as well as, extremist Christians and there are Muslims and Christians that are more normalized in
their beliefs.
Towards the end of the summer, Nasrin invited me to have dinner with her family. While
I was good friends with her two sons, I had never met her daughter who was only a few years
younger than I. Nasrin was always saying how she wanted me to meet with her and talk to her
about school and my goals. I think the curiosity flowed both ways with Nasrin and I. She was
always asking me about the college process and what high school was like for me. She also
asked me really basic things like what kind of food my parents made for dinner. She was just as
intrigued with American culture, as I was about hers.
The dinner happened just before I left for college. Sort of like a going away dinner for
me. When I first arrived, it was just Nasrin and her daughter. Her daughter was not wearing a
hijab, but she was wearing long sleeves and pants, in the middle of summer. Nasrin made a
traditional Iranian dinner. I couldnt tell you what it was or what was in it, but it didnt taste that
much different from American food. One thing that stuck out to me in particular was when the
boys showed up, they brought a friend, so Nasrins daughter had to wear her hijab. I didnt
understand at first, but she explained that only direct family members and other women can see
her without a hijab. This concept of extreme modesty was riveting because this is something I

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have never experienced and probably never will because American and Christian culture do not
impose the same restrictions.
Having dinner with Nasrin and her family is a memory I believe I will cherish for the rest
of my life. Despite our differences in culture and religion, still I felt at ease and very comfortable
getting to experience their culture in the confines of their home. While I value what I believe, I
also value exploring and learning about other cultures and religions. The countless conversations
and endless amounts of laughter we shared as coworkers will be memories that will last a
lifetime. Nasrin has shown me that not only are there a thousand splendid suns to be seen, there
are also a thousand splendid people to meet.