Chapter 6 Summary and Analysis

The next day of the pilgrimage, Amani appears to be her old self and Sultana is relieved. The family moves from Makkah to the Valley of Mina. There, Kareem bumps into an old school friend, Yousif. Sultana sees hatred in Yousif's eyes, and indeed he expresses fundamentalist contempt for women, sympathizing with a man who poured scalding water down the throat of his baby daughter to kill her. Kareem is disgusted with his former friend's new beliefs. One year later, the family learns Yousif was arrested as the leader of a terrorist organization plotting the overthrow of the Egyptian government. To Sultana, Yousif represents the worst of Muslim culture and an inherent hatred of women.

Kareem and Sultana take the opportunity to speak to their children about women and how Islam is changing. Abdullah bears a little male chauvinism, while Maha...