Not Without My Cat

I just now found a new blog that gives me great joy: "Not Without My Cat" has been up since September and is the blogging home of Rani, a German girl who converted to Islam before she married her Saudi husband. You should read the full entries, let me just post some teaser-quotes:

A Good Fake Muslima
I gave it a chance, though, I've read the bible from the first page to the last, just to find out that it was definetely the most stupid, intolerant and narrowminded book I've ever read. It well explained the more embarrassing parts of European history.. In short, I really wasn't from the material you make pious people from. And I didn't become a Muslima because I suddenly became religious or wanted to be pious. Actually, I only became a Muslima because my husband asked me to. ... As my husband once pointed out, if America would have been conquered by Arabs the natives would nowadays run around in thobes and go to the mosque at friday. ... And so I became a Muslima. It wasn't really difficult, it didn't even require me to lie. There are actually only two little things that you have to agree with... What really struck me as weird was that no-one from the family that so vehemently insisted on me becoming a Muslima seemed to care much afterwards. Sure they all were happy but that was it.

What do you know?
Now I'm constantly on the jump to take care that the cats won't catch anything again, and if, take it away from them as fast as possible. Ah, if anything had happened to my sweetie they would have had a Saudi terrorist here that would have make Osama bin Laden look like a Vienna choir boy!!

The dreaded Abaya
Okay, let's face it - women in Saudi Arabia are all forced to wear an ominous black cloak and hide themself as much as possible. My macho husband even expects me to wear a niqab which covers the face beneath the eyes. Shocking, isn't it? ... So do I mind wearing the abaya? No. And why should I? It's the tradition of my husband's country and I just respect it, as a matter of politeness. Running around on a Saudi street without the abaya is something akin to visiting the Cologne philharmony in your nightie, I guess I would be ashamed of doing either one.