Guests of the Sheik

In this chapter, Elizabeth and Bob witness the holy month of Ramadan and all the cultural and religious events that it encompasses in El Nahra. The chapter begins with a comical anecdote when Elizabeth and Bob are woken up by the villager who is entrusted with notifying everyone that the holy month has begun. The two are initially “startled awake by a thunderous noise of drum beats, rifle shots, shouts and a loud knocking on the door” (106). Elizabeth is invited to attend a number of women-only krayas, regular religious readings delivered by female teachers who are known as mullahs. She is overwhelmed by the spiritual nature and the emotional ceremony of the readings, and she realizes that they are valuable opportunities for women to congregate, socialize, and worship freely. Throughout the chapter, Elizabeth introduces other customs that are particular to the Muslims of El Nahra and the Shia Muslims in Iraq, and she notes that these customs are closely guarded and often perceived as acts of resistance by an oppressed minority.