It's Not What You Think

From the author of Threading My Prayer Rug, an eye-opening view of life in Saudi Arabia.

It’s Not What You Think is a wry, incisive account of working in Saudi Arabia that offers insight into that insular patriarchal society, what is so attractive to expatriates living there, and what was contradictory or confining about it for a naturalised American who is a woman and a Muslim. A hospital executive in New Jersey, Sabeeha relocated with her oncologist husband to Riyadh, the most conservative city in the country, intending to remain two years. They ended up staying for six. Her book takes the reader on a journey of discovery that mirrors her own.

Offered an influential position at Riyadh’s most prestigious hospital, she first has to obtain her husband’s permission to work. In public spaces, she quickly encounters the morality police but also learns the freedom of the abaya. Salesmen staff the lingerie department. Women in Riyadh do not work in public places, yet they hold positions of authority within corporate culture; and outside Riyadh, she discovers that women-owned-and-operated businesses flourish, and Bedouin women could drive in the desert decades before Riyadh’s ban was relaxed. Through Sabeeha’s eyes, we see how Saudi and Western expat cultures coexist within the boundaries of 'don’t ask, don’t tell,' how traditions define the identity of the Saudi nation, and how to discern what is “culturally appropriate” versus what is required legally. As she dons pilgrim’s garb, we join her on the hajj, to discover the intensity and spiritual high of the devout.

'It’s Not What You Think is truly a tale of surprises, as our assumptions about Saudi Arabia, its culture, and the lives of its women are turned upside-down. Rehman takes us deep inside spaces that are tightly closed to non-Muslims and/or non-females—not only the hajj but the women’s-only lingerie department of a Saudi department store! The one thing that is not a surprise here, for those of us who know Rehman’s previous work, is her writing:  intimate, warm, often funny, and always irresistible.' — Susan Choi,  National Book Award–winning author of Trust Exercise

'Painfully funny, genuinely touching, culturally confounding, unexpectedly unnerving, and just plain unexpected, Sabeeha's adventure drops us into the dynamic heartland of her faith, confronting the stereotypes that keep countries, cultures, and the people in them so lonely. This warm and wild journey changes her. And if you let her, it'll change you too.' — Haroon Moghul, author of Two Billion Caliphs

'In this engrossing and compelling read, Sabeeha Rehman takes us inside Saudi Arabia, globally the most closed and secretive country...A brilliant, insightful, and fascinating tour of a state where freedom of religion, freedom to assemble, and freedom of expression are limited.' — Jan Goodwin, award-winning author, journalist, Soros and Kiplinger fellow and former senior fellow at Brandeis University’s Schuster Institute of Investigative Journalism

'Illuminating, informative, and deeply personal, It's Not What You Think is a refreshing and complex antidote to the harmful and outdated stereotypes of Muslim women and the Middle East that still dominate America's media and political landscape. Sabeeha Rehman weaves a complex and empowering narrative of Muslim women reclaiming their identity, gender, and religion from men who seek to hijack all to ensure control and power.' — Wajahat Ali, author of Go Back to Where You Came From and contributing New York Times op-ed writer

'Easy to read, engaging, and informative, It’s Not What You Think will be a great help to all who aspire to visit/work in Middle East in general and Saudi Arabia in particular. For folks navigating different cultures/traditions/faiths, it provides a great introduction from an author who successfully navigated these challenges. I was privileged to consult for the ailing King Fahd in June 2005 and attest to the high standards of health care and the great medical institution at KFMRC where the author held a very senior administrative position.' — Prof. Faroque Ahmad Khan, MB MACP. Chairman, Interfaith Institute of Long Island