Dancing in the Mosque Quotes

“My grandmother believed that one of the most difficult tasks that the Almighty can assign anyone is being a girl in Afghanistan. As a child, I didn't want to be a girl. I didn't want my dolls to be women.”
― Homeira Qaderi, Dancing in the Mosque: An Afghan Mother's Letter to Her Son

“Madar, what does ‘emigrating’ mean?” Still searching the horizon, Madar said, “It means becoming a stranger in a foreign country. . . . It means dying alone.”
― Homeira Qaderi, Dancing in the Mosque

“But, Siawash, I want you to be a rebel, to grow up to fight the antiquated, brutal ways of that land. My son, nothing can diminish this sense of motherhood in me. Let your uncle Jaber refer to you as “his son,” but you and I both know the truth.”
― Homeira Qaderi, Dancing in the Mosque

“I looked over at the colorful pile of small shoes. Their neon colors glowed dimly in the shadows. I raised the curtain of the mosque to bring light into this dark place. Herat’s warm winds covered us in the dust. I believe that on that day in that sacred place, God smiled on us and loved us more than ever before.”
― Homeira Qaderi, Dancing in the Mosque

“But when the Taliban came to power, they manipulated the price of opium by monopolizing its cultivation, harvesting, and trade. Their enormous earnings then allowed them to purchase weapons, pay their troops, and implement sharia law. Adding to the war suffering, a severe drought spread across Afghanistan, causing many crops to fail, and people from the countryside and small villages fled to the larger cities looking for work.”
― Homeira Qaderi, Dancing in the Mosque

“God never answers the prayers of girls.”
― Homeira Qaderi, Dancing in the Mosque: An Afghan Mother's Letter to Her Son