Personal Narrative: An Interview With Matheena Syed

I was able to interview Matheena Syed. I met her husband Khalid Syed, during a previous visit, but unfortunately he had to work during our arranged interview time. Matheena was the sister that I had been in contact with from the very first visit arrangement, she has been my guide through the entire immersion process. Because of this the interview was very casual and open. She was able to share some great information about her culture and integrating her Islamic faith into American society.

Share the story and some of the background of your interviewee. (approximately 300 words) Matheena Syed and her husband were raised in the Muslim faith. Matheena was raised in Texas, so she had a typical American accent and shared that American values and cultures are very normal to her. In contrast, Khalid was raised in India and moved to America because he was going to marry Matheena. Once in America he pursued a doctoral degree, and is now a pediatric physician (M. Syed, personal communication, February 19, 2016).

Matheena shared that her mother was very uncomfortable being involved in the general community because it was not the culture she was used to. Things like school activities and conferences were very strange, yet Matheena shared that she was involved in many activities growing up. She felt her childhood was very much like all American children with the major difference being the view of dating. She did not date because their view is that you wait until you are ready to get married, and then your family has a significant involvement in finding a spouse. She shared that her and Khalid’s families knew each other, and felt that they would be very good together. They had a long distance relationship for a while, and then the had a wedding in India and then a wedding in the States (M. Syed, personal communication, February 19,