A biography for Leila Aboulelahasn’t been written yet.
“All through life there were distinctions - toilets for men, toilets for women; clothes for men, clothes for women - then, at the end, the graves are identical.”
“I wasn't trained to write non-fiction.”
“When I was growing up, we spoke Egyptian, we ate Egyptian food, we had other Egyptian friends. It was my father's preference.”
“I started creative writing classes at Aberdeen Central Library, and the writer-in-residence there, Todd McEwen, encouraged me a great deal. He showed my stories to his editor, and I thought that was just what happened to everyone who took his classes!”
“My father married out of the family. I also married outside the family.”
“The Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, said, When Allah loves a people, He tries them.”
“My characters are not role-model Muslims, but they struggle to make choices using Muslim logic.”