Being a practicing Muslim in the West is sometimes challenging sometimes rewarding and sometimes downright absurd. How do you explain why Eid never falls on the same date each year; why it is that Halal butchers also sell teapots and alarm clocks; how do you make clear to the plumber that it s essential the toilet is installed within sitting-arm s reach of the tap? Zarqa Nawaz has seen and done it all. And it s not always easy to get things right with the community either: Zarqa tells of being asked to leave the DBW (Dead Body Washing) committee after making unsuitable remarks; of undertaking the momentous trip to Mecca with her husband without the children thinking (most incorrectly) that it will also be a nice time to have uninterrupted sex; of doing the unthinkable and creating Little Mosque on the Prairie a successful TV sitcom about that very (horrified then proud) community. You have to laugh.