Sarah Albahadily (pictured left) and her mother, Zaineb Attia (pictured right) sitting in their house in Edmond.Sarah Albahadily and Zaineb Attia live in the outskirts of Edmond on a quiet rural street. The trees that line their yard show the change from green to muted browns and oranges, signaling the arrival of autumn on their quiet avenue. Here, the two women live and thrive in a loving family environment, strengthened by their family bond and their heritage.
Albahadily is an Oklahoman, born and raised. “I love Oklahoma,” said Sarah with a grin. “People talk about Southern hospitality, and it really is amazing.”
Albahadily is a Muslim, a religion not commonly found in the southern United States, but she says she feels right at home. “People say it must be tough living in such a red state, but I say it doesn’t matter; red state, blue state, whatever…I love the people here.”
That attitude has served Albahadily well throughout her life. Her parents came to Oklahoma 30 years ago from Iraq, and although she has never been to her parents’ home country, she feels a strong connection to her heritage.
She says she never felt different or segregated growing up in Oklahoma with her sister and two brothers. Baklava and hummus were a regular part of her diet in her family home, and her friends and classmates were very happy about that fact. “My friends would come over and ask my mom to make them baklava,” she laughed. “They loved it.”
Albahadily was born in Stillwater in 1983. Her family moved to Dallas when she was very young and then migrated back to Oklahoma when she was in third grade. She attended Deer Creek High School in Edmond and went on to attend the University of Oklahoma, where she graduated with a zoology degree in 2006.
Now 27 years old, Albahadily lives in Edmond with her mother and teaches science at a private Islamic school just down the street from her house. She has no plans to leave Oklahoma anytime soon; for now, she’s content working at a job she loves and enjoying the Southern hospitality around her.
Attia is Albahadily’s mother, and although she loves her daughter, they do differ on one major issue: a Bedlam family rivalry. “Both my husband and I went to OSU, and I always tell her (Sarah) that orange is the better color,” she chuckled.
Attia immigrated to America from Iraq in the early 1980s. She taught herself to speak English and began to work at a daycare center in Texas. She and her husband moved around a lot, first to College Station in Texas, then to Stillwater, Dallas and finally Edmond.
While in Stillwater, Attia earned a bachelor's degree in Islamic studies and a master’s in Islamic law at Oklahoma State University. Attia started her own restaurant in Edmond, called the Garden, which she ran for 16 years. They also began to raise a family of four children.
Attia says that her Iraqi and Oklahoman heritages both play a major role in who she has become. “Twenty years there, 30 years here…both places are a part of me.” She also wants more Oklahomans to know that Muslims have a lot to contribute to the society around them, no matter where they are. She believes that Muslims have their own special thread to blend with the tapestry of all the people in the world, especially in Oklahoma.
