Religious practice in immigrant families often transmits through extended kin, not parents

Evidence

His mother began covering her hair after she married, but that was more out of custom than divine decree. His father didn’t pray regularly, nor did he teach his son how to pray. That duty fell to Rami’s maternal uncle. One summer, back when Rami was in the sixth grade, his uncle was visiting from Saudi Arabia. Having discovered that his nephew didn’t know the correct prostrations or the fundamentals of the Qur’an needed for Muslim worship, he took it upon himself to instruct the boy. — Moustafa Bayoumi, How Does It Feel to Be a Problem? Being…, 825

Categorization

• XREF: Resonates with The Namesake’s theme of immigrant parents who are culturally rather than strictly religiously observant, leaving formal faith to other relatives.