[1] Ahmed is the author of In the Land of Invisible Women, an account of her experiences as a physician in Saudi Arabia.
[8][9][10] Ahmed has also worked as a public commentator, writing on issues ranging from medicine, to politics, feminism, Islam, and current affairs.
Ahmed identifies herself as a feminist, and has also denounced radical Islam (violent jihadism and antisemitism in particular), and has been described by the media as a Muslim reformist.
[11] Ahmed stated that she formed many of her views after being denied a visa extension in the US after finishing medical training, and due to facing difficulties staying in America, accepted a job offer in Saudi Arabia "on a whim."
She hoped that as a Muslim she would feel more accepted in Saudi society and be able to explore her religious heritage, but quickly found herself relegated to second-class medicineship due to her status as a woman, and disrespected or treated as inferior by her subordinates.
She stated that while she was impressed by her Saudi colleagues' attachment to their faith, she also felt oppressed by compulsory veil laws in public and was shocked by the social shunning, racism, and antisemitism she witnessed, as well as unsound medical practices that were encouraged as a result of Saudi Arabia's governance under hardline Islamic laws.
She stated "By encouraging separatism and indoctrinating its members with the totalitarian tenets of 20th-century Islamism, the Muslim Brotherhood seeks to disrupt the fabric of democracy.
As a secular pluralistic democracy, we have weapons: intellectual scrutiny, critical thinking and above all the insight to command the language of this war of ideas.
If we care for wider humanity at all, we must all be 'accidental' Zionists and want for the Jews, for the Israelis, what each Muslim already has for themselves: a future, a nation and a faith, secured.