A new shop in Mount Rainier selling Oriental rugs is run by a former political science professor from Afghanistan.

When he lived in Kabul, Jawid Jawid worked at a private university teaching Afghan political science, but he had to leave that job behind a few years ago when he fled with his family to the United States after the government collapsed.

Once he settled in Virginia, he started working with an Oriental rug company, where he realized that his knowledge of handmade Afghan rugs could be put to use.

After running his own shop in Alexandria, where he said the market became flooded with similar rug shops, he moved it to Mount Rainier because the rent in D.C. was too high. America Oriental Rugs is located at 3201 Rhode Island Ave., in the block of buildings that includes Pan Lourdes Bakery.

Jawid sells and repairs rugs from Afghanistan, India, Turkey, and Iran, which are made by hand, not machine, using traditional methods. He even sells antique Persian rugs dating back to as late as the 1960s. The average room-sized rug might take six months to complete, while even a two-by-three-foot rug could take a month.

His Persian rugs are hard to get because of the economic sanctions on Iran. Some are from inventory brought to the U.S. before the latest embargo, while others are used rugs from Iranian families that have been refurbished. He also has 100% silk rugs made with a Persian design in Kashmir, India.

Jawid still uses his background in political science, talking with reporters about the situation in Afghanistan from time to time, but he says that he cannot return to the country now because of his work as a political scientist.

America Oriental Rugs is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Saturday. It’s closed on Sundays.

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