Youth
1 min
53, Muslim, and Tired of Explaining
I've answered 'don't you get hungry?' approximately four hundred times. Here's my actual answer.
Revert journeys. Identity struggles. Faith found, lost, and found again. Unfiltered voices from your brothers and sisters across the world.
In Egypt, a divorced woman is a tragedy. I decided to be a plot twist instead.
I've answered 'don't you get hungry?' approximately four hundred times. Here's my actual answer.
At school I was ‘too Muslim.’ At the mosque I was ‘too American.’ I spent years feeling like I belonged nowhere.
People keep asking me to choose between my culture and my faith. I refuse.
Fasting while teaching children in Marrakech tested everything I thought I knew about community.
They said wearing my kufi would hold me back in politics. I wore it anyway. They took me seriously regardless.
Our first year nearly ended because of biryani. What saved us was an imam who understood listening instead of lecturing.
In Italy, everyone assumed I was born Muslim. Actually, I found Islam at 42.
I've answered 'aren't you hot in that?' approximately four hundred times. Here's my actual answer.
When nobody else stepped up, our Islamic centre became the place everyone came to — for everyone who needed it.
In Egypt, everyone assumed I was born Muslim. Actually, I found Islam at 38.
Everyone in my mormon community thought I'd lost my mind. I'd never been more sane.
At school I was too Muslim. At the mosque I was too Iran. I spent years feeling like I belonged nowhere.