So just a quick recap I'm a Shia Imami Ismaili Muslim. Now before I get a plethora of posts asking what exactly that is, let me explain briefly. In Islam there are two main branches Shia and Sunni. The Shia believe that after Prophet Muhammad, Ali continued the leadership of the faith and became the Imam. As Ismaili's we trace this lineage down through time to our current leader His Highness the Aga Khan.
Muslim In America
I've been meaning to do this blog post for quite some time now but I just keep pushing it off. So as I sit here on a Saturday night, I've finally built up my resolve to share with the world what being a Muslim in America really means.
Growing up in America, I always hid my religion. It was much easier to say "I'm spiritual, but not religious" than to explain being a Muslim only to face a slew of terrorist accusations and being asked if my uncle was Osama. It was much easier to explain that I had an allergy to pork or to say I go out with family Friday nights than to explain it was due to my religion.
A lot of it had to do with the media portrayal of Islam. Somehow when a Muslim committed an act of violence, his actions defined the psyche of over 1.6 Billion people. However, if someone that was not Muslim committed a massive atrocity (such as I don't know say shooting up a crowded movie theater) well he was clearly just a disturbed individual. While we as an American society focused on the 6% of attacks on US soil that were due to Muslims, somehow we overlooked the other 94% of non-Muslim attacks as "weird occurrences" .
However, I find it impossible to keep being secretive about my religion. The nature of Shia Islam creates a stout bond between spirituality and religion. And in turn religion has an inextricable fusion with my daily life. It's those core principles that have guided my life. It's those core principles that have taught me to care for my fellow people, to volunteer, and to give back to my community.
I read something very interesting the other day. I forget who the exact author was but it went something along the lines of "The quote on the Statue of Liberty doesn't say 'give me your English-speaking only, Christian-believing, heterosexual masses.' It says 'give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses, tempest-tost.'"
I am not writing this blog post for sympathy. I guess the nature of this post is really a "coming out" of sorts. I'm done hiding my religion. I am a proud Muslim and I am also a proud American and No I'm not a terrorist. GASP. Yes they really do exist.
A lot of it had to do with the media portrayal of Islam. Somehow when a Muslim committed an act of violence, his actions defined the psyche of over 1.6 Billion people. However, if someone that was not Muslim committed a massive atrocity (such as I don't know say shooting up a crowded movie theater) well he was clearly just a disturbed individual. While we as an American society focused on the 6% of attacks on US soil that were due to Muslims, somehow we overlooked the other 94% of non-Muslim attacks as "weird occurrences" .
However, I find it impossible to keep being secretive about my religion. The nature of Shia Islam creates a stout bond between spirituality and religion. And in turn religion has an inextricable fusion with my daily life. It's those core principles that have guided my life. It's those core principles that have taught me to care for my fellow people, to volunteer, and to give back to my community.
I read something very interesting the other day. I forget who the exact author was but it went something along the lines of "The quote on the Statue of Liberty doesn't say 'give me your English-speaking only, Christian-believing, heterosexual masses.' It says 'give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses, tempest-tost.'"
I am not writing this blog post for sympathy. I guess the nature of this post is really a "coming out" of sorts. I'm done hiding my religion. I am a proud Muslim and I am also a proud American and No I'm not a terrorist. GASP. Yes they really do exist.
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