CHANGE

The other day I was sitting next to a very sweet Bosnian woman. She looked the way I pictured Mrs. Claus would look- wrinkles in all the right places, drawing attention to her round, rosy cheeks. When she saw my 2-year old run in and out of the room, she shrugged her shoulders, waved her head back and forth, and giggled, as though she was filled with so much joy that she didn’t know what to do with herself.

She told me that there were so many Muslims in this country who were hiding under the pretense of protecting themselves from scrutiny. She said “hiding… as though they’ve done something wrong.”

So that’s what I’ve been doing. Hiding… but I do have my reasons. Legitimacy.  As a writer having your audience believe you is critical. Having your readers judge you based on your words and not what they assume about you is paramount. I have too often found as a writer that my voice as a writer has been muted by my identity as a Muslim. So there you have it. I apologize if I appear to have been dishonest.

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