I choose to maintain my Bengali and Muslim identities because they are an integral aspect of my ethical self, which Anthony Appiah describes as "the experience of a life as a member of a group of people who experience themselves as-and are held by others to be-a community in virtue of their mutual recognition-and their recognition by others-as people of a common descent". Being Muslim means much more than a personal connection with Allah or living an admittedly conservative lifestyle, it is being part of a vibrant community of believers that I can share the good times with and rely on during the bad. Choosing to maintain my Bengali heritage is in recognition of my parent's efforts to ensure I have a better life than they ever had.
However, the temptation has been there to ignore my ethnic and religious identity and fully adopt a mainstream only-American identity. Until my freshman year of high school, I was embarrassed to be Bengali because I didn't want to be associated with the new immigrants with terrible hygiene and a funny accent. I barely prayed and I ate haram food at lunch and outside school.
Despite my efforts to fit in with the largely working-class Hispanic students of my primary school years, I was still labeled as a "Hindu" or a "terrorist". As long as I keep my name, I am subject to suspicion by the government and ignorant civilians and every word I utter or type is scrutinized for potential extremism. Furthermore, I came to realize that I can try to deny my heritage all I want, but it is simply a part of me that will follow me throughout my life. It would be disrespectful towards my family for me to turn on all their efforts to make me a good man and a good Muslim by renouncing my faith or my ethnic identity.
Hi Syed,
ReplyDeleteI'm sure Americans are all familiar with the theme of a "Melting Pot", along with the ultimate ideal of achieving the American Dream. This idea attracted millions of immigrants with the imperative and emotionally charged message that through hard work and determination, anyone could achieve freedom and financial prosperity. I always thought that being in America, it is imperative for everyone, whether you're an immigrant or not, to be highly conscious about race & ethnicity. Including making the effort to deal with identity crisis or discrimination.
I have to admit that I am a little disappointed when I got to know the following story. A white girl was told about someone being discriminated against for wearing a hijab. So she decided to see the discrimination firsthand to get a better understanding of what Muslim women go through. And then, in one store, a girl (who looked about four years old) asked her mom if she and her friend were terrorists. The girl wasn't trying to be mean or anything. In fact, they don't even think she could have grasped the idea of prejudice. However, her mother’s response is one that we can never forgive or forget. The mother actually taught her little girl that being Muslim was evil. It didn't matter that the person wearing a head scarf was a nice person. All that mattered was that she looked different. That little girl may grow up and teach her children the same thing.
I guess this experiment gave us a huge wake-up call. It allows us to begin to imagine how much prejudice Muslim girls go through every day. Syed, I can completely understand how you feel when you feel so tempted to abandon your roots and adopt an identity that is more widely acceptable. This is totally forgivable because im sure every immigrant hopes to be integrated into the mainstream culture. As an international student and a Chinese, i'm also working hard to learn about America and your way of life and culture.
At the same time, I am totally proud of where I come from and my heritage because this is what made me a unique individual. Think this way: It will probably that will make me stand out. Ethnicity is something inherent and chinese values often taught us to remember our roots and be grateful to our ancestors.
It takes time to shatter racial stereotypes and the key is to put in consistent effort.
While I found your post relatable to an extent (I am Jain- another Indian religion- and my parents immigrated here in their twenties), I found this somewhat disheartening, in comparison to my experience as an Indian-American piecing together my own identity. My experiences have been a bit more positive, although I definitely do relate to the embarrassment of "FOBs" or newly immigrated Indians we encounter, because of their accents or hygiene. I'm not proud of it, but I think we can all relate to that. I know that our situations are probably different in many ways, I feel that I have been able to maintain a close relationship to my heritage through joining tight-knit communities that help with the preservation of our culture, and I've made plenty of friends through those groups that I can relate very well to. For example, a good majority of my childhood consisted of attending events of the Jain Social Group, which was exactly what it sounds like: an organization that sponsored cultural events that united the Jains in Long Island, New York, since we are such a minority (even in India). I think where we differ is in the stereotypes brought about towards Muslims, and I can completely understand the temptation to ignore your ethnic and religious identity and just assimilate into what is accepted, and even expected to a certain extent. I'm glad to read about your epiphany, and that you are making active attempts to reconnect with your roots. It is very important to maintain your culture and religion, in spite of societal pressures.
ReplyDeleteMy people are just the newest recipients of a legacy of American racism toward minorities. I am currently reading "Muslims in Western Politics" by Abdulkader Sinno, which claims that America's religious history is marked with reprehensible behavior toward the Other. In colonial times, the Baptists and Quakers were thought of as dangerous to the American cause. Early Americans protested against Mormons and Adventists. In the nineteenth century, Catholics and Jews were harassed and Native Americans were driven out of their ancestral homelands to reservations. During World War II, Japanese Americans were interned for their supposedly treacherous loyalties. Of course, the most prominent example of American racism is the enslavement and later segregation of blacks.
ReplyDeleteMuslims are simply the newest Other in the American social landscape. Our practices are foreign and difficult for Americans to understand, so we are treated with suspicion. The problem is it is hard to determine when we will be accepted in mainstream society because with every new bombing, protest or human rights violation in the Muslim world, a new wave of Islamophobia comes ashore. The continued American military presence in the Middle East coupled with the desire for freedom from oppressive foreign-backed dictators ensures that the unrest in the Muslim world will continue indefinitely. This is a disaster for Muslim-Americans because we are closely associated with radicals and revolutionaries overseas by Americans. Pundits that continue to label our religion as an extremist cult exacerabate the problem.
The solution to this problem is increased awareness and activism on the part of Muslim-Americans. We need to stop living in fear of the repercussions of speaking out against Islamophobia. Our parents need to stop worrying about turning our kids into doctors and lawyers and encourage us to pursue careers in politics so we can stand up for our brethren. Without proportionate representation (0.2% of Congress is Muslim but .5-3% of Americans are Muslim) the voices of Muslims will not be heard by Washington.