identity

For me having an identity is something i pride myself with. For some an identity is classified by who your family is. Growing up i have found it very difficult in classifying myself. In second grade the 9/11 occurred. Immediately after the next day and the people behind it were told i was being questioned by all my peers both teachers and students. Who are you? Are u Muslim? Why do where the scarf? Being only seven my answers to these questions weren’t professional at all. However I wasn’t that dense I understood immediately that they were hostile towards me. For an example, when I asked for cheese pizza in the cafeteria I was given sausage. I didn’t tell my parents these events right away because there was a problem there. You see my house was raided by the FBI. Both of my parents were hawala people the company they managed in the twin cities and Rochester was al- Barakaat which was recently released out of the blacklist this year. With all of these things happening slowly I have started to withdraw myself. I mean what’s the point. Your teacher’s hate you they are aware about what happened at home but still the do not care in fact they ask. Do you know Osama? I replied saying no of course and said I only saw him on TV. My parents noticed many changes in my behavior. I no longer wanted to be in the book club nor did I want to associate with anyone. In fact subhanallah I even questioned my parents whether or not the Muslims are the ones who did that. My parents know understood they asked me about everything at school and I told them. My parents then decided that staying here for me and my sister was no longer a good idea. And we needed to move as soon as possible. When I remember the effort my parents put in to me in order to appreciate my religion. I am thankful for that. I feel blessed that I am a Muslim and that I am different.