It’s been almost two weeks since President-elect Donald Trump won the elections–and I’m not the only one who is still feeling down. Many of us are still angry, upset or afraid.
I wrote a self-care post here, in case you missed it. Throughout the past couple of days, I thought of Amani’s book: “Muslim Girl:A Coming of Age” and the bigotry she faced and how she responded with it. Here are some of my favorite five quotes from the book that may help us get through this difficult time.
1. “While maybe counterintuitively I thought it would offer me some relief–a small break from the exhaustion of being a Muslim in today’s society, some protection from the constant barrage of judgements, stereotypes, and attacks raining down on my from the media and my surroundings–what it did instead was cause a sense of even more palpable shame to wash over me. I was perfectly entitled to hide. Even in Islam, God permits us to renounce our religion if we were being persecuted and under threat of danger.”
The author, Amani Al-Khatahtbeh, said this after a schoolmate asked her what religion she was and responded that she didn’t know and she forgot.
2. “It is not an overstatement to say that 9/11, one of the worst attacks on our country in recent memory, for which followers of Islam were generically and collectively blamed, spawned a new age of double consciousness that impacted young American Muslims at a sensitive and vulnerable time in their developing lives.”
3. “It was not long before I came to the conclusion that if I wanted to survive, I had to force my personality out to protect myself and overcome this barrier–that, if I wanted to break out of it, I had better chances by being the one to extend my hand and start the conversation.”
4. “Our goal was to increase our media representation and reclaim our narrative. And we always knew that if we were going to survive in today’s society, there was no other option but to succeed.”
5. “It sucks that Muslims don’t get some type of trigger warning just for being exposed to extreme anti-Muslim bigotry in our society. I’ve always wanted to do the research on how much of an emotional toll today’s climate takes on Muslim youth…It is mentally, emotionally, and physically exhausting to have to assert your humanity time and time again.”
Buy your copy of “Muslim Girl: A Coming of Age” here!