Diversity. I hate that word. For a long time I didn’t understand why, but yesterday it finally dawned on me. Diversity has been morphed into a band-aid solution to the problem of lack of willingness to move beyond ourselves and our realities to understand others’ realities and act accordingly.
I hate it here. If you know me, you know I don’t like to use the word hate, instead opting for the term ‘ highly dislike’.
I hate constantly having to teach. I hate the erasure of Black people unless it’s in pop culture. I hate that the only time my people are recognized is for non-joyous reasons. I hate being made to feel like a token. I hate stupid jokes about diversity when that is VERY FAR from our reality. I hate that professors can use racial slurs with the excuse that it is included in the text with no repercussion, especially right next to me, the caucasity. I HATE how even in positions of power my opinions are pushed to the side. I hate how some of my peers and professors look at me when I express these concerns. I hate that I’m made to feel like I’m being difficult when I address these concerns, simply request that my name be pronounced correctly or when I go to the dining hall.. that mind you is a service I am paying for, and am made to feel like I’m being difficult for asking what type of meat is used in the food. I hate that there are so many people that can relate.
What was my tipping point? Was it the series of microaggressions or the chapters of aggressions? I guess we’ll never know.
I’m not new to this. And maybe that’s the problem. I’ve gotten so accustomed to REAL diversity that now that I am forced to navigate this watered-down attempt at diversity, I don’t even know where to start. Quite frankly, I’m flabbergasted.
I also want to address something else. It’s very sad that I need to write a blog post about this, but somebody’s gotta say it: Islam is not a race. If you didn’t know now you know. There are so many different types of Muslims from various paths of life. Islam is not a religion exclusively for Desi’s or Arabs. There are Muslims everywhere, but if we were talking about majority Muslim population nations, they expand far beyond southeast Asia and the Middle East. I say this because I am SICK and TIRED of the erasure of our brothers and sisters in Sudan, Malaysia, The Gambia, Mali, Chad, Indonesia, Senegal, Turkey, Somalia, Nigeria, Mauritania, etc.
I also am SICK and TIRED of the perpetuation of the automatic assumption that Muslims who are of African descent must have reverted or their parents reverted. There’s nothing wrong with being a revert, in fact, the first generation of believers were reverts. My trife with this issue occurs when the history of Black people and Islam is being discussed, [some] individuals who claim to be scholars spread wrong information or completely disregard the fact that Islam is not a new phenomenon in the Black community.
My final grievance is regarding duas. Personally, I think when duas are made to grant justice to our Muslim Brothers and Sisters who are being oppressed worldwide, it’s either all or nothing. Every dua its: pray for our brothers and sisters in Syria, Afghanistan, Palestine, and even Iraq and Iran ( as we should)… but what about our brothers and sisters in Sudan being murdered in cold blood for standing up for themselves, why aren’t we making dua for them in our gatherings? What about our Rohingya brothers and sisters displaced from their homes and violated in unspeakable ways, or our brothers and sisters being oppressed in Chinese concentration camps as I write this. We cannot pick and choose the causes that we support and pray for. Nor can we as an Ummah continue to live in ignorance.
Quite honestly it’s the audacity for me. I would like to end with these final remarks: 1. As the majority, you can NEVER establish what diversity is and isn’t. 2. The mute/ block button and I are best friends, just keep that in mind.
ANYWAYS, If you would like to give zakat to various Muslim communities, I’ve attached some below and will be updating it as time goes on.
Zam Zam With Zainab 