By I even look like them — or is it us?
I have blonde hair, blue eyes and fair skin. I am Lebanese American. My whole life I’ve been raised to be proud of my roots and culture. I’ve also been raised to appreciate America and to be thankful for the opportunities it has provided my family. Balancing the two has been a struggle my entire life.
I am American with welcomed Lebanese interruptions in my daily life.
I shake my hips and sing along to my favorite Arabic songs. I attend an abnormal amount of dinner parties, with enough food to feed our villages back home. We, other Arab-Americans, gather together and behave as a large family because we all come from similar places, speak the same language and eat the same food. We find comfort in each other, knowing we are here together right now and our families are over there, together, as well.
When we go shopping, we voice our opinions in Arabic lightheartedly, speaking across the sales floor. We gossip and laugh about the times we could not grasp something “American,” like slumber parties and casual dating. People will look sometimes, and even ask the dreaded question, “Where are you from?” With a quick judgment of character, we’ll respond with “here” in most cases. When their eyes seem lighter-hearted and they ask with a genuine smile, we’ll respond, “there.”
I adorn my neck with my name written in Arabic. My father had it made for me, his little girl, while he was on a short trip to Lebanon to visit his parents. I always thought it was “just” a necklace, precious to me because of sentimental value and its gold content.
After the tragic events of this weekend, I keep thinking that I should take off my necklace, just for a little while. I’ve taken it off a few times before, only to swap it out for my Allah necklace — another sentimental piece I cherish. Without anything around my neck, I typically feel bare and unbalanced. This Tuesday morning, I feel barer than ever as my nameplate shines on this ironically bright day, framed by my V-neck collar.
My eyes widened at the thought of fear pressuring me into removing my name. The people I love most in the world, my parents, chose this name for me. This name, written so elegantly in gold, represents my language and roots. The name on my neck reminds me of my village, where people know and love me even before reading my name.
I cannot let fear strip me of my name.
My scattered thoughts have brought me back to ninth grade English class. We were forced to read Arthur Miller’s, The Crucible. Reluctantly, I turned its pages six years ago.
Finally, I finally understand John Proctor’s words:
“Because it is my name! Because I cannot have another in my life! Because I lie and sign myself to lies! … How may I live without my name? I have given you my soul; leave me my name!”
My name is سارة [Sarah]. Please, leave me my name.
—
Written by Sarah E.
Image provided by author.
The right attitude for the West to take about Islam is, “Believe what you like, since you have come after us with deadly force, we will eliminate you and all you stand for, all you cherish and all you consider holy by deadly force. You’ve asked for it.”
What we need is to punish the perpetrators of terrorism, including those who finance actual perpetrators in their bad actions, and including states which sponsor by financing, supporting and encouraging bad actions. We need to fight a war against those states which are using state-sponsored terrorism to advance their cause of bringing the western world to its knees. We need to do this in such a way that the so-called “moderate” Muslims see that their cause is not only evil, but hopeless. This means that attacks must not be planned to spare the “moderate” Muslims.
If the “moderate” Muslims want to preserve any parts of their religion, I think that we in the West must give them an ultimatum: if you don’t stop these insane practitioners of your so-called “peaceful” religion, we will do it for you, and there will be nothing left of it when we’re finished.
That was the message to Japan in WWII, and that is what we need to do now with Islam. Nothing less than victory — meaning that we have to fight the war, the right war for the right reasons with the right goals, or this carnage will simply continue.
Standard, “we need is to punish the perpetrators of terrorism, including those who finance actual perpetrators in their bad actions, and including states which sponsor by financing, supporting and encouraging bad actions. We need to fight a war against those states which are using state-sponsored terrorism to advance their cause.”
Absolutely brilliant idea; this will be the best place to start:
Government watchdog Judicial Watch published more than 100 pages of formerly classified documents from the U.S. Department of Defense and the State Department.
The documents obtained through a federal lawsuit, revealed the agencies earlier views on ISIS, namely that ISIS were a desirable presence in Eastern Syria in 2012 and that they should be “supported” in order to isolate the Syrian regime.
The U.S. intelligence documents not only confirms suspicions that the United States and some of its coalition allies had actually facilitated the rise of ISIS in Syria – as a counterweight to the Syrian government of President Bashar al-Assad- but also that ISIS members were initially trained by members and contractors of the Central Intelligence Agency at facilities in Jordan in 2012.
The documents obtained by Judicial Watch also provide the first official documentation that the Obama administration was well aware that weapons were being shipped from Benghazi to rebel troops — including members of ISIS, the Al-Nusra Front and other Islamist terror groups — in Syria. An October 2012 report confirms that: “Weapons from the former Libya military stockpiles were shipped from the port of Benghazi, Libya to the Port of Banias and the Port of Borj Islam, Syria.
From what I’ve read the CIA and the UK’s Mi6 shipped the weapons.
Destroying Syria, Libya, Iraq and Afghanistan is part of the seven countries in five year plan that US General Wesley Clark exposed, enabled by the 9/11 operation. No doubt planned before 2001.
If you want to get it right the religion you need to go after is the backwards one that worships money, and puts personal wealth and position before morality, and that is neither true Islam nor true Christianity.
That’s a beautiful necklace Sarah, the Arabic writing looks really cool.
It is nice to see Muslim Girl finally acknowledge that there are blonde hair/ fair skin Muslims and good people. Usually their articles portray all fair skin people as the enemy. We should never generalize any one by their looks.
Excellent observation. Muslim Girl is not the only one. There are others too. Skin color, especially brown, defines their faith. They consider everyone else, especially white, suspicious.
They are ultimately all racists and bigots at the core. Plenty of pretenders and hypocrites but scarcely a Muslim among them.
I actually agree with both of you.
My name is also Sara. First of all, I want to say that you have nothing to be ashamed of because you know that you and your religion are peaceful and that you are NOT a terrorist or a sympathiser like some perceive you to be once they realise you are a Muslim.
We need to all fight the growing sectism by showing people that we are peaceful and being kind and polite. It annoys me that so many innocent Muslims everywhere are being associated with such unspeakable crimes, but we have to hold our heads high and break through that stereotype and show people who we really are – peaceful humans who absolutely condemn terrorism.
I’m just going to give my opinion, because I just read a status of a dear friend of mine that was so powerful and moving. She shared that she’s been physically assaulted twice for being a visible muslim and verbally harassed countless times for the same reason, and she refuses to take her hijab off or assimilate out of fear. And yesterday I read a story of a sikh man who was assaulted because ignoramuses thought he was muslim due to his turban.
Yet here is this story, of a girl who has the privilege of being a complete chameleon amongst white people with the name “Sarah” and I’m supposed to be impressed and in awe of her courage to not take a stupid gold necklace off? Because the necklace is written in arabic, which, half of ignorant Americans dont even know what the arabic language looks like? And even get tattoos in Arabic bc they think it looks exotic and cool? Sorry. This only upsets me.
You have a valid point. But when we undermine a person’s experiences it doesn’t help either. We can use these as teachable moments without judgement. We all have a right to feel our own experiences are valid.
Yes, I agree with you.
yeah, this woman is not even wearing a hijab. lash her 10 times. or should it be 40?
Yea Americans are ignorant because they don’t know what Arabic looks like, as if it’s a real priority to learn a language that we have no need of knowing. I also find it to be absolutely “COMICAL” that you are upset that people are “MEAN” to you for being Muslim. Trying being shot with a high powered rifle for no reason and then you might have a right to whine. Pathetic…
Also forgot to mention you people create your own freaking circumstances. You don’t speak out against terrorist then want to complain about racism. What a joke.
I would like to share my experience as a British Muslim. I understand that in America Muslims probably suffer worse than we do here from racist attitudes.
I don’t wear a hijab, so I don’t receive a lot of abuse when I am in public. However, in school there are the odd comments spoken in the form of a joke, not just to me. When they see a boy wearing a traditional hat in school, they will say, “I bet he’s hiding bombs under there”.
At first I used to laugh along, unsure whether the intention really was to hurt or to joke. I realise how wrong I was. Now I just don’t react. My disapproval is clear in my silence, and I think they have realised and respect that.
My mother on the other hand, does wear a hijab. Countless times when I have been out with her, even just to the supermarket to buy groceries, I have witnessed a great deal of abuse targeted towards her. It is becoming a daily thing for her. Even when she does something polite, such as hold a door open for an elderly person, the elderly person will give her a look or say something as if she had just smacked them. People shout racist comments at her whilst she is driving from the pavement (sidewalk).
What is this? What did she ever do?
My dad says he has never experienced such racism as we are experienced now, in all his years of life. Things are getting tough for us.
I would like to finish by saying that this racism is not from all ‘White People’. My mum has many colleagues who clearly condemn those who give her abuse, and they stand up for her when they witness it. I am very thankful for these people who aren’t ignorant and see us as human beings too.