My Life as a Muslim in the West’s ‘Gray Zone’ By Laila Lalami

[Son_of_Niall]

Some months ago, I gave a reading from my most recent novel in Scottsdale, Ariz. During the discussion that followed, a woman asked me to talk about my upbringing in Morocco. It’s natural for readers to be curious about a writer they’ve come to hear, I told myself. I continued to tell myself this even after the conversation drifted to Islam, and then to ISIS. Eventually, another woman raised her hand and said that the only Muslims she saw when she turned on the television were extremists. “Why aren’t we hearing more from people like you?” she asked me.

“You are,” I said with a nervous laugh. “Right now.” I wanted to tell her that there were plenty of ordinary Muslims in this country. We come in all races and ethnicities. Some of us are more visible by virtue of beards or head scarves. Others are less conspicuous, unless they give book talks and it becomes clear that they, too, identify as Muslims.

nytimes.com/2015/11/29/magazine/my-life-as-a-muslim-in-the-wests-gray-zone.html

 

[Micosil]

People like her definitely need to speak out as a voice for the majority of the world’s Muslims who aren’t radicalized.