Browse: Home / A 12 year old Muslim asks: Mom, why am I afraid in Trump’s America?
By Steve Ahlquist on January 30, 2017
[I received the following from a reader. I have withheld the names and other details to protect her family.]
Steve,
My daughter is 12 and she is the most positive, happy person I know. She lives in each moment and shows immense gratitude. I learn from her every day. We have been learning about Civil Rights movements and comparing Apartheid in South Africa to the US Civil Rights movement of the 60s. I didn’t expect my daughter to internalize these lessons and connect them to what happened over the past week.
Dear Mom,
Why did Trump become president? I am scared. I am scared to tell people I am Muslim. I am scared to wear hijab. I am scared to be myself. Why do I feel so scared?
I know everyone tells me to be Muslim is a gift but right now I feel scared to be Muslim. I feel scared.
I am scared to stand up for myself. I am afraid that some people that work for Trump are going to come to our house and arrest us for no reason like what they did in South Africa.
You said things have not changed for African Americans so why would they change for Muslims? Sometimes I am afraid to go to the masjid. I am afraid someone will bomb the masjid.
Why am I afraid to be Muslim?
Why am I so afraid?
Why do I not feel safe any more?
Please help me feel safe again.
This is the letter that inspired the event Stand For Muslim Children on Wednesday, February 15 at 5:45pm – 7:45pm at Masjid Al Islam, 40 Sayles Hill Rd, North Smithfield.
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Posted in Activism, Civil Rights, Featured, National News, Race & Racism, Religion | Tagged donald trump, islam |
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Steve Ahlquist is an award-winning journalist, writer, artist and founding member of the Humanists of Rhode Island, a non-profit group dedicated to reason, compassion, optimism, courage and action. The views expressed are his own and not necessarily those of any organization of which he is a member.
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"We must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.” - Elie Weisel
“If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor." - Desmond Tutu
"There comes a time when neutrality and laying low become dishonorable. If you’re not in revolt, you’re in cahoots. When this period and your name are mentioned, decades hence, your grandkids will look away in shame." - David Brooks
[…] anxiety due to the hateful rhetoric of President Donald Trump and the current political climate. A letter from a 12-year old Muslim girl asked, “Why am I afraid to be Muslim? Why am I so afraid? Why […]