How is it that in the most diverse nation in the world, one can feel like an outcast?
In my part of the country, everyone is put into five ethnic categories: white, black, Latino, Asian, or Asian Indian. You might not even have a single drop of any of these races, but with so much indifference and ignorance that so many people have, you are what they think you are.
I feel that in a country that is known for diversity, we seem to fall short of actually embracing it. We instead have become hypocrites, shooting out ways to conform cultures rather then celebrating them.
I'm Arabian, but to many people I look Asian Indian or black. As a Muslim female living in the United States, I'm basically expected to have stories of post 9-11 discriminations, but surprisingly, I haven't. I don't "fit" the stereotype because I don't wear the hijab or abaya.
The hijab is a religious scarf that Muslim females wear to cover their hair. It goes around one's face, covering not just the hair but also the neck. The abaya is a long, loose, black garment that hides one's whole body. The hijab to Muslim women represents complete dedication to their religion and to God.
So I decided to visit the local mall while dressed in a hijab and abaya to see what the reaction would be.
From the moment my friend and I drove in to the parking lot, people stared at me. I got stares walking, buying things, sitting down. Good lord! It was like they had no sense of manners. I even had some juvenile delinquents staring me down, trying to start something. When people weren't staring, they were actually avoiding me.
I have never been in as uncomfortable a position as this. I felt like I was doing something wrong by just wearing my religious clothes. I have never been put into a situation that consisted of me being the "outcast", clothes-wise. I conformed, in a way, to what my friends were wearing, or what I saw on TV.
I'm not saying I was embarrassed about my culture's clothes; it was just that I was born in America, so I obviously had many more American influences, as opposed to my Arabic influences. I'm sure that if I had been born and raised in the Middle East I would have grown up on what would have been appropriate there. The thing that really got me mad was the fact that everyone was looking at me with either hate or pity.
Hate because of 9-11 and the constant negative exposure that Islam and the whole Middle East gets. Pity because many people view the hijab as oppression, forced upon women. So many people judge and they never seem to really want to understand why. Why a person dresses differently. Or why they might think differently.
People have this mentality that if something doesn't match what they think is right it is either written off, or they decide that it's wrong. Many Americans don't understand that there is no one, uniform way to be an American. You can still be the best American you can be, while still holding on to your culture.
If we Americans can accept different religions, why can't we accept different American cultures and treat each other equally? This cultural discrimination is like a game of tag. We Arabs are "it" right now, but eventually it will be someone else later.
After my experiment, I had a sudden awakening. What makes me different from those people who judged me? Aren't I playing the role they want me to play by accepting Western customs?
I felt that all my life, I had been considered the "safe" Muslim. People have been comfortable speaking with me as opposed to someone who wears the hijab. The reaction I received at the mall helped me realize that I should acknowledge my culture and maybe one day, wear the hijab. When that day comes, I will know I did it not because I felt I had to in order to be accepted in my culture; instead it will be my personal choice, with no sense of pressure to conform.