I’ve been so busy that I haven’t been able to really blog like I want. I just wanted to write about this particular thing that happened to me.
One day at work, I ran into this beautiful hijabi sister. I mean, she was gorgeous but dressed in such a modest way. She looked like she rolled off the pages of some hijabi fashion mag. Of course, I asked her where she got her clothes from. After all, there are only a handful of covered women working in this part of Dubai. The conversation continued and she asked where I was from.
“I’m from America.”
She replied, “I’m from Iraq.”
So we’re just gabbing on about clothes, Dubai, and how shopping in Sharjah is better for Muslim women looking for modest clothing. We end our conversation and go back to our respective offices. It wasn’t until days after this conversation that I realized my country is at war with her country. In the States, I only knew of one Iraqi sister but we didn’t see each other that much.
I asked the Iraqi sister in Dubai about her family. Alhamdulillah, her immediate family is here with her. But her uncles, aunts and cousins are in Nasriyah, a city close to Basra. Unfortunately, her uncle lost his leg when an American soldier didn’t wait to understand what was happening. He simply started shooting. I heard this happens a lot–nervous soldiers not knowing what’s going on and shooting in the hopes that they won’t be shot. They’re unable to translate the Arabic (or unwilling to understand what’s going on). In the documentary Winter Soldier: Iraq & Afghanistan, a soldier talks about how he almost killed a 90 something year old Iraqi woman as she was driving down the road. Once again, miscommunication and nervous trigger fingers almost created a tragedy. This Iraqi sister told me that all she knows is war. She was born during the Iran-Iraq war and lived to see both American invasions. But there we were, two Muslim sisters, chatting like it’s nothing despite our origins.
I’ve already been numbed by it all–the stupidity of this war and all wars. You have to be numb just to get through the day because if you allow yourself to feel the pain–you’ll be crying for days. Before I prayed Dhuhr, I almost started crying. It’s one thing to hear about it on TV. It’s another to meet someone who’s life has been changed forever.
Whether we realize it or not, America enjoys the love and mercy of many people around the world. While I have met people who will go on and on about America’s jacked-up foreign policy, I have yet to hear anyone condemn the American people. I haven’t encountered any seething hatred or raging Moozlimz. I don’t deny that it exist but the media tends to forget something. The mainstream American media paints the war in black and white. It doesn’t mean people here in the Middle East are unable to see all the shades and colors of this conflict. It is only by God’s grace that America’s trangressions are overlooked–even by those who have been harmed by them. I have been told by those who have visited and/or lived in the US, that despite some brushes with ignorance, most Americans are nice, warm and tolerant people.
Forgive me, but I’m just typing this out. It’s merely venting a frustration at feeling powerless.
Here’s an article from Michael Moore discussing how the Democrats are going to blow this election.
Islam from the other side » Islam on My Side said,
August 10, 2008 at 2:42 pm
[...] Mo, an American Muslim sister who has recently begun her life anew in the Middle East, had an interesting encounter with an Iraqi woman who led her to some interesting conclusions. Whether we realize it or not, [...]
Shawna said,
August 10, 2008 at 2:44 pm
Salaams sis! As you know, I’m following your transition and wanted to know if you’d be interested in writing a series of blog posts for Islam on My Side called Islam on the Other Side. Let me know via submissions@islamonmyside.com.
I hope you’re having a wonderful time and that your transition to Dubai is filled with beauty, rewards and the mercy of Allah.
JDsg said,
August 10, 2008 at 2:58 pm
Your reaction to meeting a woman from Iraq is somewhat like the reaction I had a number of years ago when I first started teaching Vietnamese kids. Although these kids were too young to have known the war, I knew the war, even though I myself was too young to have been drafted (or rather, the war ended for America before I could be drafted). Still, it was a bit of a revelation to start teaching these kids and realize that they felt no animosity toward me or other Americans. (And if they did feel animosity, they hid it very well.) And it’s when you become an expat and begin engaging in the day-to-day public diplomacy with everyday people that you realize how much easier it would be if your government didn’t keep on making fraking boneheaded decisions.
Redwan Ahmed said,
August 10, 2008 at 3:11 pm
can you put my blog http://www.fisabilillah12.wordpress.com in the deenport blog tracker please.
musulmana said,
August 10, 2008 at 8:04 pm
asslamu aleikum wa rahmatulahi wa barakatuhu,
Izzy, you know more Iraqis than that. My husband and his sister (who you know as well) are Iraqi. They still have family there. It is a different reality for life there than what we are used to.
Izzy Mo said,
August 11, 2008 at 6:27 am
Shawna: Thank you for your well wishes. I may be able to do it but for now, things are really hectic but I will definitely get back to you on availability. Thanks for including me.
JDsg:Masha’Allah. What was so amazing was that she seemed so positive. I know if I had lived through 3 wars, I don’t think I would be so positive. The sad reality is that many Americans don’t go overseas. And for those that do, some of them still hold onto those negative stereotypes of their host countries. You know, kinda like Western expats griping about how backward the locals are but they are keen on taking their money and living in their land.
Redwan: You have to talk to the domain owner of Deenport to get that done.
Musulmana: Walaikum salaam wa rahmatullahi wa barakatu, I thought your husband was Saudi. ??? And I don’t remember meeting his sister. What’s her name?
musulmana said,
August 11, 2008 at 6:17 pm
He lived in Saudi with his parents for a while growing up. I can give you more 411 on e-mail.
I think you are on her Facebook page. She has the same last name as my husband.
She is younger than you and used to live here. She is good friends with oldschoolmuslima.
LOL-you think I would marry a Saudi?-LOL No offense to Saudis, Izzy, but you do know me right?
musicalchef said,
August 11, 2008 at 8:06 pm
Whoa, when did you move to Dubai?! Guess that’s what happens when I don’t blog-surf for awhile.
Yusuf Smith said,
August 11, 2008 at 9:59 pm
As-Salaamu ‘alaikum,
Are you sure the USA ever actually declared war on Iraq? My memory is that they never did (nor did the UK) and presented it as some sort of act of liberation. The Vietnam war was fought without there ever actually being a state of war declared by the USA against North Vietnam; it was presented as helping the government of South Vietnam resist invasion.
Also, it is true that most Arab Muslims do not hate individual Americans, but (assuming you wear hijab now) perhaps the sister thought of you differently because she knew you were Muslim, and if she didn’t, perhaps it was because of your colour. She might have reacted differently to a white woman (or man), particularly one who gave any impression of arrogance.
baitunjamil said,
August 12, 2008 at 2:47 am
Assalaamualaikum-
I love reading your blog now Izzy-you are really allowing us back home to understand what you are experiencing. Thank you.
BTW I am no longer blogging at bountifulmuslimah-if you have time to update your links, Insha’Allah : )
baitunjamil said,
August 12, 2008 at 2:48 am
http://www.baitunjamil.wordpress.com : )
Izzy Mo said,
August 12, 2008 at 5:33 am
Musulmana: Oh, that’s why I thought he was Saudi. I gotta look at my Facebook page again to find her profile. I mean, really look at it. I got this super-duper, smack-down cold that has slowed me down tremendously. Hey sis, whatever beef you have with the Saudis, take it up with them. I’m staying out of it.
Musical chef: Ha-ha. Trust me, I’m more surprised that I’m here than you are. Are you still in Jordan?
Yusuf: Yeah, the 2003 invasion (as I like to call it) was called Operation Iraqi Freedom. You make an interesting point. I haven’t had the opportunity to ask any White expats in Dubai about their experiences. My coworkers are Filipino, Indo-Pakistani and Arab.
Baitunjamil: Thanks, hon.
Oh, thanks for the update. I’m make the changes.
huda said,
August 12, 2008 at 12:22 pm
Assalaamu aleikum
Don’t you just love those moments? Sometimes it overwhelms me when I meet or pray beside sisters and realize that in other times and other places, that sisterhood would have been impossible, because of man-made wars, stupid laws like apartheid and segregation, and so on. The “cultural boo-yah” can really get one down at times, but when we manage to transcend the barriers it is a wonderful thing.
Linkage - 2008-08-07 at Racialicious - the intersection of race and pop culture said,
August 14, 2008 at 3:00 pm
[...] Mo is in Dubai and had some interesting thoughts about international relations. (Via.) Whether we realize it or not, America enjoys the love and [...]