During the weekend, an "I am a Muslim too" rally took place in New York City at Times Square. A picture of the event shows a large crowd gathered, all mouths opened in unison. A couple of white women are front and center, holding signs of a woman in a hijab made up of stars and stripes - a poster courtesy of the talented Shepard Fairey that has gained popularity from sea to shining sea in the past month. I will spare you and not get into how problematic it feels to create a hijab out of the American flag - that's another conversation.
For now, I want to focus on the rally. I did not participate in the rally and I'm shaking my head at what I consider the shallow acceptance of the claim:"I am Muslim too."
Actually, I am not Muslim. I grew up with Muslims as my friends and aunties. I was cared for by Muslim women and learned from them. I went on to raise my children to live and love a Muslim country and the people who surrounded us. Muslims cared for my children when they were small. They were our friends, our neighbors, our babysitters. I continue to count Muslim women as some of my closest friends. But I am not Muslim.
And the grey-haired woman in the forefront of the picture I saw wearing a statue of liberty tiara? I am 99.9% sure that she is not Muslim either.
I am not in favor of participating in identity confusion solidarity. And that's what this particular demonstration felt like. It felt like a shallow way of showing support.By contrast, I had no problem promoting and marching in a pro-immigrant march a couple of weeks ago. The message felt completely different. It was solidarity without identity confusion.
To say I am a Muslim means that I accept the truth claims of Islam. To say I am a Muslim means that I accept an identity that is far bigger than a sign on poster board. I do not share the identity and I do not share the truth claims of Islam, just as my Muslim friends do not share the truth claims of Christianity. There are many commonalities, many things that can bind us together as friends and neighbors, but there are also key differences.
Why do I have to chant "I am Muslim too!" to show solidarity with my Muslim friends? There has to be a better way.In the past two years I have had the privilege of getting to know the Muslim community in the greater Boston area. I have been doing a health project with foreign-born Muslim women and through it I have been welcomed into several of the many Muslim communities in the area. I have shared meals with Pakistani, Iranian, Syrian, and Somali women. I have been invited to hear their views on health care and learn from them more about how public health can better serve them. I have been to mosques and to homes. The connections and friendships that I have made are a testament to the generosity of the Muslim community.
For me to say "I am Muslim too" feels like it's an insult to the resilience and experience of the community.It doesn't feel like solidarity. Just like it would feel like I was insulting the Black community if I held a sign saying "I am Black too." Because I'm not black. We cannot assume that we know what the experience of another is just because we march with big signs. I have no clue what it is like to have to flee a country and know I can never go back. I have no clue what it is like to face prejudice because of my skin color. How on earth would I know what it feels like to be concerned for my sons because of their skin color? I have no clue what it is like to be attacked because I wear hijab. These are experiences that I cannot claim as my own.
What I can claim is to want to support the community in ways that are lasting and sustainable. What I can claim is a desire to know the community better, to invite people into friendship and connection. What I can claim is to be learning more about my own privilege and how that can be used for good or for ill.
As I looked at pictures from the march this weekend, I wondered how many of the people present actually had Muslim friends. I wondered how many have actually invited people into their homes to share a meal, to share a conversation. I wondered how we can take the obvious energy and time that went into shouting "I am Muslim too" and turn it into something that could help the Muslim community in the long-term.
So - no, I am not Muslim and I don't believe that this kind of solidarity is helpful for the long-term. I don't believe that identity confusion will help my Muslim friends. But, because I place high value on my Christian faith, I will do whatever I can in my small spheres of influence to support a community that I love.
