03/14/2024
Day 2 Ramadan Contest:
Student Reflection - Disease of the Soul - Assabiyah (Prejudice) -
The Day After Donald Trump Won The Elections In 2016, I Was Sitting In Math Acceleration And My Table And I Were Discussing The Elections And How Trump Won. As A Pakistani First-Gen American, I Was Told By This Indian Boy (Also First-Gen) That My Family And I Would Be Sent Back To Pakistan. As A Young 4th-Grade Student, I Was Very Distraught And Uncomfortable Hearing Those Words. I Think Assabiyah In This Case Was Caused By Cultural Stigma And Prejudice Against Muslims Or Any Non-White Person. He Was Following And Acting Upon The Prejudice Fed By The Media And By Trump. Despite The Boy Being Non-White, He Was Implying That Because I Was Muslim, I Would Get Sent Back. I Know As A Pakistani, We Tend To Dislike Indians And Vice Versa Because Of Our Country's History. But In Reality, I Know Many Indian People And They Are Some Of The Best People I Have In My Life. We Are Divided By Borders But We Share Many More Similarities Such As Our Language, Clothing, And Our Love For Biryani! So This Kind Of Assabiyah Is Not Legitimate As It Is Based On Prejudice. It Was Not Meant To Bring About Any Benefit Or Have A Discussion. It Was Meant With The Intent Of Bullying Because I Was A Muslim And He Wasn't. One Way I Could Cure Assabiyah Is By Having Good Akhlaq Towards Such People So That They Know That I Am Not A Bad Person And I Mean No Harm. Maybe They Just Haven't Met A Good Muslim. They Might Be Ignorant Of Our Beliefs. I Won't Call Out Their Behavior Or Point Out Flaws In Them, Rather I Will Treat Them With Kindness So They Can Realize Their Mistake Themselves." - Khadija Ali
