Nine Lessons for New Converts/Reverts to Islam

5. Being a Muslim is awesome, becoming a minority is difficult

Welcome to a world you may have never experienced before, the world of “the other.” This is the place of those who don’t hold an “entitlement” card by virtue of their birth, a world of strange looks and racial slurs.  This can be hard to grapple with initially since some of us were never raised to deal with it.  When you wear hijab you may notice that people aren’t as friendly to you as they once were; you see the change in demeanor that is provoked by your religious identity.  It isn’t fair, and being raised on American values that preach fairness and equality but never having really experienced racism yourself, you are in for a frustrating experience.

You will see the latent hypocrisy that exists in many aspects of our society, you will have a perfect image of our great nation shattered, you will experience double standards and security checks and anti-Muslim bigotry, but take heart in the fact that you will also experience the greatness of the human spirit and the American people.  You will see that for every negative experience you have, you will have many more positive ones.  You will meet people who go out of their way to compliment you on your hijab, people will politely ask you questions and make it a point to tell you how much they respect what you’re doing. You will find that most people strive toward fairness, justice, and morality.  The bumps in the road are just going to make the smoother patches seem all the more smooth.  Don’t focus on the negative or take it personally, just enjoy the positive.

Next: Watch out for groupies, but do find your community.