When I first started blogging, this is the first entry I made... I hope can take something from this.
Enjoy...
‘Where are you from?’ is a common question that is often posed to a person who meets someone they can’t quite figure out yet.
Why is it that we are always so curious about where someone is from? Is it so we can therefore define who they are, as the place they were born clearly summarizes who a person is right? Well yes and no.
You see, this question is totally ambiguous. Is it referring to a persons nationality? The place they were born? The ancestry of their parents? We all have our own way of answering this question. The place a person currently lives or has spent most of their lives or the kind of life they lead and the culture they have adapted to may be how a person chooses where they will say they are from.
I think it is a matter of identity, and I think we are all entitled to chose our identities and that depends entirely on what we think defines us the most accurately, in the most wholesome way.
When somebody asks me where I am from, I typically say I am from Britain/England as this is the place I was born and the passport I carry. My parents are both British citizens, though my father was born in another country – other than that of his own parents and techinically he is Indian by blood… so it all gets a bit complicated you see.
Most importantly, I wouldn’t say that I identified myself as being British or English. I am mixed race, British parents; English mother, Indian father (by blood), I have a British passport, I have lived in the USA, and Egypt and I speak English and Arabic and I eat every cuisine under the sun. So where does that leave me? When I answer ‘Britain/England’ I am answering an ambiguous question with an ambiguous answer, but also to make a point. You see, I am Muslim, that is who and what I am, and a Muslim can be from any nation, any culture and any religion prior to embracing Islam. It is not for a specific race, colour or social class and this is what defines me, and it is my choice to let this be the deciding factor of my identity even though this has only been a part of me for a portion of my life – but I am a Muslim more than anything else, this is what will stay with me regardless of the country I am in, the passports I obtain, or the country I am born in. It will be with me for the rest of my days إن شاء الله and no embassy can take that away from me. This is what defines me, it shapes my life and influences the choices I make in my life. This is what I will stand by, more than any country or nation, my Ummah is what I stand for.
إن لله و إن إليه راجعون
(Inna lillahi wa in ilaihi raji’oon)
To Allah we belong, and unto Him we shall return
So where am I from? In reality I am from my Lord Allah, and unto Him I shall return. That is my true origin and that is my destination.
Aslamu alaikum
ReplyDeletefor me you are what you feel you are, in Islam linage is taken from the father if I understand correctly, Being British of Mixed heritage is how I describe my mixed children. You could be from say Mexico but living in Gambia most of your life, naturally you would feel perhaps from the culture you have grown up in and been educated in. The culture you identify too...genetic make up with describe your origins but the culture you identify with will describe the rest. Am I am making sense?
Wa alaikum salaam.
DeleteYeah, that does make sense to an extent. In terms of lineage though I would have to say I am.. Indian? Even though I have spent my life in London. You said it when you mentioned it's the culture we identify to. Islam is a way of life, it's a culture in itself in some ways =)