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My Life as a Brown Person
- Wayne State University Press
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Part 4 Civilian Stories [44.204.65.189] Project MUSE (2024-03-28 22:03 GMT) 213 I grew up hearing stories about racism and attending leadership conferences where videos illustrated a world in which Arabs were constantly called terrorists or A-rabs and harassed endlessly. However, I have to say I was in disbelief.At Bloomfield Hills schools, I have never been discriminated against or personally harassed for being Arab in the post-9/11 decade. This will not be some story of persecution or tears. This will be the story of a teenager who grew up happily in this decade, surrounded by close white friends and Arab acquaintances. These acquaintances have experienced a few isolated incidences, but nothing serious, nothing violent, and nothing coming from people of authority. Keep in mind, I am not speaking for anyone other than myself. I am writing my own experiences. This is my recollection of my life in the post-9/11 decade. I am Mujan Seif, the daughter of Wejdan Azzou and Nader Seif. I was born on August 11, 1994, in Dearborn, Michigan, the home of tens of thousands of Arabs. My mother emigrated from Baghdad when she was in high school. My mother’s side of the family is Chaldean. This facet of my ancestry has been discussed numerous times among my friends. As I have had to point out, not all denizens of the Middle East are Muslim; rather, the Chaldeans are essentially Christian Arabs. In the words of a friend,“[Chaldeans] come from over . . . in the Middle East-ish area. Dark skinned, dark hair, all that. Usually Chaldean Catholic. They think they own the world. They are usually rich. Oh, and they rent party buses for school dances.” Although I am friends with young Chaldeans who do not fit this description, the majority of Chaldeans at my school—also referred to by the teenage population as Chaldos, Boaters, and Grease Monkeys—display these attributes fully. In My Life as a Brown Person Mujan Seif 214 Mujan Seif fact, the stereotype rings so true for teenage Chaldeans that I, the daughter of a Chaldean, often forget that this stereotype does not extend to Chaldean adults. I must be reminded that adult Chaldeans worked hard to grind out a living and that the kids do not provide an accurate representation of Chaldean values. My father is a Sunni Muslim from Jordan. His family is originally from Palestine and fled to Jordan during a conflict between Palestinians and Israelis . I was brought up Muslim. This eventually became common knowledge among my peers and teachers when I started fasting as a second grader. I enjoyed speaking about my religion, never forcing it on people. I have given two presentations on Islam. The first, in 2004, was an in-depth description of the religion to a group of educators from Ferndale schools. I was a fifth grader; I actually enjoyed it, and it sparked my interest in public speaking. The second, in 2008, was as part of a group of Muslims giving a presentation to my freshman World Studies class at International Academy, the high school I attended for the first semester of my high school career. Interestingly enough, when my teacher asked me to help out, I made it clear that I was now an agnostic. He just liked that I was a pretty enthusiastic kid who obviously still knew all about the religion and could help out. I am Arab, but now I am an agnostic. My belief in God ends with: I admit that I just do not know. I have no problem with people who show great faith; I even enjoy a good discussion on our different views. I do not like extremism in any form. I know that suicide bombers are not Muslims. They are extremists . Suicide is forbidden in Islam. Muslims do not kill in the name of Allah. Those who kill are extremists. Muslims are people who believe in one God, Allah, and believe that Muhammad is His prophet. As an agnostic, I am open to the concept. I do not hate atheists either. They are just another group of people with their own beliefs. Cupcakes were on the counter, I remember. Wrappers were strewn all over the classroom. My good friend, Alex, had just had his classroom birthday party. He was choosing who would get to accompany him as he toured the school, distributing extra cupcakes to other teachers. We had already decided I...