Daily Times

“So where exactly is Pakistan in Europe?,” asked an African-American classmate of mine, while pointing out to a map of the world in our geography class. This was in the late 90s, I had moved to ‘Amreeka’ from Pakistan as a teenager, and Americans within the school system and outside were not aware of our Islamic Republic of Pakistan. On most occasions, I simply lied and told people that I was an Indian to save their time and mine in guessing Pakistan’s precise location and culture. Classmates would then proceed to inquire if we had cars in India or if people still rode on camel backs, though that was their inner Indiana Jones speaking. All throughout the eighties and the whole of nineties, America was the place to go to as it represented freedom and acceptance like no other nation. With Trump coming into power, all that was once glorious about the USA is now set to diminish. It did not happen overnight though, and the dislike for the ‘other’ was long in the making in this great land.

As a teenager, my only ambition at that point of time — quite doltishly — was to wear short skirts. It was not because I was not allowed to do so in my family but since there were a less number of people objecting to my attire in America, I availed every opportunity to rebel. Those that felt suffocated in the Pakistani culture or felt that they could not earn well in a system riddled with nepotism and corruption sought the US as the place to fulfil their immigrant American dream. The green card fever gripped the Pakistanis till it hit a really febrile point: those who had it flaunted it and those who did not simply envied the card holders. People did not hesitate in visiting their favourite maulanas to obtain taaveez and remedies to speed up their visa process.

I am certain that historians in the future would describe our current time as divided into two specific chapters: before 9/11 and after 9/11. Life was simply never the same for Muslims and others after the attack. Much before the twin towers went down in New York city, America had begun crumbling from within. Before Islamophobia gripped a substantial percentage of its voter base, there was a Columbine High School massacre that exposed its ailing nervous system. In a culture that took pride in awarding a great measure of freedom to all, maybe too much was a little too much. My own high school was located a few kilometres away from Columbine High in Colorado where two students shot dead 13 people before shooting themselves. I vividly recall being locked down in our school for hours when the incident took place.

The mastermind behind the shooting, Dylan Klebold, came from a dysfunctional family, as do most of the lone rangers of such active shooter incidents that take place in the US, which is more so the case for them when compared to radical Islamist attackers. At its heart, the American family system had begun corroding at the turn of the century. This was a country that eagerly pushed kids out of their homes as soon as they turned eighteen. Many goras (white people) regularly mocked our South Asian family setups where the offsprings never really leave home till they get married. A solid family system and values create a strong emotional web that nurtures a growing adult, which can be starkly contrasted with the consumerism that had begun to replace parenting in the US. One could buy their teenage son a PlayStation to pacify his need for attention and be done with him. Since that unprecedented shooting at Columbine High School, more than 100 active shooter incidents have taken place in the US, mostly planned and executed by young males whose mental health is questionable. However, they went undetected in society till their big event came to the foreground.

The end of the nineties was also a time when immigrants started taking up high-level jobs in the USA, adding to the resentment of Americans who silently resisted this invasion by people of colour. Immigrants were no longer working as taxi drivers or flipping burgers but had spread their wings into the IT industry and medical science. By this time, the term desi had been almost crystallised in the colloquial language of South Asians. It comprised of Indians, Pakistanis, Bangladeshis and even Sri Lankans who bonded in a place of neutrality. Bollywood was a common link amongst the otherwise uncomfortable neighbours who had formed a formidable force outside. Restaurants and grocery shops had signage that described them as ‘Indian-Pakistan’ or ‘Pakistani-Indian’ (depending on the owner’s place of origin) spaces of importance. The end of the nineties also saw a lot of Indians and Pakistanis emigrating to Canada from the US, as crammed up societies of the US had ceased to offer the best of lifestyles. I had left for Toronto as well with my family.

When the calendar hit September 11, 2001, the world of Muslims living in North America and elsewhere changed forever. Many Muslim women who had been getting fabulous haircuts from high-end salons took up the hijab one by one. They felt pushed to the wall; every desi that I knew reported of being harassed on the streets or workplace. Muslims of America turned inwards- towards Islam. There was too much confusion in the air coupled with guilt and one felt as though one had been a part of the 9/11 attacks as the world became unforgiving day by day. Names like Al-Qaeda or Osama Bin Laden were as alien to us as the rest of the world but socially we were made to feel as if we had the Taliban on our speed dial.

The Muslim Ummah lacking a singular leader did whatever it could to hold onto their beloved religion and they did so haphazardly as the international media began painting a horrific picture of Islam. Ridiculousness took a new shape when local muezzins (person who gives the call to prayer) printed out lists of forbidden items for Muslims. Websites like haram.com even suggested that utilising surf detergent was also against Islam. They said that Muslim ummah was in trouble, and the balli ka bakra became the pig or animal fat found in food and other items. This is how Muslim leaders of the US fought growing Islamophobia instead of addressing real concerns.

In the new millennium, Muslims have felt cornered more than ever and in defiance, they have upped their religiosity. Trump has simply cashed in on the world that has now greatly and firmly been divided along religious lines. All that had been simmering in the US for years has fructified itself in the form of a leader who promises to ‘make America great again’ and perhaps devoid of all colour too.

The writer is a freelance columnist