You can also find this blog post featured on The Black Expat. Edits to the original work were made and can be found on my page.
Ramadan Kareem to all my fellow Muslims observing this blessed month! May this month be one that brings you closer in faith and grant you a higher state of self-consciousness. I truly hope you all find the healing you’ve been looking for.
It’s my second Ramadan in China, and now that I’ve adjusted to life here, I don’t feel so out of place and a mess. Also grateful to have another Muslim sister (oh hey Leena!) to accompany me to break fast with this year.
This year feels a lot more special. I’ve been sensing an automatic calmness within me. I can tell it’s partly because of the communal feel I get here. It’s something that really makes me feel whole inside. That, but also because of the weather and simply, me. Let’s just pray this calmness lasts me this whole month and beyond insha’Allah. Most importantly, I need to pray my students don’t end up drying me out – literally.
To those who may be unfamiliar with Ramadan, here’s a little about the sacred month and what it means to 1.8 billion Muslims around the world.
Ramadan is…
- The 9th month on the Islamic calendar
- One of the 5 pillars of Islam
- A total of 29 or 30 days, depending on the sighting of the new moon
- The month where Muslims all over the world refrain from food, liquids, sexual relationships with their spouse all from sunrise to sunset
- A time where Muslims focus on renewing their spiritual state and its practical application in daily life
- The month of reflection and remembrance
- The month the Qur’an was revealed to Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him)
- Breaking fast with friends and family – a month many Muslims look forward to
I recently returned from a 4 day trip in Beijing with Leena and it made me reflect deeply on the whole aspect of travel. Everything from access to travel to how identity really plays a large role in how we travel as individuals.
We don’t realize how much of our existence is affected by the world’s perception of us. We may move in different spaces effortlessly, but sometimes that movement can also be affected by fear and an unconscious effort to desperately try to blend in. And in many cases, if we’re what you call “culturally rooted”, blending in will not always be a choice we default to.
This I had to learn at an early age.
I am a visibly Muslim woman who is ethnically Ethiopian. I have a light caramel complexion that fluctuates and causes me to appear ambiguous, and my features a mixture of 2 continents put into one. With that said, moving around the world I’m either a mystery or just another brown girl existing.
I may have been given the passport privilege to move unquestionably, although that will never disregard the physical experience of the body I exist in.
Traveling and living in a place that would otherwise be foreign to me has its many perks, but it equally reveals how my presence directly affects how I must move around in the world.
If anything, these are some of the things I’ve learned about traveling as a Muslim woman of color.
- You are literally teaching the world.
- You’re sometimes a role model to other Brown and Black Muslim girls and women.
- You will be ‘othered’.
- You’ll often be profiled for your hijab and your skin color.
- You’ll realize how anti-Black the world is.
- Our identities make us resilient.
- You tend to have to walk more consciously.
- You’re learning more about who you are and where you come from.
You are literally teaching the world.
Every person you encounter, whether abroad or in your home country, it’s likely they’ve learned something about your religious and ethnic/racial identity. As a visibly Muslim woman, people are highly curious about what and why you do the things you do. Whether it’s the food and drink restrictions, prayer, fasting, hijab, etc. You get my point. You become the representative of an entire people, simply because society didn’t allow you the privilege to exist as an individual.
Your racial identity will cause many people to ask many questions to get a better idea of who and what you are. There will be confusion, and depending on how tolerable the person is, they’ll have to eventually learn to make sense of it.
You will quickly notice how astonished people are by your “different-ness”, only to realize it’s because they’ve just hadn’t had enough or any exposure to “your kind of people”. Or simply, diversity.
Everything about you will be exoticized and in a matter of time, you’ll eventually be normalized. Hopefully.
If anything, I’ve had to learn to appreciate the curiosity. Simply because I’d rather a person learn about me, from me. And if I must represent a people, it gives me a reason to walk in purpose and mindfully.
You’re sometimes a role model to other Brown and Black Muslim girls and women.
I recall getting a message from a sister stating her interest in going abroad and wanting to know more about what it’s like being a Muslim woman abroad. And within the message, she also spoke of how my ability to share my experience has been an inspiration to her. This goes for all individuals who may even slightly be in the public eye. Your actions no matter how small, have an impact on others. Especially if you have a relatable identity or many.
Sharing any type of experience will show and give way to those who share a similar interest, but also make it clear that they can do it too. You may be traveling solo and thinking of how your experiences are affecting you specifically, but you are equally making a difference in someone else’s life.
We all deserve to experience life not always having to be cautious of what we place on our head, nor our skin color – and that my friend is what needs to be shown to the world.
You will be ‘othered’.
Sometimes everything about your appearance causes people to not feel the need to associate with you. Many times it will subconsciously be from being visibly Muslim. I know I shouldn’t directly assume me being Muslim or even a person of color will mostly if not always be the reason people initially have no interest in conversing with me, but unfortunately, I’ve been in enough situations where it’s proven to be the case.
And let’s be real, Muslims don’t exactly have the best reputation in the world. And though politics and white supremacy heavily affect the lives of Muslims globally, most people don’t care enough to realize we aren’t the ones causing global terror to deserve to be othered.
It’ll depend on where you’re located in the world, but too often than usual, you’ll experience a lack of interaction with people who come from your country or share a common language (in this case English speakers and westerners).
And though it’s human nature to make judgments from first encounters, you’ll most likely receive an added layer of misconceptions about who you are.
And dare I mention, the ‘othering’ that is experienced is deeply racial sometimes.
You’ll often be profiled for your hijab and your skin color.
I’m sure we’ve all heard of stories or experienced airport security doing a “random check”. As far as I know, there is nothing random about it. Not only that, walking into planes, going through immigrations, etc. – it can be a bit nerve-racking. I do believe it all depends on where you are traveling in the world. Although one thing is, the starring will always be consistent. And if your “foreignness” shines a little too hard, it’ll be enough to question your existence.
Oddly enough, I’ve had less of an issue traveling outside the USA, than when traveling within the USA. That says a lot about tolerance and how accepting certain places are of my identity. I may carry a US passport and be as American as can be, and yet I will always be seen as a threat in certain countries more than others.
You’ll realize how anti-Black the world is.
I may be culturally and racially Black, although the majority of the time I’m not recognized as a Black woman. Though it can be frustrating having to explain where I come from, I’ve had to learn to take it as it is. As stated previously in my blog on Blackness Abroad, the world is very anti-Black and it will become even more apparent to you when you’ve traveled to certain parts of the world. From the way language is used to the obsession of wanting lighter skin. The billboards of white people or of lighter complexion – it’s all been schemed that way to keep white people and light skin on top.
And as Muslim women, it’s something we have to navigate, knowing that it can be our racial and religious identity that becomes targeted. I cannot speak for all situations – although I do realize how effective the presence of Black Muslim women needs to be apparent in all spaces. The more we see us, the less we become scared or distant from places we would otherwise like to travel to.
Our identities make us resilient.
When you’ve experienced enough situations where you’ve become used to standing out or even feel marginalized, you tend to find your resilience in those spaces. You begin to embrace the attributes that make up who you are. If you’ve gone through this, you know it’s an empowering feeling, and if not – think of a time you felt out of place in any situation, whether in a workplace, school, grocery store, etc. You most likely learned to navigate whatever it is you were going through. And that is what makes you resilient.
Wearing the hijab may seem like a barrier, although you realize your presence is too valuable to be in spaces that would otherwise harm you or cause you difficulty in any way. Your existence is too precious and limited to be in places that make you feel unworthy.
You tend to have to walk more consciously.
As Brown and Black Muslim women, it’s a given that we walk differently on this earth – society may enforce it upon us, but no doubt who wouldn’t rather walk consciously than recklessly.
Carrying multiple identities that tend to cause attention, you become more alert of your surroundings. You become a vigilant and conscious traveler. You make the effort to identify who and what can be of harm to you based on how people look at you to the subtle racial microaggressions. And from those experiences, you learn the aspects of your identity that are particularly being focused on in any given situation – whether negatively or positively.
You’re learning more about who you are and where you come from.
Traveling is one of many things that can truly open wonders intellectually, emotionally, and mentally. Having the privilege to experience the world and its awes, makes you wonder about yourself and your own history.
As someone who has a passion for history and geography, I feel like I’m on a never-ending journey of wanderlust. No matter how far the place may be from where I may have originated, I will always find common ground. In the people, place, and spaces.
And the many conversations you have with others, whether locals or foreigners like yourself, you develop a want to learn more as a whole. And as a Muslim woman of color, it has truly opened my eyes to acknowledge the power and resilience we as women and women of color have that oftentimes goes unacknowledged. We have so much wisdom and light within our experience and existence. And indeed it’s God-given.
Nevertheless, if life continues to permit me to do so, I will never stop making an effort to see the world. Whatever I experience that may rub me the wrong way will never be enough to make me give up the fact that I’ve been given the opportunity and privilege to travel. And not just solely travel for the heck of it, but to travel with a conscious mind. Meaning, I know I will face barriers and despite it all, I can still develop a love and appreciation for the world and what it has to offer.
Travel isn’t solemnly about having the best time, but more so about experiencing what it’s like walking in different spaces and navigating through various situations that are foreign to us. We may think it’s mostly about learning about different cultures, but I’d say it’s more so about understanding where and how we stand in the world. If we look deeper, most of the learning we do is about ourselves. And whatever we pick up along the way it’s the passion we have for making an effort to understand the people around us.
We must walk confidently within our own skin enough to learn to not care about others but focus on the path we are walking. You are the main one, and everyone else is like the side dish – you don’t need them, but they accentuate your journey. That’s the thing about traveling with an identity that changes how people associate with you. Others may not understand you fully, although you learn to understand yourself wholly.
What are some observations you’ve made traveling with a unique identity?
