Present at Diwaloween
Anah Ibrahim
Posts
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Requesting a Pass -
Intersection & AcceptanceSamra Habib beautifully illustrates the complexities of her intersectional identity as a queer Muslim in Canada, connecting it to her social, cultural and religious identity. She highlights her experiences being marginalized in both the queer and Muslim sphere, and how her intersectional identity always challenged her acceptance in each environment. In the queer sphere, her acceptance was challenged because of the lack of representation of both queer people of colour and queer Muslims. In the Muslim sphere, her queer identity challenged her acceptance because of the ostracization of queer folks in islamic environments because of the common conceptualization of queer people as sinners.
Habib's experience at Unity Mosque marks a pivotal point in her self-acceptance of her intersectional identity, because, for the first time in her life, it signified a space where both her Muslim and queer identity was respected. It became a space where different understandings and relations with Islam were respected, largely contrasting with her experience at her local mosque.
Habibs connection with Unity Mosque somewhat parallels her mother's experience with her local mosque, in which they both act as a haven for acceptance. For her mother, her local mosque accepted her cultural and religious identity as a Pakistani Muslim in Canada. Unity Mosque for Habib accepted her sexual and religious identity as a queer Muslim. It is interesting to observe that despite the unique intersectionality of identities, safe havens of acceptance are critical in affirming self-identity especially when identities outside these spheres are constantly contested and discriminated against.
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Quebec, you are just a hypocriteThe Commission report, although aimed at “studying interculturalism, secularism, and national identity” (Mahrouse 85) in the face of ‘reasonable accommodation debates’, concluded by “reinforcing the racialized hierarchies and exclusions” (Mahrouse 85) central to much of Quebec notions of religious and cultural intolerance. Mahrouse outlines how Quebec's intolerance for religious and cultural diversity is a reflection of concerns about Quebec's identity crisis.
The commission unintentionally highlights racialized hierarchies between Quebeqiou French and minority communities in the province. Quebecers superiority conceptualized themselves as “the judges of what was tolerable and what was not” (Mahrouse 89), where they undoubtedly evaluated tolerability within the bounds of Quebec values, principles, and culture. This biased standpoint also reflects Quebec's tendency to reject anything categorized by the ‘other’, more simply, anything that contests the hegemony of French Quebecers.
Quebec's fight to ‘maintain’ its cultural hegemony by rejecting the cultural and religious diversity of minority populations is highly hypocritical concerning First Nation identity. As Mahrouse mentions, “Quebec nationalism has always been in conflict with the nationalism of the First Nations”, as it undermines the principle of Quebec cultural purity. How can Quebecers contest any culture that goes against their values and principles if they have no right to claim the dominant culture? Their inability to recognize First Nation culture, and limited efforts to preserve and maintain its culture further assert Quebec's sense of superiority. The superiority of Quebecers over First Nations dates back to French colonialism of Canada, but has lasting impacts that have allowed Quebecers to “determine who could and could not belong” (Mahrouse 89). Again, it's hypocritical for Quebecers to determine belonging if they do not rightfully belong.
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The American Dream is just a dream...Nimo and Sawp interestingly discuss the nature of migrants and non-migrants by positioning their rap as a conversation between the two. Intentionally, Nimo, representing a Gujarati migrant to America, speaks in English during the rap, symbolizing his Westernization and integration into American society. Swap represents the family of the migrant, and speaks Gujrati throughout the rap. The juxtaposition between the two illustrates the complexities of migration, especially the discrepancy between expectations and realities. It also loosely illustrates the relationships between migrants and migrant families.
Nimo, like many migrants, is motivated to migrate to America in pursuit of the American Dream. He believes that America, ‘the land of opportunity’ will make him rich and successful, something he can't attain in India. The idea of the American Dream is something that has motivated many migrants, who perceive America as a destination for success. However, the climate in America is often harsh towards migrants, and the labor structure challenges upward mobility for migrant laborers, especially those categorized as ‘low-skilled’. Further, the cultural climate of America is largely discriminatory to any minority that challenges the hegemony of American Culture, challenging the attainability of the American Dream because of structural obstacles in opportunity and subsequently success.
The conversations between Nimo and Sawp throughout the rap illustrate the narrative that migrants often uphold to ease often-concerned family members back home. Nimo throughout the conversation with Swap, constantly glorifies his life in America, talking about his job, suit, and money. He doesn't acknowledge the hardships faced in America or discuss any racism or discrimination he may have faced. It is only at the end of the verse that Nimo objects to Sawp's proposal to move to America, saying, “No I would never let you go what I’ve gone through”. This alludes to the hardships faced by many migrants in pursuit of the American Dream, spotlighting that the American Dream is just a dream after all.
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Mandin & HopeMany of Mandin's interviewees described their decision to move to Montreal in contrast to their experiences in Europe, describing their migration as a search for societal hope. Mandin described this social hope in two spheres: career success and identity expression.
For many Maghreb Europeans, unemployment became a source of frustration. Leila, one of Mandins interviewees expressed her distress in finding a job despite “[playing] by the rules” (Mandin 303). This illustrates the barriers minority communities face despite their efforts to follow conventional paths to success. Mandin highlights the obstacles faced by minorities, despite relevant skills, education, and experience are often a reflection of social immobility inherent to the European social structure in which minorities are not offered the same opportunities to move around social hierarchies. This is emphasized in the fact that “the descendants of immigrants also face higher unemployment rates and lower wages than the average population, even when they have the same qualifications” (Mandin 303). The lack of social mobility encouraged migration to Canada, specifically Montreal where a more pluralistic society (in theory) allowed greater opportunities because of lesser discrimination in the workforce.
Interestingly, Mandin discusses the contrast between perceived acceptance and realistic acceptance faced by the Magrib population specifically in the post-9/11 context. The pluralistic image that Canada held appealed to migrants because of their efforts to create a multicultural country. Mandin discusses Canada's multicultural policy which “[encouraged] minorities to develop their identity” (308). This understanding of cultural tolerance in Canada, especially as it contracted to that of Europe, acted as a push factor to many migrants who yearned for acceptance. However, Mandid highlights how the plurality that Canada seemed to encourage was not always socially reinforced. Especially in the post-9/11 context with “increasing public anxiety about Islam and Muslim minorities in Quebec” (Mandin 309) discrimination towards Maghrebi people challenged their social acceptance.
Overall, Mandin expresses the decision of the Maghrebi people to move from Europe to Montreal, by comparing their experiences in both, concluding that comparatively Canada offered greater hope for migrants in two spheres: career success and identity expression
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Trudeau & Aga Khan IVAs an East African Ismaili, I grew up in a community that almost worshiped Pierre Treadau. This became extremely apparent during the 2016 federal elections, when his son, Justin Trudeau ran for prime minister. At 11 years old, I didn't understand the complexities of Ismaili's ‘allegiance’ to Trudeau, but every Ismaili I knew voted for Trudeau. I knew that Pierre Trudeau played a significant role in establishing Ismaili's presence in Canada, but only recently did I begin to understand its complexities.
Muhammad, in Gifts of Amin, discusses the relationships between Pierre Trudeau and Aga Khan IV (more commonly referred to as Hazar Imam by the Ismaili community) and his role in bringing Asian Ugandans into Canada. Pierre Trudeau and The Aga Khan IV’s friendship began when they studied together at Harvard University, and their relationship undoubtedly impacted migration quotas for Ugandan Asians because of the large Ismaili population that made up that demographic. As Muhammedi illustrates, The Aga Khan “had advised the Ismaili community to secure Ugandan Citizenship to reduce tensions between the community and Ugandan Africans” (Muhammedi 17) which required them to give up British citizenship. Thus, at the time of the exodus, Ugandan citizenship was revoked and large number of Ismailis were stateless. This categorization was pivotal in The Aga Khan IV's advocacy for Trudeau to accept large numbers of Ismailis, by highlighting their dire situation. Trudeau settled on allowing 6,000 Ugandan Asians in the country, a large portion being Ismaili.
I was never aware of the process of Ugandan Ismaili migration to Canada which entailed a unique categorization of Ismailis as stateless, granting them preferential treatment throughout migration applications. As an Ismaili, I feel almost weird that as a religious group, we gained preferred treatment because of the personal and political pull of our religious leader. I really wonder if that wasn't the case, how would Ismailis retain their religious and cultural values either in Africa, or where would they have gone? The fiscal resources from Ismaili institutions also supported the migration of Ismailis into Canada through flights, accommodation, and the establishment of cultural institutions. The combination of support and fiscal resources, as well as preferential treatment, must have complicated the migration of other south asians living in Uganda (Sikhs, Hindus, other Muslims, etc) who experienced the same external threats of Idi Amin's regime, especially since other minority Ugandan Asian communities did not have the same access to resources as the Ismailis.
As I previously mentioned, Pierre Trudeau is a significant figure for East African Ismailis because of his key role in their migration and integration. His pluralistic and multicultural philosophy facilitated conversations between him and The Aga Khan, where he fostered a cultural climate that would allow Ismailis to thrive.
While reading Muhammedis's paper, I reflected a lot about Ugandan Asians (specifically Ugandan Ismailis) and their embodiment of the ‘desirable migrant’. On a political level, Ugandan Ismailis were seen as model migrants because many were skilled and educated. Ismailis in Uganda were encouraged to get educated and build up skills, by the Aga Khan IV and his implementation of institutions including Aga Khan Schools that served to educate Ismaili populations. In this way, the Aga Khan was able to market Ismailis as ‘desirable migrants’ which helped increase migration quotas to Canada because of their economic and social contributions.
Although Ugandan Asians were characterized as ‘model migrants’ on a political level, they were not received as such in Canada. The social climate of Canada had not yet embraced the pluralistic nation Pierre Trudeau advocated for. Thus, many Ugandan asians faced challenges finding jobs often rooted in discriminatory and racial bias. My grandfather, although not from Uganda, was an East African Ismaili who struggled to find a job because of his accent, and he was denied even an interview because of it. Within the Canadian context, Ugandan Asians were constantly ‘othered’ and perceived as a threat to Western culture, challenging their integration. So despite the education and skills that the Aga Khan emphasized and the ‘cultural richness’ that appealed to Trudeaus ideas of pluralism, Ugandan Asians still experienced a great deal of discrimination.
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Inseparability of Religion and RaceWhile reading Husains Moving Beyond, I reflected on my own position as a racialized Muslim, and how this presented a complication in my own conceptualization of my religious and racial identity.
As Husain explains, the racialization of Muslims has disrupted the black-white binary, as it positions a race that doesn't fit categorically within either binary. Thus, the conceptualization of the Muslim is complex because it has been understood as a determinant of race, racializing Muslims as brown. However, this understanding is central to Western conceptualizations of what it means to be Muslim, especially considering the mainstream stereotype of Muslims as South Asian or Arab.
Husain further discusses these implications in the post-9/11 context which strengthened the categorization of the racialization of Muslims as brown. It established this new racial category which largely reflected the increasing levels of islamophobia experienced by ‘the brown’. The new emergence of this racial category in the West, specifically in the US and Canada, defined conceptualizations for not only Muslims but South Asians and Arabs that fall within the bounds of Western understanding of ‘the brown’.
As someone who falls within the category of ‘the brown’ and has first-hand experienced the racialization of Muslims, especially in the post-9/11 context, the inseparability between my race and religion has always been something I have struggled with. I think it's a testament to the generalization of what it means to be Muslim, inherent to the racialization of Muslims. As Husain mentions, it does not include the diversity of what it means to be Muslim, both in a racial and practical sense. For me, this has manifested into a complicated conceptualization of my own identity and subsequent crisis in relation to Islam, and whether I am even religious enough to want to be identified as Muslim. However, the inherent brownness of Muslim racialization has made my religion inseparable from my racial identity, especially as it is reinforced in my name, Anah Noor Ibrahim.
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TH9 and Musical ProtestHutnyck discusses the lack of academic discourse or overall interest in the subject of diasporic cultural movements, specifically Asian youth cultural work, arguing that “even when it has managed to find space in the academic tableau, it has rarely been considered in any sustained political way” (Hutnyck 50). Acedmica has proved uninterested in researching and understanding the impact of youth diaspora cultural work, perhaps encouraging and emphasizing its presence in the cultural sphere as it translates to political activism, with underlying themes of protest. Hutnyck emphasizes this idea by stating, “A variety of South Asian musicians are political in a way that suggests an intellectual, commercial, and public cultural engagement that addresses contemporary issues” (Hutnyck 51). Further Hutnyck discusses how academia downplays the significance of south asian cultural movements, sidelining them which prevents discourse on understanding the importance of the emergence of diaspora political advocacy, specifically within the South Asian diasporic community in the UK.
Dog Tribe and TH9 are prime examples of the emergence of a political genre of South Asian music as a form of political protest, that highlights social, cultural, and economic nuances of the marginalized and discriminated community. These musical pieces precede the attacks of 1993, protesting actions taken by police during peaceful protests.
Following the attack of 17-year-old Qudds Ali, Youth Connection and Tower Hamlets Nine Campaign formed as a peaceful alliance against racial discrimination. TH9 by the Asian Dub Foundation highlights racially biased interactions with police against peaceful groups composed of racial minorities.
The police a chase we
The beast can't catch me
When I see his big stick
Him deal me a lick
Tower Hamlets Nine
Have to go free
Not even a fine for the
Tower Hamlets Nine
Youth Connection
Stop this infection
Defending defending defendingThese lyrics illustrate the events of 1993, specifically the racially biased interactions with police and their “big stick”. They protest against the arrest of members of Tower Hamlets Nine and Youth Connection, advocating for them “to go free” and protesting against their fines, arguing they didn't deserve them. These lyrics further emphasize the continuity and strength of the movement, stating “The beast can't catch me”. The movement will prevail despite how many are arrested because race-based violence will continue to prevail. Further, they criticize the action of the police, asking them to “stop this infection” which can be interpreted both as stopping the infection of race-based violence, but also as a call to the limited efforts by governing systems, socially the BNP at successfully intervening. The line “defending, defending, defending” almost sounds like a mockery of the excuses that police forces make in violent attacks against the Tower Hamlets Nine and Youth Connection, highlighting the stupidity of their argument.
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National Origins Act & Drew Alis IdeologyI found Curtis’s comparison between the National Origins Act and Drew Ali’s ideology very interesting. It aids in understanding Ali's theology, especially highlighting its exclusionary nature.
As Curtis mentions, in 1924 Congress passed the National Origins Acts which restricted migration through a quota system that “required that 85 percent of all new migrants come from northern and western Europe” (Curtis 52). This exclusionary act aimed at preserving a hegemonic America restricting migration based on race and ethnicity. Specifically, the 1924 National Origins Act specifically restricted all migration from Asia, acting as an extension of the Chinese Exclusion Act which had already been implemented. These laws were part of a larger effort to prevent the ‘taintedness’ of migrants by restricting migration through several highly restrictive migration acts.
Curtis’s comparison between the National Origins Act and Drew Ali's theology highlights the highly restrictive nature inherent to both. Drew Ali’s conceptualization of nationalism was constructed on the understanding that “all humans should separate themselves according to their respective national groups” (Curtis 53) in which the idea of a nation “signified a common history, creed, and value system - in short, a whole culture” (Curtis 53).
Both the National Origins Act and Drew Alis's theology used race as the determinant for exclusion to preserve the ‘wholeness’ and hegemony of a culture. For the National Origins Act, this manifested into a quota policy to prevent international ‘aliens’ from tainting the oneness of American culture. For Drew Ali, this was the emphasis that “racial purity was necessary to black redemption” (Curtis 53) where race was the primary determiner of blackness and subsequently nationalism. Thus, Drew Ali's objection to interracial marriage and emphasis on reframing black particularism reflected his ideas of separation.
Further, both the National Origins Act and Drew Ali promoted ideas of cultural superiority which were integrated into their conceptualization and emphasis on exclusion. America perpetuated the concept of white superiority, where white, being the dominant culture was the pure and ‘correct’ culture. This also often included ideas of Christian religious superiority. This superiority complex was critical to the formation of exclusionary policies because they were rooted in the fear that other cultures would threaten the prominence of a dominant white culture. Drew Ali similarly believed in the superiority of the Moors. He believed that “African Americans were the Moorish descendants of the ancient Asiatic race; their creed was Islam (Curtis 54) which explains the integration of Islam into his ideologies because it was important in his conceptualization of a superior culture.
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Mandazi & chevro, my faviourite foods I'll never find at an Indian restaurant.Growing up, I always felt a sense of connection to cultural foods as a gateway to understanding my family's complex cultural identity because it was a cultural aspect I could connect with and interact with. The cultural meals I grew up eating and cooking represented my grandparents' lifestyle in Africa, differentiating everyday meals, such as paratha and daal with celebratory meals like kuku paka and sev. Cooking food with my grandparents became a celebration because it was always accompanied by a story from back home associated with the cooking and consumption of that food. Thus, many of my cultural foods became integral to our celebrations, integrating an aspect of our cultural identity into our Western lives. I started associating sev and kuku paka with Eid, mango juice with Christmas, Bombay toast with sleepovers, coconut milk with the beach, channa bateta with winter, and so on. As part of the south asian diaspora, my cultural foods have been an integral part of my cultural identity, specifically understanding the cultural context in which I am a product.
However, cultural authenticity about food has always been something I have struggled with. As someone whose family experienced an untraditional migration journey, landing in East Africa, Bangladesh, Spain, and eventually Canada, my family's cultural cuisine has adapted dishes and culinary tricks from each country, creating a unique cultural cuisine. My experience with my cultural cuisine is so complex it's hardly authentic. Cuisine, like many other aspects of my unique cultural mix, doesn't fit in the bounds of any ‘authentic’ culture. Growing up eating Mandazi with chai, or makai paka with Palau displays the blend of cultures that is inseparable from my cultural identity. Our culture could never be considered authentically Indian or authentically East African because of the interconnectedness of each culture within our cuisine. Further, the Indian food I grew up eating, including chapati, aloo gobi, or guvar, was never featured on the menu for our local Indian restaurant. However, as Buettner argues, at least in the UK, a majority of mainstream Indian restaurants appealed to the taste of the white majority, creating a menu that emphasized their preferences. Growing up in a white-majority neighbourhood, I can see why a similar practice may have also shaped the menu of Indian restaurants around me.
I have regarded my unauthentic cuisine as authentic to our cultural experiences as it emphasizes the diversity of our cultural history. Our dishes reflect my family's interactions with the culture from each part of our complex migration journey. Most importantly, they represent my family's adaptability in integrating themselves into a plethora of cultures and our food represents the products of such integration.
Buettner discusses the idea of culinary authenticity, especially its representation in the UK and its relation to the generalization of South Asia. Buettner argues that in the West, Indian cuisine has become understood as an umbrella term that includes foods from all of South Asia including Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and more, according to the white majority. This generalization disregards any sort of authenticity because it doesn't consider the cultural differences between every South Asian region Generalization of Indian cuisine has also challenged my understanding of the authenticity of my cultural cuisine, especially since none of it is represented in mainstream Indian cuisine. I have always wondered if it was truly authentic, or even Indian at all because I never saw any of my cultural food featured at any Indian restaurant. I have realized now, that the validation of cultural authenticity i have been searching for, I had relied on the white majority to give to me, one that would never understand the complexities and diversity of South Asian cuisine.
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Anti-Miscegenation Laws and Racial FluidityCalifornia's anti-miscegenation laws prohibited interracial marriages, contributing to greater racial segregation and fostering a pattern of marriages between Panjabi men and Mexican women, reflecting the fluidity of racial categories for South Asians and Hispanics in mid-20th century America. As Leonard mentions, anti-miscegenation laws in theory “prohibited marriages between persons of different races” (Leonard 68). However, in practice, they served to prevent interracial marriages between white and minority individuals. For America, it didn't matter what specific race South Asians and Hispanics identify with, all that mattered was that they were a racialized minority that should be segregated from the white majority. Therefore, South Asians and Hispanics were perceived similarly by the white majority. This racialized conceptualization of the fluidity between South Asians and Hispanics is what allowed interracial marriages to prevail despite California's anti-miscegenation laws.
Further, “pressure from Punjabis against marriages with black women” (Leonard 68) facilitated an emphasis on marriages with Hispanic women. Although relationships between Panjabi men and Black women during California's anti-miscegenation laws would not have been as possible because of the stricter racial categorization and segregation of black people in America during this time, anti-black prejudice of black women made Hispanic women “somewhat more favourable” (Leonard 63).
When California finally abolished its anti-miscegenation laws, the many marriages between Panjabi men and Hispanic women created a growing interracial community, fostering the development of a new blend between the two cultures. The abolishment of these anti-miscegenation laws occurred around the same time as when Indian wives and brides were finally allowed to be brought into India. From the data set presented by Leonard, most couples and families resided in the Imperial Valley, a majority speaking English, and a minority speaking Panjabi. These newly established cultural communities celebrated the cultures of both Panajabi and Hispanics, creating a unique blend and subsequent new culture in incorporating cultural traditions into the integration of Western society.
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Hot Dog Vendors and Cultural SolidarityShah highlights the critical role of South Asian Muslim hot dog vendors in establishing a greater network of South Asian immigrants outside ethnic neighbourhoods and enclaves in New York and Harlem. They further served to bridge a gap between African American Muslims, Americans, and other racialized and marginalized ethnic groups present in New York at that time.
South Asian hot dog vendors “were also key in maintaining a fabric of community amongst different Indian men and the families in the area” (Shah 173). They became a stop on one's way to work, a place to celebrate cultural behaviours and practices, including conversing in one's native language or discussing upcoming religious traditions or celebrations. Most notably, they emphasized the cultural solidarity rooted in shared experiences, norms, and values that eased the transitions and lives of Indian immigrants in New York and Harlem. It emphasized mutual respect, understanding and support amongst different individuals and families, contributing to a greater supportive network rooted in cultural solidarity.
As Shah mentions, some hot dog vendors “were a guarantee of safe passage through the neighbourhood” (Shah 173), establishing a sense of cultural solidarity and support amongst ‘strangers’ within the same culture. It reinforced notions of safety, aiding minorities in navigating and integrating into Western society through the continuous presence of cultural solidarity that extended beyond ethnic enclaves and neighbourhoods. It reinforces the notion that you were never alone, strengthening the cultural network and community of South Asian Muslims.
The idea of cultural solidarity is one that I have observed numerous times in my life. It subconsciously has shaped my practices and behaviours, which are influenced by those of my parents and grandparents and are rooted in cultural solidarity. As a child of immigrant parents and grandparents, I noticed that they would always say hi to the Muslims and South Asians they passed on the street, sometimes even sparking spontaneous conversation. This would largely contrast to other people to whom they would just smile. whenever they would encounter someone speaking Gujarati, Hindi or Kutchi, they would join the conversation even if they were a stranger. For them, it was a way to re-affirm their obvious cultural identity and emphasized its validity in a majority white space. I think it fostered a sense of comfort and safety rooted in shared experiences, values and beliefs.
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Language & The Melancholic MigrantAs a first-generation Canadian born into a family of the South-Asian diaspora, I resonated a lot with Rajiv. Specifically, his venture to learn his cultural languages of Bhojpuri and Hindi as a way to “understand the language that [his] family has lost” (29) but also to connect with his Aji. My proximity to my cultural language, Kutchi, a Gujarati dialect that borrowed words from Swahili, Hindi and Urdu through my family's extensive ancestral migration, has been a source of sorrow because it represents a culture and connection I have lost. Like Rajiv, I grew up in a family that heavily assimilated into Western culture, losing their language in that process causing a sense of cultural disconnect. Just as Rajiv Aji spoke broken English, Bhojpuri and Hindi my dadi, paternal grandmother, was the same. The barrier that this imposes makes cultural connection much harder because it prevents conversations about familial and cultural history that, at least for me, were imperative to understanding my family's culture and subsequently myself.
Rajiv's interaction with Ken, his language teacher, specifically his comment about not being a “real Indian” also heavily resonated with me. As a member of the Indian Diaspora, my connection to India has always been complex. I've never been Indian enough to consider myself Indian. However, I'm not Canadian enough to assimilate into Canada. I, like Rajiv, have sought out learning a cultural language as a way “to connect with my indianness” (34). Although I continue to feel like an imposter when learning Hindi, questioning if I have any cultural claim to the language, in some ways, it has helped to understand my cultural identity.
Antiman interestingly illustrates different types of melancholia as they relate to other generational proximity to cultural language. Aji, who bears close proximity to her cultural language demonstrated in her broken Bhojpuri, Hindi and English exhibits a certain kind of melancholia rooted in a yearning for Guyana as she reminisces about her mother and a place where her language is accepted. Pap, on the other hand, his proximity to his parent's language serves as a reminder of his otherness and emphasizes his efforts to assimilate to the Western culture of Canada. This assimilation is further emphasized when he prevents his mother from speaking her native language because it “was better she didn't do anything to embarrass them” (17). His melancholy is driven by his attempt to assimilate, and the reminder he never fully can. However, Rajivs far proximity to his cultural language acts as a driver to learn more about his culture. His melancholia comes from the cultural disconnect he feels as a first-generation American living in a culturally complex household.
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Ayahs and Lascars, Indentured LabourersIn 1833, the Slavery Abolition Act ended slavery in Britain. However, this did not stop the British from exploiting labour. In search of a new source of cheap labour, the British Empire turned to their colonies and contracted labour to support their economic and industrial expansion. This system is often referred to as the ‘indentured labour system’ because of the exploitative measures used by the British.
The British would use labour from their colonies, where individuals (indentured labourers) would sign contracts where they were guaranteed a job, wages and passage for a set period. However, indentured labourers often did not understand the complete terms of the agreement, which were further implicated by the dishonesty of the British. This left many labourers, jobless, poor and stuck in a country they were not familiar with.
Visram highlights the harsh experiences of Ayahs and Lascars who were considered part of the indentured labour system. Ayahs, child nurses were responsible for “[ministering] to the needs to the family and children during the long and arduous sea voyage” (Visram 12) back from India. They were often promised long contrast, but when they reached England, they were left to fend for themselves. The conditions that Ayahs endured in Britain were awful, including overcrowded housing, short-term contracts and lack of employment of resulted in begging on the streets.
Visram discusses the 1868 case by Colonel R.M Hughes, in which 11 Asians were exploited through a verbal contract promising them “board, lodging, allowances and return passage to India after three months” performance in England” (Vistram 21). The group were instead taken to Cairo, Alexandria, Malta and France, highlighting the dishonestly common amongst labour contracts.
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Conversion and OrientalismDiouf highlights the perseverance of Muslim African slaves as they fought against forced Christian conversations by colonial powers. Although many Muslim Africans continued to practice Islam in secrecy, many colonial powers punished and tormented Muslim African slaves because they contested Christian conversion which often resulted in consequences including abuse and even deportation. Diouf discusses contrasting discussions by colonial states to convert Muslim African slaves.
On one hand, colonizing states, such as the French Caribbean, enforced Christian conversation on Muslim Africans as an “endeavor to turn them into good Catholics” (Diouf 73). It progresses the idea of the Occident control on the Orient, where the culture, in this case, religion, of the Orient (Muslim Africans) is viewed as inferior, backward or barbaric, and in this case ‘stupid’. The resistance to conversion that many Muslim Africans fought against was justified as stupidity for not properly understanding the Christian religion, emphasizing the Occidental idea of cultural superiority. Orientalist ideology also influenced the notion that a forced conversion to Christianity would lead to the experience of a ‘good life’ by African Muslim slaves. It progresses the idea that the occident is a saviour and helper for the ‘backward’ orient. The difference between the treatment of non-Christian Europeans, and non-Christian African slaves also inherently reflects oriental ideologies. It maintained how the West conceptualized the East, specifically objecting their “illegal” religions, perceiving them as backward and fundamentally wrong. This distinctly contracted with the perception of non-Christian Europeans whose religious identity was not as harshly contested. The disparity reveals that forced Christian conversion onto Muslim Africans was not always necessarily related to religion, but bore broadly to colonial oriental control.
The resilience that Muslim African slaves exhibited throughout their fight against Christian conversion produces a sort of counter-narrative to orientalism by challenging the perception of Muslim Africans (an oriental subject) as passive and submissive. Their decision to present as Christian on the outside while continuing to practice Islam exemplifies their resistance strength, and desire to preserve their religion, an imperative part of their cultural identity.
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Morisco/as dangerous migration to new SpainMorisco/morisca were former Muslims in Spain who were forcibly converted to Christianity sometime between the 15th and 16th centuries. Despite their conversion, many believed Moriscos to continue practicing Islam, threatening their loyalty to the Spanish crown. While many Morisco/Moriscas migrated to Spanish America or New Spain, their negative image prevailed in other continents.
Morisco/morisca migration to New Spain was dangerous for several reasons rooted in their suspected disloyalty to the Spanish crown. Firstly, their presence was viewed as a threat to the catholic church, and their catholic identity was often questioned. Although many Moriscas accepted catholicism, Cook mentions how some continued to practice Islam. Moriscos were forced to practice Islam secretly and quietly to avoid prosecution by the Spanish Inquisition. On the outside, Moriscos were ‘Christian’, on the inside they were Muslim. Secondly, morisco's loyalty was threatened by their suspected ties to the Ottoman Empire. Many believed that Muslims had been working for the Ottomans to undermine the Spanish. Any evidence of practicing Muslims in New Spain became a threat of potential prosecution which made their migration very dangerous.
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Battling Acceptance as a Melancholic MigrantBend It Like Beckham has always been one of my favorite films. I think I have always resonated with Jess and her struggle for validation and acceptance as a brown girl in the West. Additionally, Jess’ Punjabi parents have somewhat reflected the same strictness and pressure to conform to cultural expectations I have continuously faced within my own family. I have always faced this pressure as a result of my conservative family, never trying to understand the root causes. However, after reading Sara Ahmed’s Melancholic Migrants, I have realized the same strictness stems from the battle for acceptance faced by my melancholic migrant family.
Ahmed's concept of the melancholic migrant highlights the discomfort and mourning of a migrant who is ‘stuck’ in a bad feeling, or holding on to something lost, unable to escape a cycle of sorrow and discomfort. The inability to let go or ‘unstick’ reflects the attachment to a place of acceptance, specifically when it contrasts to a place of rejection. Growing up, my grandparents would always reminisce about their lives and experiences in East Africa, where they were comforted by a country and community that accepted their culture, an integral part of their identity. They openly expressed themselves in their language, cooked their food, and listened to their music without hate or criticism. In contrast, moving to Canada, they were encouraged to mask any part of their cultural identity they could, to better assimilate to Canadian culture. Overnight their lives changed, moving to a society that discriminated against their accents, languages, religion, and race. Although I was young, I could see their expressions of mourning and melancholy attached to the nostalgia of their previous lives.
Reflecting on my personal experience, I believe one of the reasons that first-generation immigrants, particularly South Asians, tend to be so strict is because of their battle for acceptance between two spheres. The sphere of the West, in which they will never be accepted, and the sphere of their cultural community (extremely prevalent for south asian communities in the West) in which they rely so heavily on for support, rooted in shared experience. Cultural communities, whether religious or social represent the cultural validation that many first-generation immigrants yearn for and rely on as they navigate their transition to the West. Furthermore, in someways, they reflect the culture that was left behind after immigration, and the culture and sense of acceptance that the melancholic migrant cling to. Thus, they enforce strict cultural expectations on their children who are caught between a culture clash of fulfilling the cultural expectations of their parents and assimilating to the culture of the West. The strictness of upholding cultural expectations is rooted in the need to maintain acceptance by their cultural community and to avoid ostracization. This idea is depicted in Bend It Like Beckham when Jess is accused of kissing a white boy. Such a taboo concept completely ostracized the Bhmras from the rest of their cultural community, placing them in a position where they were no longer accepted by either sphere.
I can finally somewhat empathize with my grandparent's strictness because I am beginning to understand the challenges they endured in battling for acceptance between the West and their cultural community. When I was younger, I always thought they were just completely traditional and trying to force a conservative controlling lifestyle. Never did I consider the hardships they faced, and that their reliance on their cultural community compensated for the rejection they faced by the West. I never considered how critical my cultural community was for overcoming systemic and structural barriers enforced to make sure immigrants like my grandparents never felt accepted. I never considered the challenges of leaving a life of acceptance and validation overnight to one of discrimination and hate. Unfortunately, it is too late for me to ask them about their experiences, but engaging with other south asian diasporic texts and experiences such as Sara Ahmed is my gateway to understanding them. I always felt a sense of sorrow for my grandparents and I'm just now realizing they were just melancholic migrants.
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Islamophobia as racial discriminationRana addresses the question of whether Islamophobia can be considered racism given it is a form of discrimination based on religion. She explores several perspectives, highlighting the importance of culture in religious identification. Essentially Rana agrees that Islamophobia is a form of racial discrimination because race has become a marker of it. As Hussain mentions, the basis of Islamophobia is no longer confined to Muslims, it has expanded to a greater generalization for those who look Muslim. This perception targets a greater diversity of religions, ethnicities, and nationalities, specifically “Arab, Muslim and South Asian migrants” (Hussain 2). Therefore the impact of islamophobia extends beyond the Muslim community, contributing to a racialization of islamophobia where Islamophobia is understood as racial prejudice.
Heem's Soup Boys discusses the racialization of Islam, and its effects on the non-muslim community, specifically Hindus. At the beginning of the song, Heem raps, “they threw stones at the mosques” symbolizing violent acts of Islamophobia. He later restates this line, “They threw stones at the temple” demonstrating how Islamophobic sentiments extend beyond the Muslim community. Heems further explores how this has personally affected him stating “They throwing stones at the temple / Got me drinking too much, got me going mental”. Anti-muslim hatred has manifested into violent acts aimed at killing Muslims. As Hussain mentions, these radical acts of violence have often targeted the greater profile of Muslims, Arabs, and South Asians. Heems “going mental” reflects the fear that violence imposes on both Muslims and non-muslims. It is clear and it is evident that the racialization of Islamophobia transcends any religious identity and should be considered as racial discrimination based on the western profile of a Muslim.
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Inherent racism?Yancy and Baldwin similarly state that the racialization by the white boy is inherent to the upbringing and the culture around them. Yancy states that “the white boy's racial practices are learned effortlessly, practices that are already in process”. It is the external systemic structures that reinforce racial discrimination and racial discrimination that become deeply ingrained in their culture. Since in these environments, racialized comments are rarely challenged, they continue to persist within white communities contributing to an ongoing cycle that fosters racial discrimination.
As a brown girl growing up in a predominantly white neighbourhood, I encountered this ‘inherent racism’ throughout my upbringing by my white peers. Racist comments and microaggressions followed me throughout school, from intentional mispronunciation of my name to Islamaphobic remarks about my religion. However, as I got older, I realized that these comments, although undoubtedly harmful, didn't necessarily come from a place of hate but from a lack of education.
Baldwin mentions in his letter that we must accept white people with love because they are “still trapped in a history they do not understand”. This history that they are trapped in is part of the larger system processes that perpetuate "inherent racism" through persisting a historical narrative through a strictly white lens fostering racial discrimination. Since this perspective is rarely challenged, it persists in white communities. However, it is helpful to consider that "inherent racism" is rooted in these broader systemic issues that must be changed.
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Exoticization and OrientalismSaids analysis of Orientalism presents a binary between the Orient and the Occident. This binary presents that the Occdient (Europe) finds its identity in the Orient through the complete contrast between the two. Further, the Orient is explained as a European invention to provide a European identity. In this way, the Orient is framed as “a place of romance, exotic beings, haunting memories and landscapes” (said 1). This misrepresentation places particular emphasis on the exoticization and fetishization of the Orient without crediting its depth and complexities. In this way, the Orient is further depicted as a fantasy land framed by the Occident. This contrast also plays into European superiority, fuelled by framing the orient as distinctly opposite.
The idea of exoticization is instilled in the lives of Bengali peddlers in Balds Bengali Harlem. Bald highlights that once the Bengali peddlers feed into American ideas of the Orient, they can succeed in their jobs. Bald elaborates on the idea of a “well-calculated Indianness” or “Hindoo” identity that becomes a performative role rooted in the Orient exoticization of the ‘East’. These notions further suppress the idea of occident identity by encouraging black and brown people to feed into oriental ideas, contributing to the contrast between the Orient and occident.
While watching the Swet Shop Boys' “Batalvii”, I noticed the same notions of exoticization and fetishization that exist around discourse on the Orient. The first half of the music video features clips of Bollywood movies that align with the Orient as a fantasy land rooted in romance and exotism, a nation that Said explains in his work. Most of the clips alluded to India as a magical and sensual land reinforcing ideas about the Orients as a mystical and exotic land.