My Islam.
My prayer mat underneath my bed Islam
My Qur’an next to my Kanye albums and Chance poster Islam
My — the only dates you’re allowed to have are the ones during Ramadan — Islam
My forgot to set my alarm for Fajr Islam
My you don’t eat pork? So you never had bacon? Islam
My have you ever tried to taste it? Islam
My I accidentally ate a pork sausage in 3rd grade Islam
My you don’t look like them Islam
My your eyes are too small and you’re not the same shade of brown as the terrorists on TV Islam
My I didn’t know there were Asians who practiced Islam
My but you don’t always wear a headscarf Islam
My are you rebelling against your religion by not wearing one? Islam
My at least you’re not like the OTHER Muslim girls. They’re oppressed Islam
My media calls oppressive but forgets how they treat their own country’s girls Islam
My 1.6 billion muslims but your understanding of Islam is based on American Sniper and Allahu-Akbar vines Islam
My Allahu-akhbar is not followed by an explosion Islam
My Allahu-akhbar is not followed by your political agenda Islam
My prayer for peace is not and should not be followed by your violence Islam
My “randomly searched” at every airport Islam
My no need for further checking after seeing my face because I’m not the same shade of brown as the terrorists on TV Islam
My always worry for my sisters who are Islam
My “The Holy Qur’an: Translated In English” Islam
My recite Arabic in Sunday School but don’t know what it means Islam
My years pronouncing it Is-LAHm not Islam Islam
My fear that my prayers won’t reach my ancestors because their mouths never held the same language Islam
My held all of the violence of my ancestors in my mouth and my prayers are the one thing that smooths it over Islam
My the space in between “Muslim” and “American” is not another place for you to draw another border Islam
My refusal to have the violence of you drawing borders in my identity be another thing my prayers have to smooth over Islam
My space between “my” and “Islam” and what I do with it will never invalidate my prayers Islam
My PrayerMatQuranChanceKanyeLateForFajrNoHijabNoDateCeptForRamadanAsian’Other’MuslimGirlRandomSearchDontSpeakArabicButMyPrayersAreValid Islam
My no matter what you say, this will always be
My
Islam
Dumb.