By Amani Hamed
Age (when it happened): 12
Location (when it happened): Campbell, Calif.
Memory: I put on the hijab for the first time on Aug. 15, 2001, less than a month before 9/11. Before that, everyone thought I was Puerto Rican. After 9/11, both parents tried to convince me to take off my hijab and hide who I was, but I wasn’t going to.
Putting on a hijab was so special to me. My taita (grandmother) was dying and I wanted to be pious and upright like her. And after seeing her eyes light up for the first time in years after having a stroke when she saw me wearing hijab, I wasn’t going to let anyone take that away from me.
How it lives with you today: I was stubborn then, and I’m still stubborn today. I loved being defiant and giving people the middle finger and telling them they can’t take my hijab.
This is what you get when you put Irish and Palestinian in the same person. I’m still that way. And I still think of my taita any time I stand up to pray.