By On the last Friday of Ramadan, I can’t believe this footage has finally been released. If there’s one video or talk of mine that you ever listen to, please let it be this one.
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This is the first and only Friday sermon I’ve ever given. I delivered it to The Women’s Mosque of America in January 2016 — the very first month that I moved to New York City after dropping out of Georgetown to take the risk of pursuing my dreams for Muslim Girl.
Not only is it MG’s origin story, but it’s also the realest I’ve ever gotten about the moment I felt like I hit rockbottom, my inner conflicts of feeling like a hypocrite and “bad Muslim,” battling self-doubt and low self-esteem, and ultimately the mindset that led me to taking a leap of faith — literally.
Oh yeah, it’s about The Dark Knight Trilogy. Naturally.
I won’t lie, three years later and this is still probably my favorite speech that I’ve ever given. I’m proud of myself for the vulnerability I exposed here and hope it serves somebody who needs it. Listening to it for the first time since then and seeing where I am now… it’s a trip.
If you’ve ever felt dejected, hopeless, or unsure about whether to take that risk that you can’t stop thinking about, this is for you.
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