Above all, I am Muslim.

Neihad Abdulwadud

I recall being in year twelve and struggling to write about the topic ‘identity and belonging’ despite English being my strongest subject. My English teacher sat me down and very frankly said “Neihad, you of all people have the best of both worlds,” as though she couldn’t fathom why I’d produced the weakest piece I’d ever submitted. What she meant by this was that I was an apparent Ethiopian (Harari) black Muslim girl who came from a conservative family of faith and culture but simultaneously born and raised in Melbourne, attending a public school and was friends/peers with all sorts of people. That in itself, plus being the only Hijabi in my cohort was already so much content to reflect on. This was both my first struggling English piece and the beginning of my earliest realisation that I do in fact have “the best of both worlds,” that my state of Islam was unequivocally always going to be my greatest asset at the very core.

When acknowledging my post graduate education on social media I wrote “my greatest asset will always be my religion”. I say this because whenever I may have struggled with expressing my identity in the workplace, the illusion of thinking you need to fit in particularly at a young age, hardships or even wins in life, I have always been grounded by Islam which guided me to a better outcome than anything I could have fathomed. I am unapologetically a Black Harari Muslim Woman and learning to have conviction in who I am and being transparent has taught those around me to respect me. Yesterday I may have found it difficult to make requests for a prayer room but today my non-Muslim manager reminds and encourages me to make up my missed days from Ramadan immediately after Eid. This is the effect of knowing who you are and having conviction can potentially have on others In Sha Allaah.

Identity is defined as ‘who a person is, or the qualities of a person or group that make them different from others.’ What I’ve found is that despite the journey that life has taken me on, if anything, I have fallen more in love with my religion. Having unwavering faith in Al-Islam has easily grounded my identity. Although I don’t believe you’re entirely responsible for how others choose to perceive you or choose to interpret who you are, you are always responsible for how you represent yourself and Islam. There are external factors that will always attempt to influence you. Have conviction in who you are and what you believe in and know that sustenance only comes from Allaah. 

I am Harari. I am Black. I am a Woman. But above all, I am Muslim.