Some things you should know about being Muslim

Some things you should know about being Muslim in Florida.

One: Make sure you know the difference between Islam, Muslim, and Arabic.

Remember, guys! Islam is the religion,

 Arabic is the language, 

and Muslims are the people who practice Islam!

Two: Force yourself to like fish sandwiches,

like at McDonalds, the fish filet.

That’s your comfort food—

On road trips, on vacations—

there just aren’t halal options, I’m afraid.

But staying halal is work.

Three: Get over your fear of dogs.

It’s hard to admit, but there’s a lot of them around here—

at your friend’s house, in the neighborhood, at the park.

They smell your fear, kid.

And do not, I repeat do not scream, “I HATE YOUR DOG” at the sweetest old man.

Four: Don’t get into the whole dating business.

Secrets are hard to keep when your parents want to know everything about your school life.

Secrets are hard to keep when your school friends intersect with your mosque friends.

And listen, keeping secrets isn’t easy.

Five: Don’t break your religion to impress your friends.

It’s tough, following the rules, while remaining cool,

but think about your future, your deen.

When someone says a generic terrorist joke,

laugh it off.

It’ll blow up in their face, anyway.

Mabruk Alam ‘27

I wrote this poetry piece as an assignment in a class. I really wanted to take a lighter look on the struggles of being a Muslim in America. I took some of the everyday problems that I face due to being Muslim, nothing extremely serious. I think I could make it longer, but I wanted to submit it.