Balancing our family and American lives was stressful. As a junior, I played point guard on Cambridge Rindge and Latin School\u2019s famed basketball team, and Jahar, a senior, was the wrestling team\u2019s co-captain. During the fierce month of Ramadan or on the fast day before Eid al-Adha, the Feast of the Sacrifice, we might endure grueling sports workouts on empty stomachs and no water. At least we could complain to each other.<\/p>\n
Maintaining separate Muslim and American lives sometimes meant keeping secrets from and even lying to those closest to us about our other life. We were shamed just for being Muslim by strangers, the media, and even some of our peers, just as our Muslim families shamed us when we were caught committing a sin. Jahar and I shared countless hours toking herb, hanging out, and hitting social events. We lived near each other, and often walked home together from parties. We\u2019d hit Cambridge Street, dap each other up with a handclap and bro hug, then head off to our Muslim lives.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Photo: Webb Chappell for The Boston Globe https:\/\/www.bostonglobe.com\/magazine\/2018\/09\/25\/was-friends-with-boston-marathon-bomber-and-his-crimes-haunt-still\/HfTlpG00VgYFYyNTtOwVRN\/story.html Balancing our family and American lives was stressful. As a junior, I played point guard on Cambridge Rindge and Latin School\u2019s famed basketball team, and Jahar, a senior, was the wrestling team\u2019s … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[45,233],"class_list":["post-1822","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-boston","tag-muslim"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":30,"url":"https:\/\/melange.dmaculate.me\/home\/2018\/04\/23\/muslim-american-woman-could-succeed-john-conyers\/","url_meta":{"origin":1822,"position":0},"title":"Muslim American Woman Could Succeed John Conyers in Congress","author":"aslam","date":"April 23, 2018","format":"link","excerpt":"Interview: https:\/\/youtu.be\/_mmBuGr22aUMuslim American Woman Could Succeed John Conyers in Congress","rel":"","context":"In \"Rashida Tlaib\"","block_context":{"text":"Rashida Tlaib","link":"https:\/\/melange.dmaculate.me\/home\/tag\/rashida-tlaib\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":23,"url":"https:\/\/melange.dmaculate.me\/home\/2018\/05\/25\/the-blue-muslim-wave-american-muslims-launch\/","url_meta":{"origin":1822,"position":1},"title":"The blue Muslim wave: American Muslims launch political campaigns, hope to deliver \u2018sweet justice\u2019 to Trump","author":"aslam","date":"May 25, 2018","format":"link","excerpt":"The call to action among American Muslims has yielded a diverse array of candidates. They include former Obama administration officials and longtime political activists, but also physicians and lawyers, women\u2019s rights advocates, a molecular biologist and a former Planned Parenthood manager.The flurry of candidacies makes for a lot of potential\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Muslim\"","block_context":{"text":"Muslim","link":"https:\/\/melange.dmaculate.me\/home\/tag\/muslim\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":305,"url":"https:\/\/melange.dmaculate.me\/home\/2015\/01\/10\/muslim-clerk-at-paris-kosher-store-saved-jewish\/","url_meta":{"origin":1822,"position":2},"title":"Muslim Clerk At Paris Kosher Store Saved Jewish Lives | The Daily Caller","author":"aslam","date":"January 10, 2015","format":"link","excerpt":"Lassana Bathily,\u00a0described by Le Parisien\u00a0as a \u201cMalian Muslim,\u201d helped the shoppers to safety amid the chaos of jihadist Ahmed Coulibaly entering the store and taking hostages while police closed in. Able to contact their families and local authorities with cell phones, they stayed safe in the freezing cold for five\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Charlie Hebdo\"","block_context":{"text":"Charlie Hebdo","link":"https:\/\/melange.dmaculate.me\/home\/tag\/charlie-hebdo\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":269,"url":"https:\/\/melange.dmaculate.me\/home\/2015\/04\/12\/massachusetts-courts-long-delayed-computer-system\/","url_meta":{"origin":1822,"position":3},"title":"Massachusetts courts\u2019 long-delayed computer system may leave public out – Metro – The Boston Globe","author":"aslam","date":"April 12, 2015","format":"link","excerpt":"This could be the Sagrada Familia of IT projects, probably even surpassing it in the number of generations (of technology) it has been under construction. Will it be as awesome when it is finally completed? If there actually was work being done, and deliverables produced, over the almost two decades,\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":180,"url":"https:\/\/melange.dmaculate.me\/home\/2016\/01\/29\/if-you-are-a-muslim-immigrant-seeking-us\/","url_meta":{"origin":1822,"position":4},"title":"If you are a Muslim immigrant seeking US citizenship, the FBI is the Stasi.","author":"aslam","date":"January 29, 2016","format":"link","excerpt":"This is just one example. A software programmer who went to college in the US happens to be a Muslim Immigrant from Pakistan. He applies for a green card. The FBI gets hold of the application and holds it hostage, asking him to provide names of people he thinks are\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"FBI\"","block_context":{"text":"FBI","link":"https:\/\/melange.dmaculate.me\/home\/tag\/fbi\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":383,"url":"https:\/\/melange.dmaculate.me\/home\/2014\/11\/15\/police-expert-war-on-terror-has-turned-our-cops\/","url_meta":{"origin":1822,"position":5},"title":"Police expert: War on terror has turned our cops into occupying armies \u2014 and we\u2019re the enemy","author":"aslam","date":"November 15, 2014","format":"link","excerpt":"He said Americans have found themselves in danger from their own police officers because they did not object to previous abuses - and he said the police response to the Boston Marathon bombing proves the situation can only get worse. 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