Feeling Alone In A Land You Call Home

A personal reflection on what it means when your visibly Muslim and British

(Read for free here)

I wrote the following entry a week or so back, in the heat of the UK far-right riots. I wrote it to process my own emotions, to be completely honest.

And as the days went by — seeing the counter protests, the support from colleagues and friends was so beautiful and warming, that it really made me simply close this journal entry off, like any other memory.

But today, as I was having a quick scan through my entries, the title of this entry made me give it a click. And as I read through it, I couldn’t help but feel the urge to share this on some sort of platform.

The news is starting to become old news now. But the truth is, those few days made all us British Muslims reevaluate our place in this country. This place we called home.

This entry is almost a glimpse into our souls — we who live in this country balancing two identities, Islam and Britishness.

(Disclaimer: parts of this entry have been edited for easy reading!)

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Entry Date: 06.06.2024