My life was really empty before I met Mohammed Hassan. Seriously. I was living in North London, England. The town where I was born, yet a place where I always felt like an outcast. Being a five-foot-eleven, 260-pound woman in a world built for slender girls will do that to you. It seemed to me that the world was simply not made for someone like me. I have blonde hair and blue eyes, sure, but I'm by no means the standard of beauty of the Western world. Because I'm FAT. I'm not curvy, or packing a few extra pounds. I'm really damn enormous. And there's no getting around it.
I was at Brunel University, studying Business Administration. That's when I met Mohammed Hassan. The tall, dark and handsome stud with the funny accent. Born to a Senegalese father and Tunisian mother. One of the Princes of Metropolitan Dakar, the Senegalese Capital. One of Africa's mightiest nations. He came to Brunel University to study Criminal Law. This six-foot-one, lean and muscular African Prince simply took my breath away the first time I laid eyes on him. Of course, I told myself there was no way someone like him would ever show any interest in someone like me. There are plenty of pretty ladies of all hues at Brunel University. White women. Black women. Asian women. Indian women. Arab women. And since Mohammed was both wealthy and handsome, he could have his pick of them.
So you can imagine my surprise when Mohammed approached me one afternoon inside the Brunel University library. I was sitting in a corner, typing up an assignment on my laptop and wishing I hadn't eaten the burrito I had for lunch....or the three hotdogs I wolfed down half an hour later. Mohammed sat next to me, and asked me if I was alright. I looked at him, stunned. The guy was even better-looking up close. And he had a really nice smile too. I realized I was staring at him and an answer was expected of me. I smiled and told him I was fine. In a kind voice, he told me I seemed kind of down. I told him I had a tough life. Mohammed smiled, and told me that the Most High seldom gives any of us more than we can handle. He introduced himself as Mohammed Hassan of Dakar City, Senegal. I smiled and shook his hand. The handsome stud had a nice and strong grip. I like. Thus, we met. Mohammed told me he didn't have many friends at school and I almost shat myself when I heard that. A guy who looks like Mohammed, tall, dark and handsome, doesn't have many friends at school? Oh, please. When you're a tall, good-looking man, women want you and men want to be you. Mohammed seemed a bit sad, and like the friendly person that I am, I told him I could relate to him. Of course I was lying. He's tall, has a cute accent and he's ridiculously good-looking. I'm a fat White chick with a chunky body, wide hips, thick legs, wide waistline and a huge ass. I'm twenty three years old and I've never even been kissed by a man. How pathetic is that?
Mohammed looked into my eyes, and told me what was bothering him. As an African man from a predominantly Muslim country, he felt unwelcome at Brunel University because a lot of the local Caucasian students held anti-Islamic views. He told me one of them shouted at him to go back to his tree house in Africa. I cringed when I heard that. That's uncalled for! I felt mixed feelings about this. On one hand, I don't believe anyone should be discriminated against because of their race, body type, gender, sexual orientation or religion. However, in beautiful England, we've had a lot of problems with the Muslims. Seriously. Muslim girls attending Catholic schools insist on wearing the hijab. Um, I was raised Catholic and I know that if I went to an Islamic school, I would have to conform to their rules.
Why can't Islamic women conform to our rules when they attend our schools? If I went to Saudi Arabia, they'd make me wear the damn Abaya because I'm female. The fact that I'm a British national wouldn't make any difference to them. Muslims are always screaming discrimination but when the shoe's on the other foot, they like to have their cake and eat it too. Seriously, in England, if we don't watch out, we'll become just like Nigeria or Syria. Predominantly Muslim countries full of strife and political instability. Sorry, but that's the way things are. Of course, I couldn't tell Mohammed any of this. I told him that those bigots at school didn't represent the majority of British society. I told him that even though I'm a Christian woman, I've got Muslim friends and I respect everyone. Mohammed looked into my eyes and smiled a sad smile.
