Dr. Ruqayyah Hafiz, born in the City of Al Wakrah, Qatar, moved to the Capital region of Canada at the age of nineteen in the summer of 1998. She studied Psychology at the University of Ottawa, eventually becoming a renowned psychiatrist and best-selling author. In her practice, Dr. Hafiz treated a lot of Muslims, seeking to reconcile good mental health with the rigors of Muslim life, especially in a nation that was somewhat reluctant to embrace members of the Islamic faith.
"It is my duty to help my people," Dr. Hafiz thought to herself, as she continued her work to help bring good mental health to the Islamic community. Most people in Canada and beyond had no idea how tough life could be for Muslim immigrants living in the West. They thought that everyone should simply adjust to their way of life and way of thinking, and that was that. Culture shock was a real thing, and one that was seldom addressed in psychiatry.
Such simplistic thinking deeply troubled Dr. Ruqayyah Hafiz. Of course, she understood the reasons behind that all too well. There was something of an empathy gap between Muslim immigrants and citizens of Western society. That's because the average Westerner never put himself or herself in the shoes of a Muslim newcomer to North America or Europe. How would a blonde housewife from London, UK, fare in a place like the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, for example?
Dr. Hafiz counselled everyone from Muslim males conflicted about their homosexual or bisexual tendencies to Muslim housewives who fell out of love with their husbands and felt deep guilt over it, to young Muslims at odds with their parents over questions of westernization and assimilation. She also dealt with white women who married Muslim immigrant men, and Muslim women with lesbian or bisexual tendencies involved in relationships with non-Muslim women. Welcome all and take all kinds, that was Dr. Hafiz's motto.
One of the most difficult patients that Dr. Ruqayyah Hafiz ever had was a young Somali-Canadian Muslim man named Bilal Osman. Six feet three inches tall with a strong build, dark brown skinned and handsome, Bilal was born to bricklayer Salim Osman, an immigrant originally from the Puntland region of Somalia, and a white mother originally from the Quebec side, schoolteacher Helene Duplessis. Bilal was the son of two very different worlds, who didn't seem to fit in anywhere.
After his parents got divorced, Bilal began hanging out with the wrong crowd. The Court System of Ontario sent the troubled young man to Dr. Hafiz's practice, and from that moment on, life would never be the same for either of them. At the time, Dr. Hafiz was dealing with issues in her marriage to Yasser Mahfouz, a wealthy Saudi-Canadian businessman who simply couldn't understand why Ruqayyah refused to quit her practice and become the good housewife that he needed her to be. The couple landed in couples counseling, and subsequently, divorce court.
Still reeling from her divorce, Dr. Hafiz began treating Bilal Osman, who, at eighteen years old, was cocky, overconfident, and a loudmouth. Nevertheless, Dr. Hafiz did her best, and she managed to get the Court System of Ontario off of Bilal's back. After he stopped coming to sessions, Bilal kept in touch with the good doctor. He left the City of Ottawa, Ontario, and moved to Alberta, where he worked in the oil sands. Along the way, Bilal earned a degree in Computer Science at Athabasca University.
Fast forward five years, and Dr. Ruqayyah Hafiz and Bilal Osman had moved on with their lives. The good doctor published three best-selling books, the first one, A Muslim Woman's Choice, dealt with divorce from the perspective of a Muslim woman, and was lauded by academics, women's groups, and the like. The second one, A Muslim's Right To Love, dealt with controversial issues like interracial relationships, racism, gay and lesbian relationships and the clash between young folks and elders in the Islamic community.
Dr. Hafiz sent Bilal Osman a signed copy of each book, and the Somali brother was most grateful. He sent her an authentic mink coat he bought from a Native fur trader as a gift, along with a picture of himself and his girlfriend, a young Lebanese Christian woman named Selena Nahas. For some reason, Dr. Hafiz's heart winced when she saw the picture, but she quickly banished the thought and told herself that she was happy that Bilal was doing so well.
When Bilal returned to Ottawa, he sent Ruqayyah an email, inviting her to grab lunch at Bridgehead, a nice café located not far from her old office, and talk about old times. Although Ruqayyah Hafiz never admitted this to anyone, she was quite fond of Bilal Osman, whom she considered one of her success stories. With so many young Somali Muslim men in jail, Ruqayyah was glad to see one of them doing well. It gladdened her sometimes jaded heart...
"Sister, I think you're beautiful, I've always thought it, actually," Bilal Osman said, seemingly out of the blue, surprising Ruqayyah. The brother gently laid his hand on Ruqayyah's, and gave it a firm squeeze. The lady looked at the tall, dark and handsome, well-dressed young Somali man who sat opposite her and paused for a moment. How do I tell him that although I want him as badly as he wants me, we simply cannot be? Ruqayyah wondered, feeling a bit perplexed.
"Brother, I am flattered by your affections, Wallahi, if only I were fifteen years younger, trust me, you don't need an old bat like me, you need a young woman your own age," Ruqayyah Hafiz replied, sighing deeply. Bilal looked at her, his facial expression carefully neutral, and Ruqayyah wondered what was going on behind that handsome face. He's even better-looking than I remember, Ruqayyah thought, then chastised herself for the direction her mind went.
"Funny you should mention that, Doc, my girlfriend Selena left me because her Lebanese parents don't like black folks, or mixed folks for that matter," Bilal said flatly, and Ruqayyah's heart skipped a beat. Bilal's single, she thought excitedly, for some reason. The two of them sat at the back of Bridgehead, which was almost empty and afford them some privacy.
"Bilal, I am sorry," Ruqayyah said softly, and she looked into Bilal's eyes, and saw a mournful look in his soulful brown eyes. Being the son of an African father and a white Canadian mother gave Bilal the best of both worlds, and he had that unique beauty common to mixed-race males, like Hollywood icons Vin Diesel, wrestler-turned-actor Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and the legendary TV star Shemar Moore.
"Oh come on, Ruqayyah, it's like an unwritten rule, one that's as old as time itself, men of African descent aren't allowed to be with Arab women, I kind of saw it coming but told myself Selena Nahas and I could go the distance," Bilal said, shrugging his shoulders. Ruqayyah reached for his hand but he shook his head gently, then mumbled an excuse and got ready to leave the restaurant.
"Bilal, sit down," Ruqayyah said, and the edge in her voice actually surprised Bilal, and herself. The young man sat back down, and leaned in his chair, a curious expression on his handsome face. Ruqayyah's heart was going pitter-patter in her chest. She took a deep breath, and then decided to fess up, since this seemed to be the day to do it. Going on passion, rather than reason, she gently laid her hand on Bilal's arm, licked her lips and then continued with her spiel.
"I'm all ears, Doc, but like I said, I know the deal," Bilal said, somewhat dejectedly, looking fearlessly into Ruqayyah Hafiz's smoldering golden brown eyes. She's really beautiful and even more so now than back then, he thought. There were a couple of gray hairs in Ruqayyah's dark mane, but they took nothing away from her hotness. Something about the beauty and poise of a seasoned woman has always appealed to me, Bilal thought to himself.
At the age of forty, Ruqayyah looked even hotter than the young women that Bilal Osman was often surrounded by as a student at Athabasca University in provincial Alberta. The good doctor looked great in a dark gray vest over a white blouse and stylish dark gray Capri pants. These days, Ruqayyah no longer wore the Hijab and let her long dark hair flow freely. She'd put on a few pounds, and her once-trim body was now pleasantly plump. Ruqayyah wore it well, her lofty height of five-foot-ten helping her carry her surplus flesh with grace and beauty.
As a younger man, Bilal had a major crush on Ruqayyah while she was treating him for his issues. Nowadays, according to what she told him, the good doctor was divorced from her controlling Saudi ex-husband. Of course, Ruqayyah was still programmed to follow the sometimes sexist and racist rules of Arab society, like all women from her part of the world. Bilal could tell Ruqayyah had feelings for him, but expecting her to break with Arab/Islamic tradition and act on them was like asking an ostrich to fly...
"Bilal, I can't speak for Selena, as I don't know her, but nobody tells me who to love, or get involved with," Ruqayyah said, somewhat angrily. As she spoke, her face drew dangerously close to his as her now imperious gaze boring into Bilal, causing the normally cocky, confident brother to shift uncomfortably in his seat. Looks like I've finally managed to shut him up, Ruqayyah thought, and her expression softened into a smile.
