I read in a women's magazine somewhere that life begins at forty. Well, for me, I've decided to let that saying be true. My name is Maimuna Sultan-Alzahrani and I'm a Hijab-wearing, pious yet modern Saudi Arabian Muslim woman living in the City of Ottawa, Ontario. I moved here three years ago from my hometown of Dammam, in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. I never thought I'd live in the West, but life had other plans.
My ex-husband Mahmoud Alzahrani divorced me, supposedly because I couldn't bear him any sons or daughters. Truth be told? Mahmoud ditched me because he wanted a younger wife. I'm forty years old, standing five-foot-ten, chubby and bronze-skinned, with long curly Black hair and dull brown eyes. I'm a chubby Arab woman with a fat ass, and I'm past my prime. My ex-hubby traded me in for a younger model, and I despise him for it.
I came to Canada and sought refugee status. Life is pure hell for divorced women in the Islamic world's most conservative country, and I wanted no part of it, thank you very much. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is no place for a woman on her own. I didn't want to end up homeless or completely destitute, since my parents, Ali and Mariam Sultan were ashamed of me because of Mahmoud's lies and wanted nothing to do with me.
I came to the Capital of Canada, determined to survive and make a new life for myself. At first, things were hellish. As a newcomer to Ontario with no papers, I stayed at a women's shelter. Not the nicest of places. When I did my daily prayers, I asked Allah, the one true God, to deliver me from my torment. What I endured in that place, I shudder to think of, even today.
In my hometown of Dammam, Saudi Arabia, I lived in a villa with my former husband Mahmoud Alzahrani, who was a wealthy oilman. Mahmoud was a rotten bastard and a creep but he kept me in a life of luxury while I was his wife. In Canada, I stayed at a shelter. I lamented my new dwelling but knew I wouldn't stay there long.
The Most High heeded my prayers, and I soon received a work permit and a social insurance card in the mail from the Canadian government. As soon as I got these much-needed documents, I went to a nearby Loblaw's and applied for a job. I didn't want to depend on the social workers and the welfare bureau anymore. I wanted to get a job and earn a living, like everyone else.
The manager of the Loblaw's was a South African Muslim guy named Ibrahim Zithulele. A big and tall, thirty-something Black man with a tough demeanor but a gentle soul. Ibrahim is from the Zulu clan of South Africa. Ibrahim looked at me and told me that he would do his best to help me. Since I wasn't exactly fluent in English at the time, Ibrahim hired me as a shelf stocker, and I embraced my new job. I started working on the overnight shift.
While working the overnight shift at Loblaw's, I met quite a few interesting people. Most of the crew was made up of visible minorities, people of color who had come to Canada from somewhere else at some point. Ahmed, a tall young Somali guy with thick nerdy glasses became like the brother I never had. The kindness and generosity of the Somali people never ceases to amaze me, ladies and gentlemen.
In the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, we Arabs are often cruel to Africans, who mostly come to our land as migrant workers or domestic servants. In Canada, I learned to appreciate and respect people of African descent as the fine human beings that they are. I wish people around the world would stop being prejudiced against Africans, seriously. They're among the nicest people around.
In the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, I was just as racist as everyone else. I thought of the African migrant workers who came to my wealthy homeland as somehow inferior to me and my fellow Arabs. Never mind that superiority based on skin color goes against every principle of Islam. The beautiful religion of Islam teaches that all human beings stem from Adam and Eve, no matter their color or national origin.
The prophet Mohammed himself, peace be upon him, had an African named Bilal among his friends and protectors, and he treated Muslims of all colors with respect. Of course, many of us modern Muslims have deviated from the true path of Islam and harbor disgusting and vile practices like racism and xenophobia. I am ashamed to say that I once believed such things. Now I know better. All human beings are creations of Allah, and skin color does not matter.