I sometimes wonder if perhaps Iblis the Djinn was justified in his hatred of mankind when he defied the Will of Allah and refused to bow before Adam. The Creator favors us but we are such a wicked breed, are we truly worthy of His mercy? My name is Bilal Ansari and I am a Muslim brother living in the City of Ottawa, Ontario. Sometimes the conduct of my fellow Muslims irks me to the point that I feel like shunning them. Must be why most of my friends are from other faiths. I love my faith, but dislike most of my fellow believers. Please let me explain.
Understand that I am absolutely proud of my faith and origins. My father, Imran Ansari, is from the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and my mother, Khadija Osman, is originally from Somalia. They met as students at the University of Ottawa in the 1980s, got married and had little old me. My twin sisters Alia and Fatouma were born a couple years after me. As the eldest and the sole male heir of the family, I've had responsibility thrust upon my shoulders early on.
Growing up the biracial son of a Muslim immigrant couple in a place like Ottawa wasn't easy, especially since there's a lot of tension between various ethnic and religious groups underneath the veneer of multiculturalism in the Capital. A lot of people from places like Somalia, Pakistan, Ethiopia, Jamaica, India and China are moving into Ottawa, forever changing the demographics of Canada's Capital. People go along to get along but trust me when I tell you that they don't like each other.
My father works as a constable with the Ontario Provincial Police, one of a few South Asian Muslim men on the force. He told me horror stories about the disrespect and discrimination he encountered on the force due to his Muslim faith and the color of his skin. The fact that he has a Law degree from the University of Ottawa intimidates a lot of his co-workers, most of whom are white guys with barely any post-secondary education. They really don't like the growing number of educated men of color on the force.
I think I know why. Historically, undereducated white men with a fondness for guns and a distrust of those different from them flock to careers like law enforcement and the military. According to my Pops, he received more death threats from his white male co-workers than the suspects he arrested during his first five years on the job. Eerie, isn't it? Sad world when criminals show more respect to minority police officers than white cops do.
Well, they better learn to get over themselves because I'm in my third year in the criminology program at Carleton University. Guess what I want to do for a living? I'm going to be a cop. And if they don't like it, they can kiss my high-yellow ass. Anyhow, you may wonder where I am going with this, eh? I just get frustrated with fools. Take this chick named Jannah Alzahrani for example. One particularly annoying Saudi chick from one of my classes. Walks like a princess and expects people to treat her like one simply because she has money. I think the bitch needs to get over herself.
Like a lot of Muslims, I have odd feelings about the Saudis. I think they're weird, make up their own rules that have zero to do with true Islam, and I find it odd that both Muslims and Westerners coddle them. Yeah, I think they're weirdoes and just plain overrated. I think the cities of Mecca and Medina should be in different hands. The holy cities where the Prophet Mohammed preached matter to all Muslims. None of us would harm these holy sites. So why are they in the custody of a bunch of upstarts? The Saudis give my religion a bad name with their antics.
Nowhere in the holy Quran does it say that women aren't allowed to drive, or that they have to wear the burka everywhere. The book says that women should dress modestly, a long skirt and a hijab suffice, no need for them to hide everything except their eyes. I think Saudi males are using Islam to mask their insecurities. Yes, women are beautiful, as a man I cannot deny this. However, to force a woman to cover up everything simply because the males of her culture cannot control themselves, well, that's just plain stupid.
I think the mandatory burka policy for women in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the female driving ban are just plain dumb. Someone needs to tell the Saudis that their shit does stink and they need to wise up and join the modern Muslim world. We've got women soldiers and women political leaders in Pakistan, Gambia, Turkey, Lebanon, Kosovo and many other predominantly Muslim nations. The rumors about sexism in Islam are grossly exaggerated everywhere...except Saudi Arabia. Sadly, since both Muslims and Westerners are too busy kissing their asses, like the retards they are, I don't see that happening anytime soon.
As you can see, I have a lot of issues with quite a few people, and since I'm a naturally outspoken sort, I don't make a lot of friends. At school, I mostly hung out with the Christian and Jewish guys and gals since I tend to get into shouting matches when I associate with people of my faith. My best friend Lawrence Odell is biracial, born to an Aboriginal mother and white father. He's a sociology student with conservative tendencies and a fondness for Prime Minister Stephen Harper, but I try not to hold those things against him.
Like me, Lawrence knows what it's like to be an outsider. Oh, and he's also kind of gay. Doesn't bother me one bit. He's a tall, well-dressed, metrosexual kind of dude, the type lots of women fall for. I always laugh when I see the look on them girls faces when Lawrence tells them that he plays for the other team. Gets them every time. My other friend on campus is Ava Chang, a short, spiky-haired and heavily tattooed young woman of Chinese ancestry. Ava is a civil engineering student and one of the brightest people I know. When you first meet her, this five-foot-six, 104-pound waif seems angelic. Until you hear the stuff that comes out her mouth. Ava is feisty, brutally honest and swears like a sailor. I love that about her.
You'll never catch me saying this to them out loud but my life would suck without my friends. We hang out all time, either hanging out at Saint Laurent Mall, or the campus library, or Silver City, our favorite movie theater. These days, we don't hang out as much as we once did, though. Lawrence has a new boyfriend, a short white guy named Keith. Ava is dating this Hispanic dude named Paolo. I think he's a wannabe rapper given how he dresses and talks, but he's just another nerd from the engineering program. You can't tell that to Ava, though. She thinks he's the greatest thing since sliced bread. As you can see, I'm kind of on the outs. I'm single and my friends are not. I'm happy for them, really. At least that's what I tell myself.
