White? Black? Christian? Jewish? Muslim? Female? Male? What's your label?

In English class, we are continuing to read Reading Lolita in Tehran, a story about Azar Nafisi (also the author) and other Muslim women living in Tehran during and post the Iranian revolution. The book explores many different themes including women's rights, women's roles in society, education, intellect, writing and literature, all from the views of native Iranians. The book is not only an excellent piece of literature, but also an insight into the true lives of Iranian women and works to defy stereotypes.


However, one other issue that has arisen during our class discussions is how one labels themself. Identity is an issue that all of these women grapple with as rights are being stripped from them everyday and they are working to retain who they really are. Labels, and the language used with them, are major factors in who we are and how we claim our identity. Below is a video from the recent 2010 census regarding ethnic labels and how one identifies themself on the census:





These women in Reading Lolita in Tehran have a multitude of different ways in which they can label and identify themselves. "Female" is an obvious, first label, but where do they go from there? Are they Persian? Are they Muslim? Are they Arabic? Are they Iranian? You get the point. Any way you look at it, any of us could fall under multiple labels or identities. Is their nationality their most important label? If your nationality is your most important label, does that mean you don't qualify under the other identities as well? I think not. I think it is possible for all of your labels to be equally important. However, I think society and the world makes it hard for you to not be casted into an "other" category if you don't fit some of society's most defined labels. Below is a video from a very old song that talks about the special significance of the label of nationality for someone:



What happens if you don't fit the "normal" labels? In class today, we brainstormed a list of "normal" American labels and came up with:

• middle class
• ambitious
• white
• Christian, protestant
• heterosexual
• English-speaking
• male
• businessman

We discussed what happens if you don't fit those labels and talked about the idea of the "other" group, the group of people who might be immigrants or poets or gay. Labels, and the idea of labeling oneself based on who they are, may be beneficial in some cases such as censuses, but can be detrimental to people if these "other" labels affect their identity and how they see themselves as people.

Muslims in America

Currently in my English class, we are reading Reading Lolita in Tehran (RLiT) by Azar Nafisi. RLiT is about a group of Muslim women in Tehran who meet at their female professor's house every Thursday morning to discuss different works of literature and their lives as women living under the Ayatollah. Besides being a spectacular work of literature, RLiT has proven to be a book that challenges stereotypes of Muslim women and forces readers to dive deeper into knowledge of Muslims and the Muslim community. RLiT provides readers with the opportunity to learn about Muslim culture and Muslim women while within a fictional context.


It should be obvious by now, but America has a large Muslim class which is continuing to grow. However, after September 11, 2001, American-Muslim discrimination also started to increase. Although Muslims represent only a small part of Americans (between 6 and 8 million according to The Washington Report), they are a class of people that deserved to be respected just like all other classes, such as Christians and Jews. Hostilities are growing, leading to tensions between the different cultural classes in America. Below are some examples of Muslim discrimination that have been demonstrated in the United States since September 11, 2001:




These photos show much recent anger and hostility towards Islam and Muslims because of the proposed Ground Zero mosque. Whether or not people believe the location of the mosque was acceptable or not, the above photos show ignorance and a lack of compassion and understanding towards Muslims and Islam. Muslims are becoming an increasingly prominent class in our society and this hostility and discrimination could have devastating effects on the class of people as well as our society as a whole. There are Muslims who are more dedicated to America and American pride than some white, stereotypical Americans, yet some of these Muslims face extreme discrimination despite their dedication and service to the country. What are these Muslim-Americans supposed to do? They live in America yet they have different beliefs than mainstream America. How is the class of people supposed to thrive when they face discrimination every day? Below is a picture I believe represents the cross of cultures Muslim-Americans face everyday:
Muslims represent an influential class in America just like other classes such as African Americans, Christians and Jews. However, it seems currently that this class is enduring the most conflict regarding their culture and lifestyle, especially after September 11, 2001 and the possibility of the mosque at Ground Zero. However, this discrimination against Muslims is not only occuring in America. Recently, in France, the burqa was banned due to claims that the burqa "contradicted the laws of the nation" (you can read about the conflict at this very well written CNN article). Class conflict does not need to only occur between economic classes, but racial classes as well. After reading RLiT, I have learned that class conflict can cross racial and ethnic boundaries to create a more complicated, intertwined class conflict than ever before.