Dear [REFUGEE NAME(S)]

Thank you for your interest in fleeing to [STATE]! As you are aware, our state is a rainbow of humanity, positively bursting with opportunities for the weary who wash up on our welcoming shores. Truly, the promise of America is made manifest nowhere as clearly as [STATE]! (more…)

Every now and then, I take a back seat to my own blog to give a different voice a chance to tell their story. I know it’s my name in the URL, but other people’s stories matter to me, so I don’t mind the passenger’s seat now and then.  A few weeks ago, I chatted with Arshia Saiyed, a first-generation Indian studying law here in Nashville.

Arshia is a Muslim, and I had a great conversation with her about the similarities and differences between our faiths. In light of the horrors taking place in Paris, I thought our conversation would be relevant to some of the chatter online.

One important point: Islam is not a monolithic religion, and no one person can claim to speak for all of it. Arshia doesn’t speak for the entirety of Muslim America. To appropriate a phrase from Lena Dunham, she’s not the voice of her faith, but a voice in her faith. This is her own story.

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