I can’t lie: It’s pretty hard being a Muslim living in the West. The constant stares, questioning, and bashing of my religion gets annoying. Oh, and you can’t forget the constant apologizing for actions you did not commit. At times, I remind myself, it’s just part of being a Muslim. But I refuse to make excuses for the society I live in and justify others' ignorance.

Due to the constant pressure to educate people, I had to learn more about my religion and needed to take it seriously. At a really young age, I learned that what Western society preached about Islam was the total opposite of what it truly was. I was confused where the lack of understanding and misinterpretation came from. I also was confused why the Muslim community seemed so apologetic when it didn’t really have to justify anything; the blueprint of Islam already does it. After a while, I got sick and tired of witnessing people, including myself, feeling bad about being Muslim.

My thoughts and ideology as an unapologetic Muslim have been forming for years, but after the Orlando shooting I knew it was time to speak out and shine light on it. The Muslim community, or as we call ourselves, “Ummah,” is really suffering right now. We face so much judgment; at times we don’t know how to take it and tend to shut down. It’s not easy being the most hated faith group in the world, and I understand that. It’s sad to say that I have grown numb to the hatred of our religion and found myself hating my identity because of the scrutiny we face. The sadness and anger I felt towards the hatred has drawn me closer to God and to appreciate the religion he has blessed us with. Thank to my experience being a Muslim in the West, I have become an unapologetically proud Muslim. We as an Ummah (Nation) can accomplish this, too.

First Things First, We Need to Start Differentiating Ourselves From Terrorism.

As Muslims, we all know our religion does not promote terrorism. So it’s pretty confusing and weird that after every attack or tragedy caused by a “Muslim,” we apologize and constantly connect with it. In order for society to understand that our religion does not connect with terror, we as a community need to stop apologizing and connecting to it as well. Many tragedies are caused by other people from different faiths, but their religious leaders and communities aren’t on CNN and major media networks apologizing for them. It’s time we learned from other communities and faiths and do the same. If these “Muslims” aren’t following Islam and doing what the rest of the 1.6 billion Muslims do, why do we have to connect and see this invisible correlation?

This doesn't mean we should ignore issues happening in our community. Let’s be real for once and stop sugar-coating the increase of extremism in our community. We need to start discussing this matter because dialogue is truly the first step of change. Pointing fingers will not change anything. For real change, we can and need to start creating programs and initiatives to combat extremism. We also need to teach in our communities what our religion truly says about terror and violence, as well as discuss the homophobia that has increased in recent years. Maybe after that, positive media attention will come.

Speaking of positive media, it seems the only time Muslims are featured in the media is after an attack, which truly never does us any good. Maybe that's because we are only being true Muslims and doing good after tragedies. As Muslims, we are taught in the Quran to do good and give back to our communities at all times. We need to be Muslims for the sake of God and not for media. We don’t have to prove anyone anything; Islam is amazing and if we all were unapologetic Muslims, Islamophobia wouldn’t be rapidly increasing.

Society forgets and downgrades the amazing work we do and how successful our community is. Let’s not forget the amazing doctors, teachers and soldiers that reside within the Muslim community, or even how our community is home to the most educated group of women in America. It’s time we shine light and give props to our community.

My advice is to be a proud Muslim and be content with your religion. You don’t have to explain to anyone and feel bad about being a Muslim because of actions made by so-called Muslims. Be proud and never let that sense of pride leave your heart. At times, it will be hard to be a Muslim, but understand other marginalized communities are going through the same thing. For some of us like myself – a black, Muslim woman – our religion, race and gender are all marginalized groups in society. If I can be proud and smile every day, you can, too. It’s time we all start being unapologetically Muslim and unapologetically proud of that fact.

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