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THE PERSPECTIVE OF AN OUTSIDER
Habeebie Saif,
In this letter I want to talk to you about the idea of belonging to a group and what this can entail.
Every person deals with this question at some stage of their lives. Some people are lucky enough to
be born into a family where all the boxes are ticked. The father has power and recognition in his
society or his religious or ethnic group, his wife comes from a well-established family, and his
children enjoy the sense of belonging to a group that knows what it stands for. You can think of dozens
of examples. You will know kids at school who carry the confidence of complexion, lineage, wealth,
and connections. Some of them will be able to point to illustrious ancestors. Others will know all the
right things to say and when to say them. Sometimes you will wonder whether what is right is
determined by who is saying it. These kids can often be the “in” crowd at school.
Out in the workplace, you may come across many similar examples. Some people will get the best
jobs and the best opportunities because of what group they belong to, not because of what they know.
If you belong to one of these groups, you may even thank your lucky stars.
What happens if you are not a member of one of these groups? What if you see yourself as an
outsider from the mainstream groups that populate society? What if, no matter what you try to do, you
will always look and sound different?
Some of our fellow Muslims look at the world through this lens. Both in Muslim majority countries
as well as in those countries where we are in the minority. Some of our truly deprived brethren, who
do not know how to make a life for themselves in society, turn inward. They isolate themselves and
look to those who can confirm their self-righteous anger and disappointment with what life has given
them. The justifications are multiple. They can claim that they were condemned from birth because
they are Muslim, or Arab, or curly haired, or brown. They can claim that they are condemned because
they speak the local language with an accent. They can claim they are condemned because they are
poor and will remain poor and cut off from economic opportunity because of subtly racist government
policies.
All of these points may well be true. In fact, I have no doubt they are true, because I have
experienced many of these forms of condemnation.
I know that you, Saif, have also experienced some of these things. I know that when you were at