Photo: Flickr / Alan Levine
Poetry

Dear Muslimah

Dear Muslimah,

I write to you a letter of benevolence, hoping it finds you in peace and makes you ponder. For we are made of the same mud, and perhaps even share the same blood. We have read the same books and memorized the same verses, and just like you, I attempted to follow the path to righteousness and this is what I found out:

It is not your headscarf that matters, nor the number of times you pray…

Nor the verses you recite obliviously, nor the words you preach and say…

In the name of religion or virtue. That sense of superiority over others you judge…

It is not the rules you follow and ideologies that will not budge…

 

It is your daily acts of kindness in times so austere…

Your great mindset, your moral values…

And the accomplishments you achieve each year…

 

It is your will to strive… saving lives…

Giving hope to a broken spirit…

Extending a hand to those who need it…

 

It is your thirst for knowledge…

The mistakes you acknowledge…

Unveil yourself and shine through…

Your identity is you…

 

Project that voice of justice within you…

 

So that you no longer stand mute…

Accept the diversity of people’s pursuit…

Fight evil with a prudent mind…

Discuss ideas. Don’t be blind…

Be humble towards the people you’re addressing…

Be grateful for your talents and your blessings…

Be vigilant to your surroundings, the world is evolving…

With plenty of problems that still need solving…

Learn more, read more, and share your thought…

I’d love to hear about the battles you fought…

Unveil yourself caterpillar and stop hiding…

Reveal the woman that you are with a promise so binding…

Shed your layers as you grow. Be determined and try…

For the creature that you are is a multi-coloured butterfly…

 

Love & Live,

Ghalia