How Does It Feel to Be a Problem. Blog 5-7

I have finally read the last chapters of Moustafa Bayoumi's novel.  The first of the three that I read was about Lina's life.  Lina's life in America was a big concern for her family because she became one with the typical American teenage culture.  So in the beginning has gone flash forward where she is residing in Iraq on a family vacation with her mom and sister to meet old relatives that she has not seen since she was an infant.  But the whole purpose of the trip which Lina found out eventually was that she will be left behind to stay with her relatives while her family moves back to America.  The reason she had to stay behind is because her parents wanted her to stay away from the American culture for awhile and understand and embrace her roots as an Arab.  Especially seeing how Iraq has no rights and values like America has all because of Saddam Hussein. 
During the time when Iraq was under Hussein, there was no ice cream not because it was ascarce or too expensive.  There's no ice cream because in the country's perspective, it is setting a political opinion, illegal.  One lick can land anyone in trouble under Saddam's wrath.
Then the setting takes place in the past about Lina's origin.  She was born in Kuwait in 1979.  When her her sister was born, her dad was given a grant from Kuwaut to pursue a PhD  and admitted to Georgetown University. 
For her parents, living in ELkridge, Maryland was a dream.  Being able to reside in a high end neighborhood and having the promise of having an opportunity like this.  But for Lina it was different and it was part of every typical public school in America.  There was judging all around and it was piled with white, black, and hispanic kids.  Especially jocks, goths, and brains.  Lina believed that Elkridge was awkward because people will think of you differently because of your skin and it happens sometimes in DHS if someone looks different.  But it all changed when she went to high school.  Everyone liked her and it made her happy also she was put in to advanced classes causing her grades to sky rocket in to success.  Because of that, she cracked the grade stratifaction of her school. 
With many high school kids, she wanted to find herself and so she dressed and acted like themand her mom got furious about it.  And then she started putting makeup on the bus and smoking.  When she came home, she would rub off the makeup and lie about the cigaretes but her mom knew about it.  The arguments continued and her mom made sure she was watching appropriate shows and finishing homework.  "For Lin, school was freedom.  Home felt like prison."(159). 
When her sophomore year came in, she wanted to go to the Homecoming dance but her mom wouldn't approve but reconsidered with one rule, she was going to drive her there.  And it was a relief for Lina but only for a moment because her mom was watching her every move in the corner outside the auditorium.  Lina felt she was been double crossed.  The rebellion continued on and skipped more classes and her grades suffered and her absences kept coming in. 
And then she met Daniel and they began dating and skipping classes together.  Her parents felt scared that their daughter had a boyfriend.  So they would put locks around the windows on her bedroom but somehow picked them and ran away while her parents tried to stop her and her mom trying to run toward her.  Lina's mom triped and cried out in pain not only for tripping but losing her daughter.  This made Lina feel bad but kept running.  Eventually, she came back. So now the story goes full circle where she is stuck in Iraq and ot word that Daniel got caught with ops for a crime he commited.  Lina then returned to the US to finish high school and go to college but tragedy struck when her mom died and it devastated her really bad because of after all those tough times, she missed her and it helped her bring her family close.
Her father eventualy remarried and Lina met new people of her same ethnicity only to be betrayed that twom of her friends were terrorists and trying to spy and blend in with her.  The FBI found out about it and they were taken in to custody.
Lina then eventually got married to one of her best friends and was interviewed by Moustafa himself.  She told him that she wanted to raise her kids in Syria.  This was her decision because she did not want them to go through her experience when she was young and rebellious. 
After reading her story, being young and Arab in America is not always supposed to be all about discrimination and being the target of a crime they did not commit, being a young Arab can also mean being a part of the teenage culture and its consequences.  In Lina's case, she learned from it and became mature after that.  Now she will pass what she has learned to her children so they will not have to go and suffer from the same experience she has been through.

The next chapter comes from another Arab named Omar.  He is determined to get a career in the news media and has applied to many news organizations and not one of them has called him back because not only was he an Arab, but because he was an intern at an Arab news organization.  The Arab news organization was shut down because ost Americans believed it promoted terrorism and report about it all the time.  But they do not promote but talk about it as an issue in the Middle Eastern Society. 
Later on he was interviewed by Moustafa and talks how qualified he was being both fluent in his native language of Arabic and English and that a big reason why he is not employed is because of discrimination.  So he is now one of many other Arabs who have no employment because of prejudice and is not giving up on getting what he deserves, a job and equality.

The final chapter I read was the story of Rami.  He is a Palestinian and lives in America.  During the 9/11 attack, his father was arrested for being accused of being a terrorist.  Money was a concern for the family to pay the lawyers in getting his father out of prison.  This was when he came to embrace the religion of Islam.  His father was taken out of psion but is on probation and possibly going to be deported.
Later on Rami would go to colege and met Ezzat who would eventually be his best friend.  Mohammed was an amazing debater and he even came to clashes with Rami about his faith if he was required to choose it and asking him if there if Allah exists and it made Rami's faith grew stronger and learned the deeper meaning of it.  Later on he met with the author of the book himself and he would soon later become Rami's professor and is completing an undergraduate degree in English Literature.  Rami and his friend, Mohammed took Moustafa to every conference and prayer session that they have been doing to strenghten their faith and took them to where they do their da'wa work.  Rami and Mohammed host a Web site calle FreeQuran.org and its purpose id to send Qur'ans to anyone who is Muslim or non-Muslim.  But an even greater purpose was to show everyone that the Qur'an does not promote terrorism and it only helps you to become a follower of Allah, not becoming a terrorist.  The feedback that they get was that people believe it after reading it but at the same time there are negative comments from people who discriminate and generalize Arabs as extremists.  Then finally Rami lectured to students at his old high school about his faith and sharing it with fellow Islam followers.  Rami is a devout Islam follower with spreading the message that Islam is not a religion of terrorism and being a terrorist or suicide bomber is not considered Islam and those acts are illegal in their faith.  Most people today make misconceptions that following Allah makes you a terrorist but the truth is, its not.