As A Pakistani Muslim In America, I'm Always An Outsider

The questions that disturb me most, that sting me as a Pakistani Muslim living in the capital of the United States and make me feel that maybe it won’t all be okay after all, fall into the "you-belong-there-and-not-here" category.

You may be familiar with that world of subtle (or sometimes quite direct) hurt. It’s a haunting space, equal parts strangeness and familiarity. Within it, what should be home turf of a kind -- the place where I grew up, or the place where I now live -- is transformed into a place where I’m a defensive "other."