Luckily I've gotten over my inner-germaphobe and paranoia about contracting mono, having shared every can of soda, every piece of candy, and every buttery pastry offered me since I arrived. I've grown so accustomed to it that I've started to initiate the food cypher myself. As they say, "when in Paris…"
So when I turned and offered a tasting of my Royale with Cheese to Sou, she shocked me with her refusal. "I can't eat it," she said. Judging by the half-eaten Filet O' Fish in front of her, I ruled out the possibility of her being veggie-tarian. "Waitaminute," furrowing my brow for dramatic effect, "are you Muslim??"
(MickeyD's has yet to adopt a halal menu though French rival Quick has.)
Sou and I have been friends for over a year and a half. She lived in New York City as an au pair for 6 months. We hung out countless times and not once did her religious faith ever come up. She revealed to me then that while in the states, she deliberately kept it secret; she worshipped Allah on the low. But why? Especially among friends?
Out of fear. "They don't like Muslims over there." Even though I doubt anyone would guess that this young Thai-Cambodian girl with the French accent was Muslim, she still felt the need to suppress her identity for self-protection. The US has produced so much fear of Muslims that it's spawned fear of Americans.
YOUSEF
Weeks later, I met Yousef who expressed to me his desire to one day visit New York. I encouraged him to. But in his broken English, he said that it's a bad idea because once he lands at JFK then…He brought his wrists behind his back to explain the word his vocabulary lacked--detained. He then pointed at his Arabic features, cited his name, and lamented, "It's not possible."
But I thought it was France that leads the world in Islamophobia, at least against those within its own borders. It's France that bans burqas in public and denies citizenship to those who wear them as well as their husbands. It's France that wants to prohibit fast-food menus from conforming to halal restrictions under the guise of laicite or secularism. It's France that wants to revoke the citizenship of foreign-born French caught assaulting public servants. It's President Sarkozy who referred to the immigrant youth as racaille--a derogatory term meaning low-life scum--that he wants to be rid of. Message transmitted: You don't fit in here so go away.
The comparison is pointless. It's like a race to the bottom, finding the worst of two evils. A Muslim cabbie has his throat slashed in New York. A Muslim woman gets attacked while shopping in Paris. Intolerance and inequality know no boundaries.
Yet, through shared adversity, strength and solidarity shine through the bigotry. In working class neighborhoods of New York, a certain degree of acrimony simmers amongst African Americans and Arabic immigrants that run local corner stores. Meanwhile in working class banlieues surrounding Paris, African and Arabic immigrants connect through a common religion, parallel cultures, and shared living conditions. Their youth blend into world champion dance crews, mighty rap groups, and all-star graffiti collectives. They find solace in each other as there's always strength in numbers. Afterall, France does have the largest Muslim population in Europe at 10% and totaling over 4.1 million.
MOHAMED
My friend Mohamed, a Moroccan-French beatmaker, learned that I'm of Filipino descent. His immediate follow up question, as his eyes widened in hopeful anticipation: Are you Muslim too?? I was sad to disappoint him. Unfortunately we can't connect on that level. In that moment, I kind of wish I had kept my faith (or lack thereof) a secret.