abcreatives
Nov
"I grew up in a small, rural village in India." - Mazhar
Written by Batoul Hussain"I grew up in a small, rural village in India. And at the time, education was not easily available. We had to struggle, walk long distances and work hard. Our parents supported us very much. And then, I made it to study at Aligarh Muslim College, a prestigious university in India, and the day before I graduated, my father died. It was so difficult because I had so many plans. I was always thinking of what was after my school so I could support and help them like they did for me in my education. It was very difficult.
When I left India, I was flying to New York City. This was my first time coming to North America. Sitting next to me was an American and an Irishmen. The plane was descending and we could see the cars on the streets as we came close to landing. They asked me what I thought about America. We hadn't landed yet and I had never been to America before but I saw that the cars were driving on the right side of the road. In India, the direction is from the left. So I told them, 'America is always right'!"
~ Mazhar at the Intercultural Dialogue Institute
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Muslims of Ottawa is a photographic representation of the diversity and humanity of our community. The project is two-fold: (1) We want to share and document the broad array of cultures, lifestyles, professions and other defining features of Muslims in Ottawa and (2) we want to hear from members of the community in their own words. This project is a partnership between Muslim Link and abcreatives. It takes its inspiration primarily from Humans of New York, but is also influenced by loveOttawa and Somali Sideways.
This article was produced exclusively for Muslim Link and should not be copied without prior permission from the site. For permission, please write to info@muslimlink.ca.
