I’m in the halal shop waiting to be served. I greet the customer in front of me in my usual friendly manner.
He smiles back and offers the standard, “Alright mate.” Then blurts out in a language I’m not meant to understand, “Kya woh musalman hai?”
“Jee, jee, jee,” reply the shopkeepers in unison.
There then ensues a discussion about Bosnian Muslims, followed by a tale about one of the East European goras at the car wash being Muslim too.
What a strange curiosity we European Muslims must seem to our Asian coreligionists, whose profession of faith seems so wrapped up in their national identity. What exactly are we?
Last modified: 31 March 2024
