A love letter to Las Vegas from a Muslim woman
Yesterday I was able to put together a community rights forum for the Muslim community here in Las Vegas, Nev. The forum, as you can imagine, was focused primarily on Donald Trump’s executive order stopping visa holders and refugees from entering the United States. Many may not know this, but not only do we have a thriving Muslim community here, but we also have a number of refugee families, not only from Syria but from other countries on the blacklist, including Sudan and Somalia.
When I heard about the executive order, I immediately thought of these families. They are, by and large, families with young children, mostly under 10 years old. (Our whole community here actually skews very young). I think a lot of people may not appreciate the fear and panic this order caused throughout the Muslim community. To give you some perspective: I am an American citizen by birth, my country of origin is not on the blacklist (yet), and I don’t have any children or anyone in my family to worry about, and I was shaking with panic Saturday night. I could only imagine how these families felt.
With the help of my good friends at the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada (PLAN — fighting the good fight on behalf of marginalized communities and the environment), I was able to contact the ACLU branch here and put together a Know Your Rights forum. They came, along with immigration attorney Rex Velasquez and representatives of Las Vegas Metro Police.
I’m a newbie here in Las Vegas. I knew that the Muslim community, and the Mosque of the Islamic Society NV, where we held the forum, have a good relationship with law enforcement here. But I had no idea how much support we have among the police here. I had no idea how much effort they put in to keep our community safe and secure. I had no idea that they were directly involved in helping and supporting refugees with donations and helping children assimilate into schools here.
When Captain Sasha Larkin spoke at the end of the forum, telling us how much support we had among law enforcement, when she said, “We are your friends,” I had to hold back tears. It was such a beautiful moment, and I looked out into the crowd and saw all those serious, worried faces light up with smiles as she spoke.
As a Muslim woman, it’s hard not to feel unwanted in this country sometimes. Especially now, when our federal government seems determined to isolate us, it’s hard not to feel scared of the police sometimes. But as Captain Larkin spoke, I felt not only welcome, but loved and accepted. That support from the ACLU, from the church leaders who attended, from my friends at PLAN, and from people of all backgrounds here in Nevada and in the country as a whole has been the silver lining in all this mess.
Hearing the stories of the refugees who attended, taking their questions, I was reminded once again what a huge privilege it is to be an American citizen. I did not choose my parents, and I did not choose to be born here. I did nothing to earn this privilege, but God blessed me with this life and this home. I can never be grateful enough for what I have, for truly, there but for the grace of God go I. I am so grateful for this country, this city, for all the support we’ve gotten from so many different people, for every person who smiled at me and told me they liked my headscarf, for our wonderful neighbors who are the kindest people. Las Vegas has truly been a blessing, and today I say proudly, “I am from Las Vegas. This is my home.”
