“My name is Khan, I am not a terrorist”
Behind these words, I can hear that voice silently
screaming that “My name is Khan, I have a
personal identity and I rep, mostly, my name.
Though some Muslims might be terrorists but I
am a Muslim but I am not a terrorist!”
So many times in our lives, we’ve tried to scream
out something like this sentence, if not exactly
this sentence, to the world. Then, I imagine, “to
what extent do one have to go to claim one’s
uniqueness or should I say innocence in some
kind of general issue which applies to some
people in a particular group which one happens to
be part of either accidentally or intentionally?”
I wonder, “Since errors of reasoning seem to be
the order of the day, how long does one have to
endure being judged? Or how for how long do one
have to bring people to the understanding that “I
may uphold their flag, I may pledge allegiance to
them, but yes, I still rep my name, that group’s
name may be soiled but mine isn’t.”
Let’s look at these…
• I am Muslim but I am not “boko-haramish”
• I am a female but I’m not gullible for monetary
reasons
• I wrote WAEC/JAMB six times, I am still writing
the next one but I am not a dullard.
• I have not gotten admission yet but I am not a
dullard.
• I hang around the opposite sex a lot but I am not
their sex-toy.
• I am a C & S member but I don’t do jazz.
• I am HIV positive but I didn’t get it through
waywardness.
• I am a “fashionist” but I am spiritual.
• I am not working presently but I am not lazy.
• I dropped out of school but I have a future.
• I am barren but I never aborted a baby.
…and other things you can think of!
This is dedicated to all those out there who want
to scream out to the entire world that “I rep my
name. Others may belong to this group and do
these things but I belong to this group and I don’t
do these things!”
Bottom-line: Never generalise, you never know, it
might be a wrong assumption.