TORONTO — Whenever someone used to ask me if I was Muslim, I often gave an evasive answer, something like, “I was born Muslim” or “My parents are Muslim.”It was a strange way to phrase it. Perhaps this was the natural recourse for someone who came of age after 9/11 and was taught to retreat into invisibility because of the dangers of being Muslim. On Friday, nearly 50 of my fellow Muslims were massacred in cold blood in New Zealand. Friday is the Islamic Sabbath, when Muslims gather in the mosque to bow their heads in devotion to the divine. When these Muslims saw the white stranger enter the mosque, they would have had the Islamic greeting on their tongues: “Assalamu alaikum.” Peace be upon you.

Source: New York Times March 16, 2019 18:30 UTC