Can anyone else relate? Feeling like people think all Muslims come from the same background
Assalamu alaikum. I embraced Islam a few years ago, in my early twenties. I was raised in a Christian home here in Canada, and my own family heritage is French, Russian, and Ukrainian. I’m really trying my best to grow in my deen every single day. I’ve even started learning Arabic-it’s not perfect yet, but I’m working on it because it’s the language of our faith and it helps me feel closer to Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala. But honestly, the assumptions I get are just wild. So many people ask me if I’m Arab just because I’m Muslim. Some even try to tell me I can’t *really* be Muslim, as if it’s an ethnicity and not a religion! Astaghfirullah, it shows a real lack of knowledge. The funny thing is, sometimes even Arab Muslims will ask me if I’m Arab too, as if Islam is only for them? Another thing I hear is that I must have reverted for a man. That’s honestly just funny because I’m not married or in a relationship right now. In fact, choosing this path was the reason I ended my last relationship, and that was a really tough decision, for the sake of Allah. I wish people understood that it’s haram to accept Islam for anyone or anything other than Allah. If they only knew. The whole thing just gets so confusing for people when I try to explain, and honestly, it makes me want to just keep to myself sometimes. It feels pretty isolating because I either don’t connect with the people around me or I’m totally misunderstood, and I’m just tired of trying to make people get it. Are there any other reverts from European backgrounds in the West who go through this? Would love to know I’m not alone in this.