Hello, everyone (assuming there is an everyone out there). At the suggestion of a friend I created this blog in order to sort my thoughts out and clarify my beliefs, my sense of identity. I'm going through very confusing time right now, and it seems as if who I am is in flux. It's wierd; lately its been pointed out to me that I am a "white" guy and I find this most puzzling. I don't feel "white." My parents never taught me to be "white." I've had numerous racial epithets hurled at me and, for some reason that is beyond me, everyone likes to try and guess my ethnicity. So I am utterly confused. I know who I am ideologically. I am progressive. I am Muslim (even if not a good one). I am skeptical. I love science and philosophy. But I dislike most american "culture." I think it is the symbolic expression of an imperialist drive for power, a testimony to the rampant greed which has become the popular religion and the lingua franca. As a result I have no set communal identity; my bond with other Muslims is ideological and is jeopardized whenever my skepticism gets the better with me. Moreover, you can't rely on a community formed over common interests to support you through unrelated difficulties. So, disgusted with my "native" culture and at times alienated from the culture I have adopted, I am forced to cope with my difficulties alone, with the exception of the few good friends who are gracious enough to provide a sympathetic ear and to wrestle with me intellectually (you know who you are). To them I am as grateful as the bird is to the sky. I honestly don't know what the end of all this will be. I do know that I need to work it out or I won't be able to live with myself.

Salaam.