“White privilege” is unofficially defined as “the
level of societal advantage that comes with
being seen as the norm in America, automatically
conferred irrespective of wealth, gender or other
factors.”

I am not white, I am not male, I was not born in
the United States.

I do not have the privileges most Americans are
born with.

I have my own privilege.

I have the privilege of living outside the so-called
“societal norm in America”.

Others see racism, misogyny, islamophobia,
xenophobia on a daily.

I have the privilege of living it on a daily.

Others are born in America, the first gift outside
of the womb is automatic U.S. citizenship.

My parents immigrated to America from
Lebanon in 2000.

I was born in Baghdad, Iraq.

I have the privilege of being a foreigner, I wear
the title like a badge of privilege clear as the light
of day on my Arab forehead.

I used to wear the hijab for several years in my
adolescence.

Some said the hijab would be the equivalence of
a target on my head.

The target would be a sign as red and bright as

a traffic light.

The traffic light would allow future employers to
discriminate against me.

The hijab is more than a pretty piece of cloth,
more than a head covering.

The hijab is an invitation to Jannah, to a
guaranteed beautiful after life.

I have the privilege of my own, exclusive
relationship with God, secured with the same
safety pin I used to secure the hijab on my Arab
head.

So you can have your white privilege. Your white
privilege is not a privilege.

A real privilege is the one where you are different
from the “societal norm” in America.

It is the one where you use your tragedy, your
clear as daylight differences, the pain and
suffering you experience on a daily to bring
awareness to the corrupt society we live in
called America.

My privilege opens doors and brings protection
from God, brings me honor and joy and love.

My privilege is that of being more proud of
my Iraqi heritage than it is of my American
citizenship.