White

The first day I worked in the Islamic school, the principle took me to the 11^th grade class. She introduced me to the students and then she left. Before I even opened my mouth, to say anything, a student raised her hand. I referred to her to talk.

-          “Are you Arab or white?” She asked.

I did not understand the question, because I thought she referred to my racial identity by “Arab” and my skin color by “white”.

-          “Cannot I be both?” I replied.

Later, I realized that these students were not just Muslims. They are American Muslims. So, they still looked at the whole world (including their religion) through their American culture. And “white” in American culture is not just color. It refers to the Caucasian race and European origin.