Winter Flowers, Chapter 5

Chapter 5 of Winter Flowers begins with Jumana talking about her best friend and neighbor, John David. Ever since his older brother died, his parents paid less and less attention to him. Jumana is getting older, and realizes that she is not “fragile” like the other girls in her class at school who enjoy playing house. She enjoys her time with John David more and more.

When they begin third grade, their teacher is the first black teacher at their school. After the first day many children are pulled out of her class and put into a private school, because their parents cannot handle the idea of their children being taught by a black woman. Jumana is obviously very keen for a third-grader, and asked her mother if she was ever treated differently for being an Arab Muslim. Her mother related the story of when she was nearly attacked by a man, for being Muslim in New York City. That is when she stopped practicing Islam.

This brings up an interesting point: Discrimination on any basis is wrong. It took a long time for Americans, especially in the South, to realize it, but discrimination against blacks is wrong. One day we will realize that discrimination against Muslims is every bit as wrong as discrimination against blacks.

To all the Muslims reading this, especially Muslims in America, were there any times that you were discriminated against for being Muslim?

About the author

I grew up in conservative Christian circles in the American South, and majored in theology at an Alabama Southern Baptist college. Without really understanding why, I believed that Muslims were to be avoided at all costs, and we have to unilaterally support Israel. Like many young adults, after college I wasn't sure at all of what I wanted to do with my life, so I traveled to the Middle East for a year and a half. Most of the people I met were descendants of the Palestinian refugees forced out of their homeland in 1948, when Israel was recreated. I fell in love with Arab culture, and realized that on the world scene, Arabs have no voice. Living in the Middle East gave me fresh new eyes to read the Bible, and interacting with Arab Christians, especially Palestinian Christians who live in Jordan, caused me to question all the dogmas regarding Israel with which I had grown up.

Living in the Middle East also gave me the courage I needed to pursue my lifelong dream of being an author. My first book, A Theology of Chaos, will come out this next spring. I plan to use the profits from it to support organizations in the Middle East that are fighting for justice. I have written some short stories as well, which you can find on smashwords.com under my full name, Margaret Elysia McColley.

I now live in New York City, where emergency procedures for a potential terrorist attack are constantly updated, and where the sharp divide between Christians, Muslims, and Jews can be clearly seen on posters in the subways. My goal in life is simple: to end terrorism in my lifetime, by giving a voice to social injustices that compel terrorists to violence.

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