American Muslim

My Peace Corps Essays

A) Cross-cultural Experience

I am a child of immigrants. My parents grew up in South India and then came to Chicago in the mid-‘70s to establish their medical careers. I was born in 1979 and my sister followed in 1984. My parents were successful and by the time I was in grade school, we were living in a red brick house in Brook Forest, Ill. I visited India often as a child and my maternal grandmother spent a lot of time with us. But, despite my international travel, I wholly identified myself as an American and thought I would live in America forever.

Well, that didn’t happen. When I was nine, my parents made a decision that went against the prevailing notion of that time. In a reverse “brain drain,” my family moved back to India in 1989 and lived there for almost two decades again. As a kid raised on Thundercats, Transformers and The Bozo Show, moving to Madras was a huge change. But, looking back now, my move from the United States to India laid the groundwork for my international-themed endeavors.

I remember that my classmates at Sherwood Hall School treated me like some sort of deity. I was the “American.” I spoke with a funny accent, liked baseball and had seen snow. But, gradually my status declined as my peers began to see me in a new light – as a new kid struggling to fit in to a new culture. I vividly remember that first year in India, 1989 to 1990, because it was terrifying in many ways. I remember my confusion and fear in trying to use an Indian-style toilet for the first time and soiling myself because I simply did not know what to do. I remember falling behind in subjects that should have been easy for me – English, history and math – because they were taught so differently. Why was “color” suddenly spelt “colour”? Why was Indian Independence Day suddenly more important than the Fourth of July? And what was this nonsense with kilograms and Celsius?

But, as I continued to live in India, I gradually became “Indian.” I watched Tamil movies and picked up the language. I liked playing cricket. The tremendous heat that had once been enervating, becoming comforting; as did the mosquito nets, the boiled drinking water and the funny-tasting milk that had plagued my initial doubts about moving to a new place. By the time I graduated from high school in Madras in 1997, I was only an American because that’s what my passport said – otherwise, I was Indian.

And as I sit here now, I know that those experiences - as an Indian-American child living in the country of his ancestors for the first time – are the foundation for who I have become today. Although my family did support me in many ways initially as I struggled to adjust, I think my Pyrrhic victory was really my own and gave me the confidence to always believe that I could succeed in hostile environments.

B) Motivation Statement

I am a Muslim. I believe that a fundamental tenet of my deen (religion) is the obligation I have to serve the people around me. In a famous hadith (saying), Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said, “He who eats his fill while his neighbor goes without food is not a true believer.” That single statement has motivated me in the last two years to found two organizations, Project Downtown: Atlanta and Project Downtown: Chicago, to prepare free, nutritious, halal (kosher) meals for those in need.

As a Muslim, I also believe that the Qur’an is the Word of Allah. And in the Qur’an, Allah says that on the Day of Judgment, you will be judged for what you did and for what you left undone. This ayah (verse) reveals to me that I cannot take my life for granted and must always do as much as I can because I do not want to be held accountable for what I could have done, but didn’t do. This statement pushes me daily to help those in need; particularly groups that are ostracized by society – the depressed, the suicidal and the abused. It is this belief that lead me to found the an association to break the silence on depression and suicide in the Muslim community and provide resources to those in need. It is this belief that guides my work to educate Muslim men about their responsibilities as husbands to avoid violence in the homes.

Every volunteer opportunity I have experienced in the last six years has contributed to my development as an educator who really emphasizes the need for community service among all students. And every opportunity – from gutting houses in Louisiana to making a homeless veteran feel like a man to finding emergency housing for a battered woman – has made me into a better person.

But, I firmly believe that the time has come for me to help overseas. I have been interested in the Peace Corps for some time because I know that I can make the commitment of two years to help a lot of people in need. I believe that the time is now for me to do this because I don’t want to live my days like T.S. Eliot’s Prufrock and measure my days in “coffee spoons.” I don’t want to keep teaching and as the years pass, think about the regret of not applying to the Peace Corps or not working abroad.

My goal is to complete two years in the Peace Corps as an educator – in a school or college or better yet, working with faculty themselves - and then resume my teaching career, either in Atlanta or elsewhere. I cannot believe that two years spent abroad in a country like Turkmenistan or Armenia will not make me into a better teacher. And if I improve as a teacher, then my students will benefit. My college will benefit. My community will benefit. And insha’Allah (God willing) this country will benefit as well.