A message from an American Muslim…

Profile me
Yes, I’m asking you to profile me
Profile me because I want you to know me, to learn me
Profile me because you don’t know where I came from
Because you didn’t pay attention that day in class
Because you didn’t think you’d ever need to know me
Because all you know about me
Is what you heard about me second hand
From the loudest a$$hole in the news today
Who brandishes a gun and says that he is OF me
And you, for some reason, believe him but not me
Not me, who stands in front of you
Asking you to
Profile me
Because I have nothing to fear in it
Here, with beard on my chin
And patience on my thick haired brow
And comprehension in my dark eyes
I ask you to profile me
As a man without a gun
Without anger to pull any trigger
Or mischief to turn any tongue black
Profile me as an honest man
Fearful of his own distrust, and of the loss of God’s favor
As the safe man
Whose friends trust with their accounts
(And mothers’ maiden names)
As the man who avoids lewd stars
And nude bars
As the man who sounds like your conscience
Because of his own careful judgment
As the man who would offer you a piece of his own wealth
Because you needed it, and you asked for it

Profile me
As a man with sincerity who
Lets the drunken world know he never touched a drop
But would drive them home to safety should they need it
As the man to watch over
Your daughter, your sister, your mother
Because you know what’s in his safe heart
And
Anger, fear, terror, violence
Hate, lust, tyranny, dishonesty, lechery
Abuse, thievery, brutality, or even illegality
Are words you could never use to describe him.

So profile me.
And maybe then
You’ll start to understand me.