Day One HW:Â
First, watch “(un)Learning my Name” by Mohamed Hassan and read and annotate Zayn Malik and the Songs that Bring us to Prayer”  by Hanif Abdurraqib.
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Ursula C. Schwerin Library
New York City College of Technology, C.U.N.Y
300 Jay Street, Library Building - 4th Floor
Acknowledgments
This course is based on the following course(s):
A name to me is very dynamic, there are so many things a name can mean, it could be something that someone uses to express something, a form of identification, a calling, a cry for help, a symbol of something. To me, a name is regarded as a gift that possesses multiple things. It’s a gift that craves attention and gives memories, but how? Well a name is only one piece of the puzzle if I am being completely honest.
I believe the mere fact that one has given somebody they now call a friend or family member an introduction of who they were and what they are called is a way of craving attention, they express their desire to be recognized by something familiar and when they are called by the name they have been given. It creates a memory, a memory of familiarity. It also provides a sense of comfort and ease when somebody calls out a name of familiarity.
The author was talking about his childhood. How he lived his childhood. Also he learned how to be patient. In addition, he was struggling to learn Arabic. Sometimes he got bothered about how the people pronounce his name.
Hanif was talking about a personal incident. He was in a coffee shop. A barista man asked him about his name. In these incidents Hanif always does not say his right name. To hurry in time and he knows his name is hard for strangers to pronounce. But this time he decided to say his name (Hanif). The barista man looked at him and said I’m learning arabic. It’s a nice name.
Now the author is talking about Islam religion. He is talking about how beautiful the Adhan is. He gave an example like christian church band. To make the people get the point of what he means about the Adhan. And the Muslims fathers their first thing to do when they got a new born they say Adhan in his/her earring.
Here the author is talking about racism. Before 9/11 and after 9/11. He was feeling does not exist. But after 9/11 he was feeling threatened and people were looking for Muslims to kill them. And he was hoping to disappear and feels he does not exist again.
He is talking about how he lived his teenage age. He had knowledge about American culture. While other Muslims in his age do not know it. He is talking before 9/11 he was living a neutral life. He was going to a mosque, he was listening to music and he was talking about television shows. But after 9/11 everything changed.​​ The violence went to another level. He did not do anything like what he was doing before 9/11.
He is trying to show how pronouncing a person’s name can impact the meaning of his name.
He was talking about his friend Charlotte. And how close she was to him. He was feeling a little worried when he played Arabic music. That’s why he was saying but always with the windows up. Always turning the volume down slightly at stoplights.
The author stated that committing signs by some Muslim Teenagers is just a way fitting in Muslim society. You have to draw the balance between the faith and what the society considers are not haram.
Zayn Malik was one of the biggest pop stars in the world. But the racism did not stop and racist people still attacked him on social media. And the Media broadcaster was calling him a terrorist. Because he is a Muslim.
The racism killed Zayn Malik. Racism made Zayn Mailk another person. He was trying to show the world he is like them. He covered his body in tattoos and he sang about love and intimacy. There is a video of him smoking weed. The author is feeling upset for Zayn Malik. About what happened to him. Because he knows he is a Muslim. And racism did that to him. The author wants Zayn Malik to face all of this racism.
People pretend that hatred violence against Muslims do not exist, which is exposed to the truth. For me I used to look at Zayn as an idol who, despite the fact, is a famous pop singer, he still flows Islam and still has a faith inside him.
The racism also took a place in Hanif Willis Abdurraqib story. Because racism made him stop going to the mosque and pray. He stopped practicing Islam. Even his primary language Arabic, the language of Muslims or the language of Quran he stopped it because racism. He missed his language. Because he said I could see 100 butterflies flying from the mouth of this poet when it was in Arabic. And in his last words means your past always wins. Everyone is born and has nostalgia for the past. And your past lives inside you.