I am Not Rootless

By Mohammad Hossain

As a student of the sciences,
I know deep in my heart,
that science is just part of the answer,
in search of the meaning of life,
and my identity.

The reflection on glass shows me,
a Muslim cum Bangladeshi by birth,
Bengali by mother tongue,
Middle Eastern in upbringing,
Ottoman Arab in musical tastes,
And a soul still exploring cuisine and culture.

An Indian throughout education,
a Muslim of the subcontinent in historical orientation,
Ummahtic in weltanschauung,
And yes overwhelmingly English,
in arts and literary expression.

Warped up in identity you might say,
but no I don’t care;
for it is not me who is rootless,
but the notion of identity,
in the modern secular nation state.
And I am but a Muslim in modernity.

 

Mohammad Hossain is a pharmacist by profession who left pharmacy to study Muslim history and civilization. He is presently studying history at the International Islamic University of Malaysia.