The New York Times:

Each time something like this happens, the ground shifts under those of us from the Middle East. We recede into the margins, and we wait breathless until someone with a face or name like ours takes responsibility. Those of us who can (like me) sheepishly sidle over to one of our other tribes, our chameleon skin quietly changing. The rest hang their heads and suffer the blows. That’s the most practical thing you learn from being an Iranian in the West — how to blend and fit, how to be a nomad among the many tribes you’ve inhabited, how to shield yourself when one of those tribes is causing so much of the world’s grief. Is it an abdication? Is it cowardly? At least it’s a safe way of living.

What do I say now, as an Iranian and an American? Do I condemn the terrorists but remain silent about the boot perpetually poised over the heads of every Arab and Iranian in the free world? Do I defend the Muslim community and ignore the passages in the Quran calling the devout to jihad? Do I point out that the Bible is hardly better? Do I embrace the complexity and proudly proclaim myself a member of many communities? Even as I’m tempted to inch away from the spectacle, I remember a simple observation from a student, delivered with a shrug as if this has always been the way of the world. “You may suddenly decide you’re part of all these groups, but the world has its own idea of who you are. They won’t let you just get on with that.”

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