Converting to Islam as a “Red Flag”: thoughts on Katherine Russell
by Emily Sutcliffe
Source: MuslimVillage.com
by Emily Sutcliffe
Source: MuslimVillage.com
Katherine Russell, widow of Boston Bombing suspect, Tamerlan Tsarnaev
By: Emily Sutcliffe
Source: MuslimVillage.com
When pictures first emerged of Katherine Russell I was not taken
aback by the “strange” scene of a hijab-wearing white American woman
from a well-educated family, quite the contrary – I felt a sense of
connection to the young woman donning clogs and an animal print scarf;
myself an American convert to Islam, looking at a picture of Russell was
a lot like looking in the mirror. Interested in the case (as all
Americans are), but particularly interested in the role Tamerlan
Tsarnaev’s wife played, I began to seek out news articles about Russell.
I experienced a strong sympathy when I saw the now-famous photo of
her, panic-stricken and trying to escape reporters. I felt very sorry
for this young mother, who, by all accounts thus far, not only had
nothing to do with her husband’s terrorism, but was kind, hard-working
and artistic. I imagined the complex and intersecting layers of grief,
fear, anger, shock, and hopelessness that Russell must be facing and I
wondered how anyone, aside from a handful of people spread across the
globe, could begin to understand what it feels like to be in Russell’s
position.
What also struck me was the way Russell’s conversion to Islam was
being used by many news outlets as evidence of her fall from grace – as
the strongest sign that she was not mentally stable. Reporters
continually questioned how the daughter of an Exeter and Yale graduate
could do something as insane as become a hijab-wearing Muslim. Surely
she must have been abused and brainwashed – who in their right mind
would give up the quintessential, elite New Englander lifestyle
for…faith?
Reporters keep quoting “friends” of Russell’s who essentially say she
went crazy – suddenly converting to Islam, dropping out of college,
getting married, and having a baby. If we remove the “converted to
Islam” or “started wearing a headscarf”part of Russell’s story, is there
anything profoundly unusual about someone dropping out of college or
getting married? Sure, Russell’s may not be the ideal sequence of life
events, but is it remarkable? What smacks of an “ism” to me – be it
colonialism, eurocentrism, or racism – is the underlying message that
there is no way, aside from mental illness or duress, that a
well-educated, white woman from a wealthy American family would choose
to convert to Islam.
See, this is where my sense of connection to Russell runs deeper than
clothing choice. If someone freeze-framed my life a few years ago, and
the lives of many of my friends, they would find many similarities with
Russell’s journey. I come from a relatively well-educated, upwardly
mobile, white, Christian, American family. Until my late teens, not a
single person would have described me as religious or as having the
slightest interest in religion. In college, after reading the Quran for a
class and doing a great deal of subsequent research, I converted to
Islam. This change – this new identity, was overwhelming at first. When
financial factors collided with the struggle to navigate my old life as a
new Muslim, I withdrew from college. During the time I was out of
school I got married to a Muslim man, moved to the Middle East, and had a
child. If we stop the story there, if we fail to shade in the picture
with context and detail, mine could easily be a tail of tragedy,
brainwashing, and Not Without My Daughter levels of drama.
But what if we told the story of a girl who joyfully and thoughtfully
found her spiritual home after years of floating nebulously through a
sea of religion she did not believe in? What if we told a love story
about a young, mouthy American woman who falls for a handsome, reserved,
Egyptian and fights tooth and nail to get his family to accept her?
What if we told the story of a woman full of wanderlust who, having
always dreamt of following in her parent’s globe-trotting footsteps,
jumped at the chance to live in the Middle East and loved every moment
of her time there? And what too, if we told the story of a woman who
finished her bachelor’s degree while living abroad, returned to the
United States – baby on hip, scarf on head – and received a Master’s
degree from an Ivy League university, is currently a doctoral student at
an Ivy League university, and lives a rather idyllic, if not hectic,
life in the suburbs with her wonderful and supportive husband?
Context matters, context always matters. What makes Katherine
Russell’s life disturbing and tragic is not her conversion to Islam.
Russell’s life is disturbing and tragic because she was married to an
abusive, deranged murderer. No one but Russell knows the circumstances
that led to her religious conversion, or if she will remain a Muslim in
the future, but it needs to be clear that monolithically synonymizing
the act of converting to Islam with mental instability is xenophobic,
offensive, and outrageous.
Each night when I kiss the chubby cheeks of my five-year-old son I
think of the beautiful, bright eyes of Martin Richard…and of Krystle
Campbell’s freckles, and Lingzi Lu’s smile – and I pray that the victims
are in a place of utter serenity, and I pray that their families find
sources of comfort and hope amidst the abysmal pain and loss…and now
too, I pray for Katherine Russell and her daughter, for what, exactly,
I’m not sure.
The views expressed in this article are the author’s and do not necessarily reflect those of MuslimVillage.com.
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