I was in high school when 9/11 happened, I attended an Islamic school where my mother taught at the time, and that my children attend today. When 9/11 happened, school was cancelled for one week. Why you may ask? Mobs had gathered with weapons and had begun to march onto the school, which taught children as young as three years old, the mosque nearby, and they were out for blood. I don't think I truly understood what was happening at the time. My biggest priority was getting my drivers licence or some teenager probelm that seems so trivial now. I remember – at the time – my parents would not let me leave the house for about 6 months. Needless to say those were a long 6 months for me. I didn't get it then. I also thought that it was funny that whenever I would make a call from our home land line to my friend's homes there was a static or echo on the line. We later found out that the FBI was illegally monitoring Muslim households across the country, as revelations about the NSA’s activities emerged. This is the lens that shaped my understanding When it comes to diversity, my upbringing is about as diverse as it comes – born in Syria, raised in Brooklyn, moved to Chicago and attended a private Islamic School, and went on to attend a Catholic University. I work in politics. My friends are Jewish, black, white, brown, you name it. So when I wake up on the weekend and I see headlines like these: | 
