Pak - US

7-Eleven on 9-11 - Amar Bakshi

By Khalid ⋅ September 13, 2007 ⋅  Print this post ⋅ Post a comment

Since 9-11, the Muslim world has come under attack for its beliefs, traditions and culture. Amar Bakshi, a contributing columnist for the Washington Post, has put together a great piece on “Ali Khan” about the Americanization of Muslims. This is great reading for all of us.

Ali Khan grew up watching America from behind a 7-Eleven counter. Though his family is from Pakistan, Ali never questioned his “American-ness,” until 9/11. Drinking Gatorade and listening to Tupac, we zip down the Hempstead Turnpike in Long Island, New York toward his 7-Eleven.

As a teenager, Ali felt at home here, slushing slurpies while listening to customers’ stories. There was the corpulent banker hooked on beer, the rebel hooligans with nerdy aspirations, and the two married men who met at 2 a.m. on Wednesday nights for surreptitious sex. Ali kept their secrets safe….
Read the rest here.

Tags: american, challenges, culture, newsweek, pakistani