I'm so very excited about attending RIS in Toronto. It so amazing to hear and listen to various people. How I ended up in Brum was quite unpleasant.
In Birmingham, England I met so many different types of people including white-extremists. One was educated, well spoken and held extreme thoughts about Muslims and people of colour. I never told him I was Muslim. And he conceptualised me as an AMERICAN who happened not be White. I believe he was at the extreme end of the spectrum of thought in the UK, but never the less he helped me get a more nuanced understanding of the dynamics in the UK.
In the short period of time that I was in Brum I met a cornucopia of people.
It was in Brum that I solidified my thoughts on studying al-Shabaab. It was also in Brum that I learned a wee bit (a very wee bit) on how communities in this cities moved information in an environment in which they felt unheard and collectively disrespected.
And I attended a talk in Urdu by Pervez Musharraf.
I loved the edifying process of going from meeting to meeting in London, England.
Brum was traumatic. I still heard people.
To sit and listen to people and then to honestly look at what they have said sans your personal belief system is a cathartic, aerobic thought process for me that I love.
I'm looking forward to having the same opportunity in Canada.
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