US Muslims Used to Be a Curiosity. Now They're Targets.

When people squint at my name on something in front of them and then ask where I'm from, I tell them “Columbus, Ohio.” When they look again and then, perhaps more urgently, ask where my parents are from, I tell them “New York,” smiling more slightly. Occasionally, I'll get a person who asks where THEIR parents were from, and I humor that as well. No one has ever gone beyond two generations before me, but I look forward to the day where it all plays out: me in line at the bank, or at a deli, someone attempting to trace my lineage to a place they feel makes sense. Me, eventually saying, “Well, I'd imagine Africa came into play at some point, but now I'm here, so who can say really?”