Keeping Up with the Neurosurgeons Next Door
February 23, 2009 by Sammer Z
Filed under Personal Development
What have you done since last summer? It’s been 245 days since I have been officially out of school and out of work. I haven’t taken any tests or read any assigned reading. I haven’t earned a single taxable, spendable cent in these 245 days. Even as I count them up, I can hardly believe it. It is the time that most people would love to have. I thought I could catch up on all my goals of memorizing Qur’an , volunteer work, start up a business, create a 25 year plan, save the environment, end hunger, revolutionize the world. Reminding me that I haven’t saved the world yet on day 246 (although its closer now that President Obama is in office) is what I have achieved in the past.
Every second-generation Desi, Arab, and other ethnic immigrant to the West that I have met has been pushed to succeed academically. Aside from being known as terrorists, we’re also known as a community of overachievers. I’ve seen academics as a priority amongst a wide spectrum of religiosity in families. Stunting education for Muslim women is not the problem in most Muslim communities in the West. Engineers, IT professionals, Lawyers and Doctors have now entered our communities because after all, those high-scoring SAT overachievers/valedictorians have graduated and entered into the professional world. As Asif Mandvi said, “We’re all neurosurgeons.”
Where does that leave the non-neurosurgeons? Aside from a few journals full of teen-angst ridden poetry, I haven’t exactly lit the literary world ablaze either. My parents can’t boast their daughter as the MD/PhD/JD/MBA. Lucky for me, they have learned to love me despite that. But it makes me wonder about the focus on certain professions and the level of academic success that my parents’ generation has come to respect and aspire to, for their children. We’re often faced with a difficult choice between the pre-approved program by our parents or what we are actually good at and enjoy doing. Our communities lack appreciation of the arts, writing, and literature. Perhaps, to protect them from “indecency,” which is ironic because books are the only way they would learn about that. Perhaps, because writers are not guaranteed success and respect like other professions or now this literature is in a language they don’t fully understand. I know poetry is appreciated in my culture because my relatives can quote Sindhi and Urdu poetry suitable for any occasion. Are they trying to hold onto an important part of their own culture by not embracing it in another language? Whatever the reason may be, professional literature or even journalism is not taken seriously in our communities. Seems like unless you’re the next Khaled Hosseini, there is little recognition.
Aside from the arts, communication, media, marketing, social sciences, social services, law enforcement, nursing, and the humanities are largely ignored. Not only do we need people in a variety of fields, but people need options. Especially, in the land of opportunity. We need to diversify our interests and let the next generation know, it’s okay to be a meteorologist if you love looking at the sky or a wild animal veterinarian if you love tigers. In a community of overachievers, let’s rethink achievement.
Photo: Jeremy Wilburn
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Excellent Article,
Muslim ummah definitely need to excel in all fields not just in applied sciences and engineering.
This mentality of ” my kids should be doctor/engineer” is due to ignorance. Parents are fearful that their children will not be able to earn a good living if they choose to pursue something else.
Parents encourage your kids to have a goal and then advise them along the way but do not force them to follow a career path that they are not interested in.
I fully agree…but at the same time, here’s what I think..
Definitely, the parents play a huge important role, but society does a pretty good job of limiting our options as well!
Why I say this? Because society for some reason makes us think inside the the box instead of outside of it. Unless you have parents who have pushed you out of your limits and comfort zone to REALLY experience the world and what is out there, you’re probably just driven into the this way of thinking as well…
I mean, we’ve all been in high school and quite honestly how many of us knew EXACTLY what we wanted to do in life at that stage? How many of us were determined to get there at that age when everyone seems to be lost? I knew I wanted to be an “astronomer” for the longest time EVER…and then as I took physics, I knew that dream was out of my world…I then kept saying, I will break traditions and become a successful business woman…Yeah right, another day dream out the window…
I started university and naturally went into the sciences because…all my friends were going into it…I never even discussed professional school with my family…as a matter of fact, I made it clear I would not go down that path…
I said, I will be an organic chemist…I will be a professor inshaAllah…Half way through my university degree…there I was, writing those entrance exams and applying to professional schools…
So you see…Unless you’re the type that really thinks out of the box and are not driven by societal expectations, you’re gonna end up thinking the same way as you realize what works in this world, and what doesn’t…
Sometimes I wonder how life would have been if I entered interior design and designed the most magnificent mosques
but alhamdulillah 3ala kulli hal 
…
I know I’ve learned a lesson in keeping the minds of kids open and allow them to experiment…regardless of how much we may fear what they will come up with…
I love reading these articles
Please keep up the good work sisters…may Allah reward you all…they are truly inspiring 
It’s more of a generational issue, most of our parents moved to the West seeking a better life-style, hence, their definition of a good life is definitely biased by their experiences growing up in their countries of origin. For them, engineering, medicine and higher education are the safest bets when it comes to career planning. Another good example, would be the idea of a career-change, for them it is unheard of, simply because they (immigrant generation) never had all these choices. Their career path was set in stone once they graduate high school.
Our generation doesn’t have any of that “baggage” so to speak, so hopefully the upcoming generation will be diverse. I am sure anyone who was forced into a specific career won’t impose such restraints on their own children.
Amin B, thanks for your comment. You’re right, sometimes they simply don’t know what a Management information systems person does. So treading into some unknown territory seems very risky.
Sireen, that’s so true. Sometimes the greatest influences aren’t that clear until the time has passed. I know I made some poor choices in regards to academics simply because the people that I thought were cool at the time, were advising for this and against that. I didn’t have much of my own experience or knowledge to go on, so i took their opinions to heart. There seems to be something wrong with making a teenager (whose prefrontal lobe hasn’t fully developed) decide what they want to do with the rest of their life.
B, I do hope that the next generation will see it that way. With a combination of open mindedness and lack of baggage we can see our kids excel in a variety of fields…a true renaissance culture. =)
I haven’t read through the other comments yet, but I couldn’t agree more with your post.
assalamualykum
well written article mA.
Yeah I’d agree with “B” and like to add that I think this applies to brothers (sons)more than sisters (daughters). In my community I’ve experienced that many bro’s are given the choice between a doctor or engineer. The parental generation views these 2 occupations as the only way to provide financially for the family (obviously not true). On the flip side, I haven’t seen this as much for sisters. A reason can be, since a sister does not have the obligation (Islamically) of providing for the family financially. In my own family I was often pressured to pursue an MD while my sister (though more academically fit) was given freedom to chose from anything.
assalamualykum
Salaam,
Great post. I agree that the Muslim community needs to encourage certain fields more, particularly the arts, media, and social sciences. The reasons why we need more Muslims in the media are quite obvious, and I think it’s important to acknowledge the fact that politics has been woven into our lives and cultures ever since 9/11. It’s part of our lives now and will probably remain that way for a very long time. Muslims, no matter if they’re White, African, South Asian, Middle-Eastern, Asian, etc., often get asked questions by their non-Muslim peers and friends about the current situation in the Muslim world. No matter what our occupation is, we’ll always run into these questions and be expected to answer for them. Our children will also be asked these questions — questions about crimes and attacks that they didn’t even do!
Television is considered to be society’s most powerful storyteller and I agree with this because I believe people would rather watch TV rather than read a book. TV is faster, quicker, and easier to process. We hardly have any Muslims in the mainstream media, even though there are a lot of Muslim filmmakers, actors/actresses, musicians, writers, and authors who work very hard. We never see someone like Sumbul Ali-Karamali, the author of “The Muslim Next Door,” featured on “Oprah” or “The View,” for example.
Anyway, I know I’m pretty much preaching to the choir here, but the main point I would like to address here is that Muslims face two challenges: (1) discouragement from within their community to pursue “non-traditional” careers, and (2) actually receiving recognition. As I mentioned with Sumbul Ali-Karamali, she wrote a fantastic book that should be (in my opinion) read by all Muslims and non-Muslims alike, but she’s hardly being publicized for it. The Muslim voice unfortunately gets often marginalized in the media.
But first we need to take care of step 1: Stop discouraging the arts, careers in journalism, media, social sciences, etc. On a spiritual note, Allah has blessed us all with a Gift and He has a given us a purpose in this world. Someone may have the Gift to write, but if those talents are suppressed and discouraged, then the world will be missing out on that Gift. Historically, Islamic civilizations have flourished with creativity, invention, and so many remarkable achievements. Many of the great Muslim philosophers, poets, physicians, astronomers, and scientists would enjoy and cherish the pursuit of knowledge and attribute all of their findings to Allah. We need to stop valuing certain fields and careers over others. All of our pursuits are honorable and respectable. I have immense respect for the medical field and there is nothing wrong if a person pursues that career. My only problem is that I know a lot of Muslims who are forced into this career, while their passions lie somewhere else. I notice that a lot of Muslim men feel immense pressure (and as a Muslim man, I admit I do too) for establishing careers that can bring in enough income to support their wives and future family. Pursuing certain careers like filmmaking or media don’t really guarantee success or sufficient income and it doesn’t look too good on the uh, marriage check-list of the potential in-law parents. These are cultural pressures that seem to be additional obstacles and I’m sure they’ve had influences on career choices.
Salaams and wow! u have completely and utterly summarized my anguish for the past 3 years.I’m a highschool senior…on my way to becoming ..what i dont know. Ive restled with the options: dentistry, nursing, interior design, marketing, business, medicine, journalism, law etc etc etc. My parents make it a point to make sure i understand that if i wanted to be an interior designer, that i will become a starving artist. Or my mom’s even more insulting aproach of telling me that yes, i can have a dream but i need to be practical and be a doctor, a career that will always be in demand. BUT WHY? why should i put myself through perennial college doing what i’m not sure i’ll excell and do well in when i can choose to be an interior designer and KNOW that i will excell in this field. People tell me that yes i can be a poet or an interior designer, but not dedicate my career life towards it, no it should be a hobby. Something to do when i’m bored. What if I want to share my passions for creativity and art with the world? What if i have dreams of being a recognized MUSLIM artist?
I appreciate your article soo much and it has calmed my aesthetic side in recognizing that you condone that a nurse or an author should be appreciated in our culture!!! thanks again