Definition

-- Subuhi Jiwani

Immigritude (is)

sitting in the Queens public library in a shimmeringly summer, sun-colored salwar kameez, asking the woman at the circulation desk for a pair of scissors

and being denied.

Immigritude (is)

ponderance on the possibility that her response is subconscious:

subconsciously racist,

unconsciously un-knowing.

of the fact that

"ethnic" garb (is not equal to)

a lack of education

a spice-smelling home

an unfinished accent.

Immigritude (is not)

a stubborn adherence to tradition,

clichéd nostalgic rememberings or

a medieval desire to protect the female body.

Immigritude (is)

a state of unknown racism;

the non-exclusivist "keep you culture in your four walls" attitude.

Immigritude (is)

the expectation of zipped up tongues and pro-establishment, assimilationist lifestyles.

Immigritude (is)

the encasement of Muslim prayers in a windowless jamaat khaana:

a diasporic utopia aligned with stars and stripes,

a community space for suffra and seera.

Immigritude (is)

the observation of others' observation of you.

Immigritude (is)

checking "Other" on the census and filling in Indian.

Immigritude (is)

viewing project Anaconda, Enduring Freedom and Infinity as killing machines of people who are

Muslim on paper and do not subscribe to Al-Qaida ideology.

Immigritude (is)

the knowledge that Islam envelopes you without permission post 9-11,

that Allah is the extension of a political identity,

that the Imam is a humanitarian and a philanthropist before he is a spiritual leader.

Immigritude (is)

a division of self into slices across geographical areas, disparate locales and regional news services.

Immigritude (is)

more at home in Queens, most a stray cat's second skin on Manhattan streets, least welcome in INS prisons.

Immigritude (is)

an incarnation of personality; a breathing baby, an anxious mother, a corporate junkie, an anarchist

fighting Muslim-hating Zionism.

Immigritude (is)

a falling leaf, slanted rays of sunlight at dusk, rainy days and overflowing gutters.

Immigritude (is)

a bitter tablet, ungainly cough syrup, dal chawal and an employment authorization card.

Immigrtidue (is)

a non-understanding of the world that we dust off like invisible particles;

explode into like titanium bulbs.

Immigritude (is) knowledge.

Immigritude (is) poverty.

Immigrtiude (is) Jackson Heights.

Immigritude (is) Kebob King.

Immigritude (is) INS detention.

Immigritude (is) life.

Immigritude (is) here.

Subuhi Jiwani is a freelance journalist and a prose-poet of Indian origin living in New York City.  Her journalistic work can be found at http://www.worldwar3report.com.