Mix Beyond Mamaks!
im.prof endeavours to develop young writers who will form an intellectual society. Along this line, we welcome the youth to submit opinion pieces and articles that are internally reviewed for suitability of publication while retaining the originality and opinions of the writers.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any members of im.prof
“In my opinion, there remains a strong tendency among IM teenagers and young adults to steer towards socialising exclusively with other IM. ”
As an Indian Muslim (IM) expatriate having lived in Dubai, Singapore and the United Kingdom - there are a few key similarities I have noticed among the IM youth in these contexts. Although it is easy to generalise regarding any social group, these observations stem from my experiences interacting with a relatively wide variety of IM youth. A reasonably predictable pattern is seen in India, Dubai and Singapore regarding our behaviour.
In my opinion, there remains a strong tendency among IM teenagers and young adults (an age at which we develop a sense of self-awareness and can make our own decisions independently of our parents’ guidance), to steer towards socialising exclusively with other IM. Although there are several reasons as to why this phenomenon occurs (familiarity, ease of access and shared spaces to list a few), the disadvantages of this insular approach become increasingly visible in an alien context.
Primarily, it is easier for IM in Dubai or Singapore to exclusively maintain a connection with other IM due to the larger presence of the diaspora in these cities. However upon migrating to the United Kingdom, I have realised the benefits that would have come with immersing myself within a more cosmopolitan context (especially considering the ease of accessing a diverse set of cultures and backgrounds within a city like Singapore). It was a sobering realisation that halfway through my university experience, I had interacted with dozens more Chinese, Malay and Arab individuals than I did while living in Singapore or Dubai. Although no one in particular is to blame, I would have deeply appreciated a nudge in that direction by a family member or teacher, of talking to more varied roster of people.
“We tend to lose the ability to communicate effectively or hold difficult conversations when we are never confronted with the necessity to explain our culture and values. ”
My education during the last 6 years of schooling was conducted within an exclusively Indian context. Although parents, and perhaps youth as well, may highlight the benefits that come from having a socially and culturally similar environment in which to educate their children - there are few oversights that come from this approach. We tend to lose the ability to communicate effectively or hold difficult conversations when we are never confronted with the necessity to explain our culture and values.
Perhaps if I had not arrived in the UK, I never would have had to reflect upon the entirely different social construction of the family unit for an IM as compared to a white British individual. It took me several months to confront the more informal relationship that students maintain in addressing their lecturers or professors as compared to what I was used to within a stricter Indian setting. Not only does engaging with individuals of foreign cultural backgrounds from an early age desensitise us to the differences that exist in the world, but also allows us to place ourselves in the shoes of those unlike us.
With international students living within an echo chamber in many Western educational institutions, it is important to be reflexive of our class, race and religious positionality in a room full of people from different backgrounds. This self-awareness allows us to gain an understanding of other lifestyles and values rather than immediately demonising them as different and & other.
There remains an immense amount of untapped potential that IM in Singapore can benefit from. Engaging with culturally dissimilar individuals doesn’t imply becoming more modern; or irreligious but rather understanding how and why others hold the beliefs they do. Having a respect for these differences also makes us more level-headed when disagreeing with an alternate viewpoint or opinion rather than forming discriminatory arguments based on preconceived notions. As a student of politics in the varsity, I believe it is necessary for me to be nuanced with the arguments I make, based not only in fact but also contextual awareness. Realising the biases I may hold as a result of a specific upbringing, and reflecting on the fact that others may not value the same things I do would have been a useful skill to gain at an earlier age.
“Engaging with culturally dissimilar individuals doesn’t imply becoming more modern; or irreligious but rather understanding how and why others hold the beliefs they do. ”
Having access to South Asian Muslims within the UK was comforting, knowing that there was a group that I could always relate to and readily engage with. That knowledge however, also pushed me to expand my social horizons and seek out, either consciously or subconsciously, those who were different from me in an effort to understand the world more holistically. I would like to think that I have become more aware of the privilege afforded to me as an international student being able to come to the UK to study. I didn’t have to confront the relative minority status that I held in Singapore as a Tamil Muslim as a result of my narrow frame of reference, although this is a wider social situation I would have preferred to have been more politically informed on.
“Although the initial conversations may be awkward or slightly difficult to trudge through, the benefit that comes from gaining a deeper worldly understanding are unparalleled. ”
One recommendation I would make to Singaporean students, and particularly Singaporean IM, is to step out of your comfort zones and engage with people different to you. Although the initial conversations may be awkward or slightly difficult to trudge through, the benefit that comes from gaining a deeper worldly understanding are unparalleled. Considering the constant access we have to individuals that are similar to us, be it through the friends we have from our childhood days or our family - it is within large and diverse institutions such as universities that we truly get access to the full spectrum of the world’s identities. One way of changing our insular mindset would be to routinely engage ourselves with those socially, economically and culturally different from us in a meaningful (rather than tokenistic) way.
im.prof endeavours to develop young writers who will form an intellectual society. Along this line, we welcome the youth to submit opinion pieces and articles that are internally reviewed for suitability of publication while retaining the originality and opinions of the writers.
This article is contributed by Maazin Buhari, a Politics, Economics and Social Sciences student at the University Of Edinburgh.