Zak Ebrahim
Choosing Peace Is an Option... I probably seem to others like an ordinary twenty-eight-year-old. I have hobbies that others enjoy, like playing poker and watching hockey or football. I spend most Thursday nights watching 30 Rock and Parks and Recreation. I also love to cook…maybe too much! For years, I have hidden who I am, for fear of being judged for my father's actions. I also fear the death threats all my family members have received. Those people I have chosen to share my secret with were supportive. They couldn't believe that, in spite of my past, I was still a good person. The truth is, several people have impacted my life to make me become this more tolerant person than others might expect. Last, but certainly not least, Jon Stewart also had a major influence on my attitudes. Yes, I’m talking about the host of The Daily Show. I started watching him when I was only fifteen. Jon Stewart taught me more about the world than many of my so-called “authority figures” did. Stewart kept me intellectually honest when I tried to justify bigoted lessons I had been taught as a teen. He also taught me the importance of staying true to my own convictions, while making it cool to care about and understand what was happening in our world. Looking back, I would have to say he was a sort of father figure to me when I so desperately needed one. It’s been ten years and I am still a huge fan. In the past, I participated in peace marches and anti-war rallies, all the while knowing I had the means to make more of an impact. I ruminated on the fact that few people have the ability to make the kind of difference I could make, if only I could get past my fear. Before long, I could no longer ignore that the best way to help others would be to expose myself. It has taken me years to feel I was ready to take the next step and go public. And so, here I am, and here you are on my website. I’m glad you came. I hope that, in telling my life story, I can show others that no one is doomed to choosing a path of violence. I believe the most effective way to share this story is through personal appearances, in which people can see me in the flesh – just a regular guy struggling with extraordinary circumstances – trying like them to be the best person I can be. My lectures demonstrate, on a very human level, that even those surrounded by hate and under its influence can still choose to live a life of true dedication, meaning and integrity through peaceful means.
The first was my stepfather, who taught me as a child to hate. Ironic, isn’t it? It was not my father who taught me to stereotype or to hate others different from us -- it was my stepfather. He was constantly railing against any religion or lifestyle he felt was not up to his moral standard. My stepfather only observed the major tenets of Islam when among other Muslims. His interpretation of Islam -- if you could even call it that -- was totally irrational, and went against the actual teachings of Islam itself. In some ways, my stepfather’s hypocrisy and racism saved me. As I grew and was exposed to diverse groups of people, I saw clearly that my stepfather’s beliefs were bigoted.
Secondly, my mother had an impact. When I confronted her with my new worldview, she gave me the validation and support I needed to shift my perspective away from the twisted, hate-filled bias I’d been taught.
My decision to come out of the closet as the child of a member of a hated terrorist group and to tell my story has not been an easy one. I know, though, that it is the right one.