2006年NPR美国国家公共电台十二月-The Right to Be Fully American

I believe in figuring out my own way to do things.
I believe in the power of numbers.
I believe in barbecue.
Well, I believe in friendliness¹.
I believe in mankind.
This I Believe.

For our Monday series, This I Believe, we’ve been inviting² you to contribute your statements of personal conviction. Well, today's is one of the nearly 20,000 submissions³ we've received. It’s from Yasir Billoo, a 28- year-old lawyer from Miami, Florida. Here is our series curator, independent producer, Jay Allison.

Sometimes, a belief becomes clear only when it is threatened. Yasir Billoo told us he’d never written this essay five years ago. It was 911, and then the national response to those events, that has forced him to realize the importance and fragility of his conviction. Here is Yasir Billoo with his essay for This I believe.

I am an American, unlike almost everyone here, I am also something else. I was raised to believe that America embraces all people from all faiths. But recently, that long-standing⁴ belief, along with both parts of my identity, have come under attack, and as an American Muslim of Pakistani descent, this attack is tearing me apart. Twice, I have sworn to a pope to protect the Constitution and the laws of this nation, once, when I became a citizen, and once when I became an attorney.

I live and work every day with the thought that this is my home. This is the place I can’t wait to get back to when I go overseas. I feel the same relief many of you do, standing in the customs' line and just hearing English again. It is the simple relief of coming home. But I am also a Muslim. I was born in a foreign land, my skin is not white, and I have facial hair even though it barely passes for a beard. Not only am I a Muslim when I pray my daily prayers, or when I fast during the month of the Ramadan , I am also a Muslim when I walk through airport security, or in the mall when I accidentally leave a bag of recent purchases unattended.

Every day, I have to introduce myself to new clients, judges and other attorneys, and actually think of how I can say my own name, so that it might sound less foreign, less threatening.

When I am in Pakistan, I found myself defending America, our way of life and our government’s policies. My Pakistani cousins are quick to point a finger at America for any world problems. And I push back to ask what the rest of the world has done that is so much better.

When I am in America, my beloved home, I find myself defending Islam, my beautiful religion. I tell people to envision me when they think of Muslims and Islam, not the terrorist mug shots they see on TV. When they can do that, I feel like an American, just like them. When they cannot, I feel like a foreigner.

The Koran teaches us that God created us from a single pair, and made us into nations and tribes, so that we may know each other, not so that we may despise each other. I am an immigrant, and I still believe in the basic right to be fully⁵ American and fully Muslim. But now I pray that America will keep me within its embrace.

Yasir Billoo with his essay for This I Believe. You are invited to write for our series and we hope you will consider doing it. To find out more and to read and hear all the essays, visit npr.org.

For this I Believe, I am Jay Allison.

Jay Allison is co-editor of the new book, This I Believe, the personal philosophies of remarkable⁶ men and women.

Support for This I Believe, comes from Capella University.

1 friendliness   

n.友谊，亲切，亲密

参考例句：

• Behind the mask of friendliness,I know he really dislikes me.在友善的面具后面，我知道他其实并不喜欢我。
• His manner was a blend of friendliness and respect.他的态度友善且毕恭毕敬。

2 inviting   

adj.诱人的，引人注目的

参考例句：

• An inviting smell of coffee wafted into the room.一股诱人的咖啡香味飘进了房间。
• The kitchen smelled warm and inviting and blessedly familiar.这间厨房的味道温暖诱人，使人感到亲切温馨。

3 submissions   

n.提交( submission的名词复数 )；屈从；归顺；向法官或陪审团提出的意见或论据

参考例句：

• The deadline for submissions to the competition will be Easter 1994. 递交参赛申请的截止时间为1994年的复活节。 来自辞典例句
• Section 556(d) allows the agency to substitute written submissions for oral direct testimony in rulemaking. 第五百五十六条第（四）款准允行政机关在规则制定中用书面提交材料替代口头的直接证言。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法

4 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

5 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

6 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。