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A review by rainyrambles
We Have Always Been Here: A Queer Muslim Memoir by Samra Habib
5.0
Full disclosure that I am most definitely biased in this rating as a queer Muslim, and it has also been some time since I read this book.
I remember figuring out I was bisexual and finding myself really struggling with what looked like a dichotomy: being queer and Muslim is impossible.
But then one day I stumbled across Samra Habib’s memoir, and it was the very first time I saw a book written by a person who was like me, and instead of choosing one over the other, it’s very clear she holds both identities close
The book brought out all sorts of emotions within me, ranging from sadness, to happiness, to laughter. Habib taking about her mother proudly introducing her daughter was one example that made me smile and tear up a little. Or instances where she found other queer Muslims like her, because as the title says, we have always been here and we aren’t going anywhere anytime soon. I think it beautifully provides a picture of how some people with this identity experience the world.
It’s been a while since I fully read the memoir, so my recalling of specific scenes is a little vague, but what I can say with certainty is that this book has and definitely will hold significant meaning in my journey of reconciling two identities most of the world deem impossible to put together
We Have Always Been Here is a book that is not only amazing, but necessary. It’s amazing that Habib was able to put this into the world and I’m only one of many examples of young queer people that have been influenced in some way by this memoir.
I remember figuring out I was bisexual and finding myself really struggling with what looked like a dichotomy: being queer and Muslim is impossible.
But then one day I stumbled across Samra Habib’s memoir, and it was the very first time I saw a book written by a person who was like me, and instead of choosing one over the other, it’s very clear she holds both identities close
The book brought out all sorts of emotions within me, ranging from sadness, to happiness, to laughter. Habib taking about her mother proudly introducing her daughter was one example that made me smile and tear up a little. Or instances where she found other queer Muslims like her, because as the title says, we have always been here and we aren’t going anywhere anytime soon. I think it beautifully provides a picture of how some people with this identity experience the world.
It’s been a while since I fully read the memoir, so my recalling of specific scenes is a little vague, but what I can say with certainty is that this book has and definitely will hold significant meaning in my journey of reconciling two identities most of the world deem impossible to put together
We Have Always Been Here is a book that is not only amazing, but necessary. It’s amazing that Habib was able to put this into the world and I’m only one of many examples of young queer people that have been influenced in some way by this memoir.