On twinning, Egyptians, radical terrorists and the practice of Islam in a paranoid society

“We love tricking people, and we have he same favorite color, and the same boys-”

Wait! Before we start, how are we going to differentiate you two on paper?

“Put Summer in italics.”

“Yeah, Sarah can be the ordinary one.”

Alright! To start, how much flak do you two get for being twins?

“People call us the wrong name all the time. They think we’re the same person.”

Can you ever tell what each other are thinking?

“I mean, yeah! Sometimes I can tell just by looking at her.”

What is she thinking right now?

“He caught you. …”

“I promise I can! It just has to be a specific moment.”

OK, you said something about tricking people. … Is there a good story there?

“She got me detention one time!”

“Oh yeah! One of our teachers thought that she was me, so Ms. Howson told me, ‘Sarah, you have detention,’ and I was like, ‘OK!’”

“We’ve also switched classes a few times.”

Sounds like you’re the same in a lot of ways. What do you think are your biggest differences?

“Well, I have a passion for human rights and justice, and she has more of a passion towards journalism. We’re both really into international and world issues.”

“And politics! Summer’s on the debate team, but I do a lot of moot court.”

Which one of you is more responsible?

“Me! I clean our room every frickin’ week! She doesn’t do anything. She just throws her stuff on the floor. There’s food everywhere.”

“But hey when it comes to like—”

“Uh, no. It’s me. You lose everything.”

So what’s Arabic school like?

“It’s torture! We go on Saturdays, and the principal? She loves us (I don’t know why). Anyway, our teachers know more Arabic than English, so that’s what they speak. It gets complicated because you’re trying to learn it when they can’t explain it.”

“Also, since we’re Egyptian, we have our own language. It’s still Arabic, but everything sounds different. We learn the proper version, but that’s not what our parents speak at home.”

Both your parents are from Egypt? Why did they move to the United States?

“My dad was married to my half-sister’s mom. So after they got divorced, he went back to Egypt because his family was there. That’s where he met our mom. They got engaged and then moved here!”

Sure, but why move to America?

“Why? Because it’s better here! Literally every person in Egypt believes that America is rich. They all believe it’s a better life.”

“But it’s also so stereotypical! Egyptians want women to do cleaning and men to do all the work … the ‘traditional way.’ They have this mindset that makes me really mad. Women can’t leave the house wearing this or that. They can’t be lawyers; they have to stay home and get married. Egypt is so messed up.

Have you ever been to Egypt?

“We went last year. I’m glad because we got to see our grandparents. They died within a week of each other. And we saw everyone else, too. Everyone lives in Egypt! And I know they’re proud of my dad because he’s doing really well right now. He works at Delta.”

“He drives pilots and flight attendants to the plane and stuff … And my mom sells tickets, so we get free flights to Egypt every year. And dad went to Italy, and my half-sister to London just for fun.”

So when did you move to Atlanta?

“Sixth grade, so 2011. Oh my God, I hate Georgia.”

Yeah? Why?

“People are so rude! If you’re going to talk to me, please nice manners. In California, everyone is so nice. Here, there’s no beach or anything close to your house.”

“Another thing I hate is that, since we’re Muslim, everyone… you know the France shooting? God, everyone makes jokes.”

What’s it like practicing Islam at Grady?

“Everyone thinks we’re terrorists! Remember that day we had a bomb threat, and people had to be thoroughly searched on the way in? The guy ripped my bag open! The next girl was really white and shy, and he barely unzipped hers.”

Do you think that people in Atlanta are less accepting?

“I think they’re ignorant. They don’t know anything about us. They think we’re practicing a violent religion, but ‘Islam’ literally means ‘peace!’ I think a lot of people get it from their parents.”

What do you think of radical Islamists?

“They’re not Muslim! They go against every rule in the Quran.”

“And nobody who is Muslim agrees with what they’re doing. They can’t call themselves Muslim. They’re just extremists, which you can find in every religion. I think they’re using Islam.”

Were you offended by the portrayal of Muhammad in France?

“Yeah, that was wrong to do, but I know that the cartoonist makes fun of every religion… and it’s his freedom of speech.”

“No one knows what he looked like, so it’s bad to show pictures. It offends us, but that doesn’t mean you can kill people! Everyone has freedom of speech.”

“It’s their problem what’s going to happen to them after life.”

Do you believe in life after death?

“I believe in my religion.”

“Let me explain this. It states that whe the world ends, everyone goes on a balance to see if they were a good person. You’re judged and put into one of seven heavens.”

Do you ever wear a hijab?

“I don’t really feel comfotable wearing it. I get criticized for that a lot when we’re in Egypt, but my mom says that it’s between you and God. When you feel that connection, you wear it. She couldn’t wear it when she first came here because it was right after 9/11, and people were shooting Muslims and atacking them.”

“We do pray, but you have to be clean. Everything must be washed three times before we pray, and we’re suposed to pray five times a day.”

So what do you want to do with your lives?

“I heard you’re supposed to do things outside school to get into college.”

“Like start an organization or something. We’re going to do that in Egypt. … Either help out an orphan shelter or start an organization beause our dad owns a hotel, and in Egypt, we have way more money than we have in America.”

And of course, I have to ask… favorite food?

“Burgers and pizza are good, but Arab food is the best. It tastes like home.”