‘I don’t see why I should apologise for someone else’s crimes’ | The Muslim NewsThe Muslim News
By Masuma Rahim
Patriotism is a concept I have always struggled with. Loyalty to a country on the basis that you were born or lived there has always made me uncomfortable. I think any kind of unwavering loyalty is bordering on the foolish. The only loyalty that matters is loyalty to your values. With that mindset, you retain the full right to criticise and object and all those things one should be able to do in a democracy. But of course it’s not quite that simple.
I was born in Britain and part of me is proud of this nation and the things it has achieved. After the horrors of war, it built the welfare state. It took refugees (including my family) when few other states would. It educated me and thousands like me and provided us with opportunities we wouldn’t have had in our lands of origin. Despite my issues with patriotism I am proud to be British and I owe this country a great deal. I may well be prouder of my citizenship than many of my fellow Britons. The problem is I don’t look very British. And because I don’t look British, I’m not always treated as though I am.
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