Obaid Siddiqui

Jamil Al-Amin, then H. Rap Brown, addressing the crowd in Cambridge, Md., on July 24, 1967, prior to a dilapidated school being burned down. Photo: CorbisAt the modern intersection of Islamophobia and the Black Lives Matter movement resides Jamil Al-Amin (formerly H.

“The caravan was wandering eastwards, lost in a dream. The train was pushing westwards along its iron rails, mindless and mechanical. Why did I not raise my hand to pull the communication cord? This was where I belonged, to the camels, to the men leading them, to the sand! What was it to me, this world behind the mountains? These Europeans with their wars, their cities, their Czars, Kaisers and Kings?

It’s that time of year again. This feeling of unease, which usually settles in around the middle of August, morphs into apprehension then dread as the 9/11 anniversary approaches. Each year seems to have a central theme — a flood of forgotten memories bubbling to the surface, new connections, revelatory insights. The close proximity to Hajj this year caused me to examine my personal journey as a firefighter and arson investigator in the New York City Fire Department (FDNY).