The world of Ramadan and #CosmoCrush content hilariously collide on my computer screen. As I design this print, one tab is open to faith-based stories about the Al-Waladi sisters’ pilgrimage to Mecca, and another tab is filled with flirty photos of Ishaan Khatter.
I unapologetically move between both worlds. I chuckle at how this range is a good metaphor for my own life as I navigate my multi-layered identity as a Bangladeshi-American Muslim woman living in Dubai.
Our cover star Noor Stars also holds a hyphenated identity as an Iraqi-American Muslim entrepreneur. While I can’t relate to her childhood experience as a refugee, we connect instantly over the things that anchor us: working hard, keeping Allah close, and looking forward to fasting during Ramadan. I cannot walk in Oscar-winning Saja Kilani’s shoes as a Palestinian woman, but I know what it means to belong to a diaspora with a history of displacement and survival. And with Egyptian-American hip-hop artist Felukah, it’s New York City that binds us; we both credit the city for shaping our perspectives, our taste, and our artistic practices.
This issue is all about IDENTITY, those kinetic fragments that make us singular and distinguish our sense of self and expression. Some parts change, and others remain the same because our identities are dynamically shaped by our lived experiences and bearing witness to the realities around us. These facets are also the bridges between us. We are truly all interconnected.
Identity shapes everything. Ask Ameni Esseibi, who isn’t just riding horses but reclaiming her Tunisian and Muslim legacy through equestrian sport. Or Zayn Qahtani, the Bahraini artist excavating Gulf pasts to forge something entirely new. Identity cultivates both belonging and the audacity to be an outlier. Willow Smith is a maverick, outspoken about Black imagination and representation. Kosas founder Sheena Yaitanes built her brand around chakras and in solidarity with Palestine, carving her own lane in beauty.
As I toggle between internet tabs, one of my interns sees my screen and I begin to ramble. I end up oversharing about my romantic life. I blame my neurodivergency (with ADHD, succinct sentences are sometimes challenging). Thankfully, she speaks my language of neurodivergency. We pivot as I pull up Nadine El Roubi’s yearning playlist, curated exclusively for Cosmo. Our identities, while different and similar, are dancing.
We’re all in motion. Our identities are kinetic, shifting with every experience, every conversation, every tab we open. We toggle between worlds, languages, aesthetics, and versions of ourselves. We’re hyphenated and whole at once. We’re building the archive while living in real time. And in that constant change, that refusal to be static, we find each other.