It's not just my Emmy, it's yours: Riz Ahmed at Princeton University's Muslim Life Programme

Actor gets candid about his identity as a South Asian, to a sold-out audience

British actor, rapper and activist Riz Ahmed recently won the 2017 Emmy Award for ‘Outstanding Lead Actor’ for his role as Nasir Khan on HBO’s The Night Of, making him the first Muslim and Asian to win in this category.

At a Princeton University event, Riz spoke about his identity as a South Asian Muslim and how his individuality has formed his career. “Your unique story is going to form the basis of your unique contribution and I think, often when you don’t see yourself reflected back in popular culture, literary culture, visual arts, film, television, music, it’s very easy to think the specificity of your experience precludes you from participating in that conversation.”

“I think what people really connect with is the honesty of someone kind of sharing their truth, even if they can’t relate to the texture of their experience,” the Nightcrawler star continued.

The event began with a conversation with Riz and two 18-year old student moderators Robia Amjad and Anhar Karim, followed by a Q&A with the audience, reported The Daily Princetonian.

One question regarding the University’s support for minority students led Riz to draw on his personal experiences. The question touched on hiring professors from more diverse backgrounds, and offering more assistance in adjusting to the college environment.

“I do think that that feeling of being insider-outsider, someone who has access to different worlds and social circles but doesn’t fully belong to any one of them, is a sometimes confusing, sometimes lonely place to be, but it is also an incredibly fertile place,” Riz expressed.

A London resident, Riz attended Oxford University and initially struggled to find his place there. However, he described how this adjustment was eventually rewarding.

“Something that I’m not in favour of is everyone having their own designated enclave,” he said. “You know, where Muslim students just hang out with Muslim students.”

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He went on to explain how his interaction with diverse cultures has shaped his perception. “My own experience is that to be kind of pin-balled between different worlds, not fully belong to any of them, and to kind of live in this kind of no man’s land, has actually been — yeah, challenging, lonely at times, confusing ... but really a blessing,” he said.

Another area the conversation focused on was how Riz’s identity impacts his selection of roles and artistic projects. The actor explained that he has stopped trying to please everyone when making these kinds of choices. Instead, he asks himself two questions when considering a new project.

“‘What is the thing that I wish existed that doesn’t exist, and am I one of the people that can help bring it to existence?’ … You do that [ask those questions], it kind of cuts out most stuff [in the decision-making process],” said Riz. “That’s been a really helpful filter for me.”

This attitude has created a positive effect on Riz’s artistic style, helping him redefine what it means to be mainstream.

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“I don’t feel like I have to go out of my way to, like, ‘throw the fist up,’” he explained. “I feel like I just have to not apologise … or hide who I am. And I think in doing that, your job is done.”

Following Riz’s talk, audience members expressed gratitude at the privilege of hearing his insight, The Daily Princetonian further reported.

“It’s a special privilege to be able to engage [with] artists this way,” said Imam Sohaib Sultan, the University’s Muslim Life Coordinator and Chaplain. He also spoke about the importance of having guests like Riz at the University.

“As someone who directs the Muslim Life Programme, for me it’s about getting students to see the varied Muslim experiences across the world, so that when people go out in the world, whether they are in the arts or in academia or in policymaking, they understand that Muslims come from such different experiences,” he concluded.

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