I was fascinated by teenagers having the luxury to learn from their mistakes, a world in which the only consequences of hanging out with the wrong crowd, taking up smoking, or making bad decisions as a result of peer pressure were grounding and detention. In my world, every move was carefully inspected for any traces of sin, usually by my parents but also by other Muslims from the mosque who felt compelled to keep an eye on me, just as my parents kept an eye on others’ children so that no one would go astray. On numerous occasions, kids from our mosque told my parents that I’d been spotted
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