Maryam Karga-Hinds’ Islamic dress often draws curious stares as she goes about her business in Barbados.
But her firm conviction about the faith in which she grew up makes her comfortable in her skin and dress. She was born into a Muslim family in a predominantly Islamic region of Northern Nigeria, though the formative years between ages four and 11 were spent in the confines of a convent.
“I went to the convent at a time when missionaries and people who were bringing Christianity to Nigeria, especially the part that was predominantly Muslim, came with their schools and they came with their hospitals and in most cases you would not be allowed into the hospital or the school unless you convert to their religion. So you found that a lot of us would have grown up coming from Islamic backgrounds and going into a Christian setting.”
In the convent she would have recited many a “Hail Mary” and the Apostle’s Creed.
But once out, she reverted to Islam, unlike some members of her highly educated family who “fell victim to western education”
In soft tones Maryam spoke about her own struggle with the two religions in those years, and the internal conflict. “At a latter age I did not want to give up on my Islam. If you asked me what I believed in I would tell you I believe in Christianity and I believe in Islam.”
There did however come a point when she rationalized “you can’t be both.” Exposure to Christian teachings in a convent after coming from a Muslim background and practising Islam gave rise to conflict.
“I asked myself, ‘Am I betraying Jesus if I left Christianity and become Muslim?”
She turned to the Koran for answers and found “the more I read it the more I was convinced this is for me”.
Life in Barbados would again see her making adjustments related to her Islamic beliefs, as she said “there was a time in my life here in Barbados that I was so tired of people asking me questions [about by her style of dress] that I actually started to look like everybody else . . . . I stopped donning my Muslim garbs.”
But a traumatic experience with the sudden death of a member of her staff would force her to reflect on what she truly believed. It drove her back into the abaya (long Muslim dress) and hijab (head scarf) and to the teachings of the Koran.
“This is my identity and this is who I am accustomed to,” she told herself. Memories of the modesty in dress among both Islamic and Christian women in Northern Nigeria during her upbringing and the reverence associated with worship were also strong factors influencing that decision.
Though her friends may not have been happy with the decision, Maryam resolved, “You have to be true to yourself . . . . I decided that Islam and Christianity have a lot in common but my convictions are more towards Islam.”
As a 17-year-old medical student at Ahmadu Bello University in Nigeria, she had a disturbing experience with a cadaver that caused her to make a shift to pharmacy studies. With a bachelor’s degree under her belt, she went to Chelsea College, University of London, to pursue a master’s in pharmacology. She gained her doctorate at the University of London’s Kings College.
It was in London that a Barbadian man and a Nigerian doctor’s paths would cross. Her subsequent marriage to that Barbadian brought her to Barbados, to the job as the head of the Barbados Drug Service and to a new experience.
“In Barbados it was a little bit confusing for me mentally because here was I in a place where there are a majority of black people like myself, yet we were so different and because of my upbringing, coming from a Muslim part of Nigeria, it was a total culture shock.”
Nonetheless, faces she spotted on the street as she walked around Barbados reminded her of home.
“I would see people that I want to call them by name – they look so familiar, like people at home [in Nigeria].”
Seeing her Muslim dress, curious children ask, “Are you an Indian?” The mother of four answers them as best as she can. It is not as easy however to respond to the insensitivity of some adults. After the 2001 bombing of the World Trade Centre in New York, when Muslims around the world immediately began to be viewed negatively by many, someone even questioned the wisdom of having this Muslim woman head the Barbados’ Drug Service . . . to her face!
But as she reflected on such encounters, in a soft tone Maryam told Easy, “It does not stop me from doing what I have to do.
“I firmly believe that we are all the same; it does not matter what you are following. I think I am Muslim because of my background and how I was raised and I believe that a Christian is a Christian because of their background and the way they are raised. But at the end of the day I think the purpose is the same.
“I don’t believe that because you are Christian, you are going to Heaven; I don’t believe that because you are Muslim you are going to go to Paradise. Only God is the judge.”
This approach informs the harmonious relationship she enjoys with the predominantly Christian staff at the Barbados Drug Service. As director for the past 17 years, she strives to ensure the efficiency of the service within the scope of her mandate.
“With the work that I do, I feel it is a service, an opportunity God has given me to serve and I am happy to serve.”
The wee hours of the morning could find her on the road making an emergency trip from the airport in the line of duty, her only concern being that she is doing something to save a life.
Though the job carries a heavy responsibility, Maryan is sustained by her faith.
She keeps her prayer mat neatly folded close by her desk, only a arm’s length away, reaching for it on those days she cannot make it to the mosque.
