Actor Aly Mawji of popular HBO series Silicon Valley, talks with India West.
“I realized that they also struggled with this thing that they’re ethnically Indian and culturally,” Mawji told India-West, “but they’re also culturally East African and Ismaili,” a branch of Shia Islam. […] He said now he feels more connected to the Indian and Ismaili communities.
SAN LEANDRO, Calif. The “Silicon Valley” actor told India-West that, though he is ethnically Indian, he doesn’t have the same cultural background as most other Indians in America and Canada since his parents were born and raised in Tanzania.
“My dad told me about this time he went to Morocco with my mom and this kid on the street asked him ‘Are you Indian?’ and he said, ‘No, I’m from Tanzania,’” Mawji recalled with a laugh.
Mawji said the first time his parents visited India was about 10 years ago. The actor said his parents were among the South Asians who were told to leave East Africa in the 1960s, and spent their lives “trying to find (a place) where they could build a home and a family and a life.”
His parents tried settling in various different locations, including Des Moines, Iowa, where he was born, and Toronto and Vancouver where he was primarily raised.
Ismailimail 