The word “Muslim” tends to carry a lot of weight in our post-9/11 western society. When taken out of context, its utterance alone can spark confusion, hostility and fear.

Sacramento State students have differing views on the topic.

Senior history major David Moyer said his two years fighting in Iraq as a soldier had somewhat tainted his view on Muslims. He expressed his first thoughts when hearing the word.

“Apathy,” Moyer said. “The majority of the people (in Iraq) just didn’t care what happened to anybody else. All they cared about was what happened to their immediate family. I met people over there that said they didn’t care that Saddam (Hussein) was killing all these other people because they weren’t members of their family. And that just seemed like the prevailing attitude through most of the country.”

Moyer said he was not very familiar with Muslim Americans, however. He said he had trouble relating to a culture he did not fully understand.

“I think part of my issue maybe just looking at things from an American perspective and seeing the way people act, I don’t completely understand it,” Moyer said. “So I may be confused within my part and I may not be completely understanding how they see things. It’s tough to do – looking at other countries and looking at other civilizations. It’s hard changing your perspective to understand what they’re coming from.”

Moyer said he could imagine the kinds of struggles Muslim American students have to deal with on a daily basis.

“It’s probably pretty difficult being a Muslim student considering what mainstream America sees about Muslims in the news,” Moyer said. “All you think about is 9/11 or the Boston bombings. That’s what people think about. So it must be pretty difficult.”

Sacramento State has the Muslim Students’ Association to clear the haze and educate us about what being a Muslim actually entails.   

Sac State’s Muslim Students’ Association is a student-run organization on campus that “provides Sacramento State University students with the opportunity to come together in a supportive Muslim environment and seeks to educate the Sacramento and neighboring communities about Islam.”

The State Hornet sat down with six Muslim Students’ Association members who shared their stories and thoughts on stigmas, prejudices and misrepresentations in the media surrounding Islam.

The members spoke about the Boston bombings, Sac State campus initiatives, technological uses in prayer and customs tied to Islam that are often misunderstood.

 

Boston:

 

In light of the April 15 Boston Marathon bombings and after learning the suspects were fueled by Islamic extremist beliefs, senior liberal studies major Sonia Leon Guerrero said terrorism incidents give people a false sense of Islam and the Muslim community.

 “We do not condone that. That is not who we are. That’s not what we are about,” Guerrero said. “A lot of Muslims will tell you that it’s not right. What happened – we’re totally against it.”

Guerrero said a possible reason for such extreme actions could lie in a person’s environment and upbringing.

“I’m not justifying what they’re saying – please, don’t get me wrong – or accepting it,” Guerrero said. “They come from war-torn countries – they live it. We, (in America), can’t even fathom – we can’t even touch what they go through. I’m thinking it’s part of what they go through in their (countries).”

Senior child development major Zina Pasha added that Muslims with extreme Islamic views are seen as misguided in the Islamic practices and beliefs.

“Islam is all about moderation. So, for us, that’s not even like Islamic,” Pasha said. “That’s actually like a mental disorder for them to be like that. They think they’re helping the rest of the Muslims – that’s their sort of sacrifice for God. For us, we all know – like normal Muslims – that’s not what we’re supposed to do Islamically.”

Another Muslim Students’ Association member, junior biochemistry major Sidrah Khan, said she thought the media was too quick to slap on a stereotypical Middle Eastern terrorist image on the Boston bombing suspects when CNN anchor John King prematurely announced one of those suspects was a dark-skinned male.

She said although the Tsarnaev brothers did end up being associated with Islam, the media’s coverage and portrayal of the tragedy and its aftermath negatively affected her and other Muslims’ image.

“When the (Boston) bombing happened, yeah one of the brothers was involved in (Islam),” Khan said. “Just because of one person, they’re basing that on all the Muslims. And I don’t think that’s right.”

Khan said some of her friends had poked fun at her for being Muslim when the bombings happened. She said they – like a lot of people – did not see the harm in seemingly innocent jokes.

“I think they have just the wrong perspective of us, Khan said. “Like when the bombing happened, I had a lot of friends who would just joke around and I think a lot of people experience that. As a joke, ‘Oh yeah, your people did that.’ I know they’re saying it as a joke, but I still take (offense).I really get offended on that.”

Khan went on to say that while the Boston bombings were quickly labeled as terrorist attacks, the Connecticut Sandy Hook Elementary shooting was not categorized in the same way even though it saw more victims.

“(Sandy Hook) happened and they called the guy psycho – that he had a mental disorder,” Khan said. “But I mean, at the same time, why is this called terrorism just because he’s Muslim, you know?”

The Merriam-Webster dictionary website defines terrorism as a systematic use of terror especially as a means of coercion.

 

 Technology and 

misunderstanding:

 

The Boston bombings are only one ingredient in a recipe of intolerance and ignorance that still lingers today.

People sometimes forget to filter themselves when such a tragedy occurs.

Sophomore business major and current vice president of the Muslim Students’ Association Khadija Hersi said there was an incident on campus soon after the bombings that made her feel embarrassed and angry.

Because of an iPhone application she uses as an alert for prayer, she was mocked in one of her classes.

 She said the alert application called Athan – more commonly known as adhan – went off during one of her classes recently to remind her it was time for prayer.

 The adhan is a call to prayer that is recited five times a day serving as a reminder for Muslims.

 Usually heard over loud speakers at a mosque, many Muslim Students’ Association students use technology to alert them of the five prayer times.

 A fellow classmate of Hersi made a rude comment about the alert and left her in silence.

 “Sometimes I forget that I have it on. Usually it just notifies me,” Hersi said. “And you’re not supposed to quiet it down out of respect. It went off, and I’m proud of my religion. I’m in good standing. And so this kid in my class, he made this comment where he’s like basically, ‘That sounds like it should have been in a scary movie.’…I didn’t know how to react.”

 Sophomore math major Mohammed Mikbel said prayer was an essential part of Islam. He said it was a practice that refocused an individual on his or her priorities spiritually.

 “It kind of sets your (priorities) straight. It gives your life a schedule,” Mikbel said. “You can be busy partying all day or doing whatever – messing around. But you have a fixed schedule – like OK, it’s time for me to pray. Then I can do my worldly stuff. I can do whatever I want. So pretty much, you have your life set – you have your priorities set. Your life is set. And you go according to your belief.”

Seeing how important prayer is in Islam, Hersi understandably let the adhan tone play on.

What Hersi’s classmate heard might have been foreign to him, but the meaning behind the words themselves is holy.

The lyrics to the adhan are as follows:

 Allahu Akbar (x4)

Ashhadu an la ilaha illa Allah (x2)

Ashadu anna Muhammadan Rasool Allah (x2)

Hayya ‘ala-s-Salah (x2)

Hayya ‘ala-l-Falah (x2)

Allahu Akbar (x2)

La ilaha illa Allah

 According to about.com, the translation reads as:

 God is Great (x4)

I bear witness that there is no god except the One God (x2)

I bear witness that Muhammad is the messenger of God (x2)

Hurry to the prayer (x2)

Hurry to success (x2)

God is Great (x2)

There is no god except the One God

“That’s basically how it’s said, but you’ll hear different melodies and different sounds,” Guerrero said. “You’ll hear it like very melodic or some very short like his. That’s just basically what it is.”

Hersi said she felt like she could not voice her opinion or express her frustration with her classmate because of how she would have been perceived by the rest of the class.

“I know after the whole tragedy, you’d see Muslims in a different light – how the media is portraying us,” Hersi said. “But, at the same time, I felt like if I said something out of that moment I would have been like that angry Muslim girl. So out of respect for myself and my fellow Muslims, I didn’t want to give him a reason to call me crazy. So when people say things like that, I’m the bigger person. He’s ignorant – he doesn’t know.”

Psychology graduate student Nazia Khan agreed that Muslims often have to hold back their anger against ignorant statements.

“It ends up being like we can’t say it,” Nazia Khan said. “We say it and we’re labeled; ‘Oh, that’s the aggressive girl. Muslims are like that.’ That’s why we have – as an Islamic club – events with Christian clubs, Jewish clubs; and that’s our goal – to bring that focus.”

 Muslim Students’ Association initiatives for awareness and education:

During the fall semester of 2008, a fast-a-thon was held at Sac State within the month of Ramadan, which is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar observed as a time to cleanse the body and spirit.

The fast-a-thon gave students, faculty and staff a chance to fast for a full day and experience what Muslims go through every day, once a month, each year.

Participants were paired up with a Muslim Students’ Association member who acted as their coach who reminded them to keep all foods, fluids and toxins out of their bodies for practically an entire day.

During Ramadan, Muslims only eat once before sunrise and once after sunset.

“We wake up early in the morning before sunrise and we call them up and we’re like, ‘Hey you know what, wake up. Eat something,’” Nazia Khan said. “And then when the sun sets we’re like, ‘Come on, join us. Eat something.’ I had one of (my) friends (do) it. She did it with me last year, and I caught her smoking. I was like, ‘You can’t smoke!’”

 Hersi said another fast-a-thon has not taken place since then because Ramadan is in accordance with the lunar calendar and falls under different months each year.

In 2009 and 2010, Ramadan fell during the beginning of the CSU school year.

Hersi said a possible reason another fast-a-thon has not been done again might lie in the fact the Muslim Students’ Association has had difficulties with activity and members in the past three years.

She said people have just recently started to get more involved.

“To be honest, over the years the club has faced its ups and downs in activity and members. This is normal in all organizations,” Hersi said. “2009-2010 could (have) been a period when the Muslim Students’ Association wasn’t doing so well. Just recently (in) 2011, we started becoming really active on campus and in the community by having weekly meetings – halaqa (open discussions) – and inviting local leaders in the Muslim community as guest speakers.”

The Muslim Students’ Association also hosts social and charitable events throughout the year including open mic nights, barbecues, fundraisers and banquets.

Perhaps not known to the average student, the Muslim Students’ Association also responsible for the prayer and meditation room on the second floor of the Union.

In the Spring of 2012, the club petitioned for it to be designated for prayer and meditation since they did not have a place for it on campus.

The prayer and meditation room was then built that same summer.

Hersi said she could remember when there was not a prayer room available and how difficult it had been to find places to pray properly.

 “It was so bad that I prayed in my car, in the parking lot or in the library or this and that,” Hersi said. “We should feel like if the university has all these resources, maybe they can have a place that students – when they’re on campus – have a place to go.”

 Hersi said other students might not realize how new this room is and how often it is used.

 “It’s a really useful room – not (just) for Muslims but (for) everybody,” Hersi said.

Students can be seen in the prayer and meditation room praying, meditating, doing yoga or simply resting.

 

 Final thoughts 

and understanding:

 

The Muslim Students’ Association wanted to leave with a message of openness and acceptance.

If there are aspects about Islam that any student or citizen does not understand and would like clarified, the Muslim Students’ Association says just ask.

They are more than happy to explain anything and everything they can.

“I feel like if people have questions or concerns, it never hurts to ask,” Hersi said. “I find it really enlightening when people (ask), ‘Why do you pray or why do you cover?’”

Guerrero said people should get the facts on Islam before jumping to conclusions about Muslims.

She said rather than rely on the media or non-Muslims for information about Islam, people should learn from those practicing and get different perspectives even among Muslims.

“For them to comment or say anything or want to know about Islam, they should learn it from us – us Muslims and people that are Muslims,” Guerrero said. “And hear it from different Muslims because we do have (a range). Islam is so broad…You have those extremists and you have ones that don’t practice. But Allah tells us to stay in the middle. That’s the best to be, is in the middle. Do not be too extreme and not too relaxed either.”