The Daily OrangeColumn: Islamic American knows the damage ignorance can do
By Amy McKeever
Posted: 3/29/06, 12:37 AM EST Section: Opinion
Class had barely started, and Khadija Mehter was in pain. It was a political argument and reasoning class, and one of Mehter's classmates was presenting his view that racial profiling should be used to combat terrorism.
As Mehter, a Muslim, sat in the back of the room and listened to the presentation, she thought about the many men she knows who had been detained at airports and wrongly accused of crimes. She thought about her cousin, who once missed a flight because of racial profiling. Mostly, though, she thought about when the student was going to stop speaking because his words hurt too much to bear.
Mehter, a junior at Syracuse University, is a thin, serious and articulate woman with a soft voice. She wears a head scarf and modest clothing. Like other college students, she had difficulty choosing a major, switching from journalism to political science. Now she thinks she'd like to be an Islamic scholar in Malaysia.
Her parents are from Southeast Asia, but Mehter was born and raised in Syracuse - a fact that surprised a high school acquaintance who once complimented Mehter on her English skills.
She's gotten used to the fact that some students in her classes have negative views on Islam, but that made the student's presentation no less painful. To her, he was arguing that her government should continue to target her friends and family. It also hurt her to see a caricature of the prophet Muhammad - someone she believes is the most loving, merciful and humble man in history - wearing a turban fashioned to look like a bomb in newspapers across the world.
She knows Muhammad didn't even wear a turban.
Mehter says the cartoon is a sign of ignorance. People understand neither Islam nor what Muhammad means to the 1.5 billion Muslims in the world. The whole purpose of his life was to be an example of how to live for the rest of humanity. As for Mehter, Islam is not simply her religion; it is her way of life.
Islam is devoted to the same God as Christianity and Judaism, and is devoted to the same principles of love and mercy. Though these religions have their similarities, Mehter believes Islam is the least understood. Christianity is so prevalent in America that even non-Christians are aware that Jesus Christ is supposed to be associated with love and forgiveness. If a cartoon were to portray him as a terrorist, nobody would believe it. But non-Muslims might not know better than to believe Muhammad supported violence.
They also might not know why Mehter wears a head scarf. In fact, people with the best intentions question her choice to wear the head scarf, believing it to be a symbol of the oppression of Muslim women. In reality, though, it is simply a symbol of modesty. Mehter doesn't want pity for wearing a headscarf. On the contrary, she is more sympathetic toward the Muslim men she knows who are often subjected to racial profiling.
She fears the negative, ignorant image will come to dominate non-Muslims' view of Islam. If it does, it can only bring her more pain.
Back in the classroom, Mehter was troubled. If this one classmate believed in racial profiling, chances were good that several more agreed. Of course, she couldn't stop anyone from voicing their opinions. Still, it would be nice if people would remember their words might hurt the soft-spoken girl in the back of the class who loves to read and sleep and hates schoolwork as much as they do.
As Mehter, a Muslim, sat in the back of the room and listened to the presentation, she thought about the many men she knows who had been detained at airports and wrongly accused of crimes. She thought about her cousin, who once missed a flight because of racial profiling. Mostly, though, she thought about when the student was going to stop speaking because his words hurt too much to bear.
Mehter, a junior at Syracuse University, is a thin, serious and articulate woman with a soft voice. She wears a head scarf and modest clothing. Like other college students, she had difficulty choosing a major, switching from journalism to political science. Now she thinks she'd like to be an Islamic scholar in Malaysia.
Her parents are from Southeast Asia, but Mehter was born and raised in Syracuse - a fact that surprised a high school acquaintance who once complimented Mehter on her English skills.
She's gotten used to the fact that some students in her classes have negative views on Islam, but that made the student's presentation no less painful. To her, he was arguing that her government should continue to target her friends and family. It also hurt her to see a caricature of the prophet Muhammad - someone she believes is the most loving, merciful and humble man in history - wearing a turban fashioned to look like a bomb in newspapers across the world.
She knows Muhammad didn't even wear a turban.
Mehter says the cartoon is a sign of ignorance. People understand neither Islam nor what Muhammad means to the 1.5 billion Muslims in the world. The whole purpose of his life was to be an example of how to live for the rest of humanity. As for Mehter, Islam is not simply her religion; it is her way of life.
Islam is devoted to the same God as Christianity and Judaism, and is devoted to the same principles of love and mercy. Though these religions have their similarities, Mehter believes Islam is the least understood. Christianity is so prevalent in America that even non-Christians are aware that Jesus Christ is supposed to be associated with love and forgiveness. If a cartoon were to portray him as a terrorist, nobody would believe it. But non-Muslims might not know better than to believe Muhammad supported violence.
They also might not know why Mehter wears a head scarf. In fact, people with the best intentions question her choice to wear the head scarf, believing it to be a symbol of the oppression of Muslim women. In reality, though, it is simply a symbol of modesty. Mehter doesn't want pity for wearing a headscarf. On the contrary, she is more sympathetic toward the Muslim men she knows who are often subjected to racial profiling.
She fears the negative, ignorant image will come to dominate non-Muslims' view of Islam. If it does, it can only bring her more pain.
Back in the classroom, Mehter was troubled. If this one classmate believed in racial profiling, chances were good that several more agreed. Of course, she couldn't stop anyone from voicing their opinions. Still, it would be nice if people would remember their words might hurt the soft-spoken girl in the back of the class who loves to read and sleep and hates schoolwork as much as they do.
Amy McKeever is a senior magazine journalism, French and history major. E-mail her at akmckeev@syr.edu or post your comments on dailyorangeblog.com.
