The Red and Black

Issue date: 11/3/09 Section: Opinions

YONIS

I get stared at sometimes. Some people point. Others look at me with disgust. Most people are just curious.

I sometimes wonder if they really see me or if they see a stereotype - American-hating, oppressed and radical.

"How are y'all doing today?" I greet them, smiling brightly as I walk past them.

Their faces change - confusion, then a timid smile back. I guess I'm not what they expected.

They stare because I am a Muslim woman who wears a headscarf and am thus easily identifiable as a Muslim.

Nearly half of Americans report they do not personally know someone who is Muslim, according to the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life. That's easy for me to believe. And it's a fact I fear because ignorance allows misconceptions to fester and discrimination to grow.

I am the only Muslim many of my peers know well. My usually bright-colored scarf wrapped around my head is an external symbol of my faith. And because of my scarf, I represent Islam for many people.

I know I can't change every person's mind about Islam. Some people find comfort in their ignorance. But I can sure try.

Islam does not preach terrorism. Islam does not advocate for the oppression of woman. Muslims are not hateful people. And 1.57 billion of us are not out to get America.

Millions of Muslims are Americans of every color. Some lost their lives on Sept. 11, and others died defending this country. Muslims are among your teachers, neighbors, police officers and classmates.

But Muslims have had to suffer fear mongering, wiretapping, accusations and discrimination since that fateful day eight years ago.

"He is not Muslim. He is a good man," said South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham in an effort to defend President Obama during the campaign.

I wish I could tell him I am a good woman because Islam taught me what it means to be a good person.

The religion I practice is the reason I pray to God five times a day and cover my body for modesty. As a Muslim woman, I plan to correct injustices as a human rights lawyer because of my religion. I am confident because Islam teaches me I am equal to a man. And my faith gave me the right to education, personal wealth, voting and legal rights 1,400 years ago.

And just because the Taliban - an oppressive militant group - attempts to take away those rights from women in Afghanistan does not mean Islam oppresses women. Just ask the Muslim women who have served as presidents, leaders in parliament and heads of corporations in Muslim majority countries.

I know that even though someone - usually a woman - is sexually assaulted every two minutes and women earn less than men in a country that is predominately Christian does not mean Christianity oppresses women.

There are people with political agendas, usually in unstable and poor countries, that use their enormously distorted version of Islam as a front to legitimize their crimes. Their Islam doesn't legitimize their crimes, just as Christianity doesn't legitimize the bombings in Britain by Irish terrorists, many of whom are Catholics.

Some people who do not know better will argue there must be something inherently evil in the foundation of Islam. They point to the Taliban, Al-Qaida and Sept. 11. I point to the KKK, the Lord's Resistance Army's genocide in Uganda and abortion clinic bombings. I know the Ku Klux Klan and other "Christian" extremist groups and the hate they preach does not have a place in Christianity. I wish people would grant the same understanding for Islam.

The people who carry out terrorism in the name of Islam and the fear mongers who love to bash Muslims love to use partial verses with disregard to context and the rest of the verses that allow violence only in self-defense. And they must also have skipped over every verse that preaches justice, like this one.

"… [If] any one slew a person …it would be as if he slew the whole people: and if any one saved a life, it would be as if he saved the life of the whole people." [Al-Qur'an 5:32]

I have learned the only way to dispel misconceptions about Islam is to allow people to get to know me, ask me questions about Islam and hopefully realize most Muslims are not the caricatures drawn by pundits on TV.

I have friends of differing faiths who have defended Muslims against false or hateful comments. Why? Because they know through their experiences with me and other Muslims that those comments are not true.

I hope if you have questions about Islam you pick up a copy of the Quran from the library or read one online that provides English translations and explanations of verses. You can check out www.whyislam.org or www.uga.edu/Islam and come to a Muslim Student Association event on campus.

Or if you see me around campus, say hi. I would love to talk.

-Yasmin Yonis is a junior from Lawrenceville majoring in newspapers and international affairs.

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