Deterring Islamophobia

Note: This article originally appeared in the April 11, 2013 issue of The Pan American. The Pan American was the student newspaper at my former university, The University of Texas - Pan American, where I got into writing. Ultimately, TPA was shut down as a result of a merger with neighboring university to make way for The University of Texas - Rio Grande Valley and the new student publication did not transfer anything from TPA. Here's one of my articles for them that was saved thanks to the miracle of Google Docs.

Aarosa Sardar of Swat, Pakistan, wants to get one thing straight about Islam.

“A huge misconception is that suicide bombers and people like them are Muslims, but they’re not. The message of Islam is peace and love,” she said. “Extremists like that do not follow the word of Islam, and are therefore not Muslims.”

Sardar is vice president of The Muslim Students’ Association, an organization that interacts with UTPA students to represent the Muslim community. Their mission is to dissuade Islamophobia by educating students on Muslim people, their religion of Islam and how it affects everyday life.

According to the BBC, Muslims are followers of Islamic faith. Muslims are monotheistic and believe that Jesus is not the son of God, or Allah, but another prophet such as Abraham and Muhammad. Their holy book is the Qu’ran, which is believed to be the final record of the message that had already been given to Abraham, Moses, Jesus and other earlier prophets by God.

Laraib Safeer is the current president of the organization.

“We’re currently working on getting more members and getting the word out about us,” said the biology major from Pakistan. “There’s about seven regular members here. We’re an open group, no one has to be Muslim to join us.”

One of MSA’s regular members is Muhammad Sulaiman Rashid, who sees the organization as a way for members to help them identify themselves.

“It’s practical for Muslims to come together to sort out issues in a culture unlike their own,” the 20-year-old biology major said in an email interview. “We can use MSA as a vehicle to educate the public about what Islam truly is, a valuable goal in a post 9/11 world.”

The Association holds events like Q&A tablings once a month where the organization discusses several MSA related topics with students. Before Safeer was elected president this semester, the MSA focused on holding big events, such as a speaker series whose guests came to events and discussed Islamic topics.

After seeing how much students interacted at the Q&A’s, Safeer came up with the idea to hold monthly tablings as a way to educate people about Islam.

“There’s a lot of media coverage about Muslims, but people don’t seem to have an idea about what being Muslim is,” Safeer said. “We get asked a lot of basic questions, ranging from why we wear hijabs (head scarves that Muslim women traditionally wear), to personal questions about our beliefs. We’re helping them understand what being a Muslim is.”

In meetings, the organization discusses fundraisers and events, such as an upcoming tabling that will be held April 16; at this, members will display hijabs and allow students to try them on and learn why they’re worn as a sign of modesty.

Aside from reaching out to UTPA students, the MSA also works with the Muslim community outside of UTPA with activities such as game or movie nights in the Edinburg mosque, or place of worship, located on Jackson Road.

The Muslim Students’ Association meets noon every Thursday in Room 3.212 in the Science Building.