Panel delves into ‘Being Muslim in America’

When Akram Khalifa learned he was coming to Emporia as a Fulbright Scholar, he pulled out a map to find the Midwestern location. Talking with colleagues, the Tunisian native became concerned that the area was predominantly Republican.

“I came here with a heavy burden of stereotyping,” said Khalifa, who teaches Arabic at ESU. “I was afraid, to be honest with you. My shock was the other way around. I’ve been here six months, and I haven’t felt for a second that I’ve been discriminated against.”

“My people warned me,” said Murad Moqbel, a CIS and business administration student from Yemen. “They told me, ‘Try to be careful. You might face attacks.’ When I came here, I found it very different. People accepted me as a Muslim.”

That’s always good for a community to hear, as were the other topics at “Being Muslim in America,” a panel discussion Wednesday in Visser Hall. Khalifa, Moqbel and three other Muslims, all ESU faculty or students, spoke with about 80 people about Islamic life in America.

Other panelists included Khaled Alshare, an associate professor in the accounting and CIS department from Jordan; Abdifitah Farah, from Somalia, who is studying marketing and psychology; and David Muhammad, a secondary education major who was born and raised in Kansas City, Mo.

Muhammad’s father converted to Islam as an 18-year-old. His mother is Christian. As an African-American, Muhammad finds himself explaining his heritage and religion.

“Emporia pretty much welcomed me with open arms as a Muslim,” Muhammad said. “Everybody’s pretty intuitive. They also ask a lot of questions.”

Alshare described the five tenets of the Islamic faith: testifying that Allah is the only God, praying, charity, a trek to Mecca, and fasting in the month of Ramadan. Muhammad said the Koran instructs Muslims to accept the Torah and the gospels, and to not chastise Jews or Christians. In Islam, Jesus is viewed as a prophet.

“We do accept Jesus. We do accept Moses. There’s just a difference in how we view Jesus,” Muhammad said.

The panel was asked if the rituals of Islam, such as disciplined prayer, are difficult to adhere to in America.

Muhammad said it takes a mental awareness to separate from friends for a few minutes to pray and then return. With his roommates, he may have to say, “‘Hey, you might have to cut the music off for maybe five minutes.’”

Khalifa assured the audience that the Muslim world sees a clear distinction between American people and American politics. He responded when the panel was asked what the problem was between Jews and Islam, saying it wasn’t between Judaism and Islam but between Israel and Palestine.

“Please, people, be careful,” Khalifa said. “Politics is politics, culture is culture, religion is religion. The line can be easily blurred. Politicians have used religion for territorial expansion. Politicians have used religion to manipulate the people, to meet personal needs and personal interests.”

The panel stressed that Islamic teachings do not condone terrorism and suicide bombings, and the vast majority of Muslims oppose the practice. To the disenfranchised, the misguided promise of reaching heaven by suicide can be alluring.

“They use Islam as a means for their goals and ends,” Moqbel said of politicians. “People who are desperate economically and have nothing to lose, they want to do something they believes will get them to heaven.”

The panel also openly discussed the role of women in the Muslim world.

Khalifa related a story told by Oprah Winfrey of a young female TV host in Saudi Arabia who was beaten by her husband. Oprah dubbed the tale an “Arabian nightmare.” Khalifa said the portrayal allowed the abused Saudi woman to become representative of all Saudi and Muslim women, as if all were abused – and, he pointed out, as if European or American women are never abused.

Addressing marriage, Muhammad said the quality he looked for in a future wife is someone who treats him with respect; though if she is Muslim, that would be a “huge” bonus. He also addressed the hijab, or headscarf, that Muslim women may choose to wear. By concealing herself from others, a woman is showing respect for herself and her body, reserving it for her husband alone. “There’s beauty in it, to me,” Muhammad said.

Much as there is in diversity.

Last Updated July 2, 2007>