In Honor of a Great & Wise Man: Malcolm X (El Hajj Malik El-Shabaz)

"Nobody can give you freedom. Nobody can give you equality or justice or anything. If you're a man, you take it."

I never learned about Malcolm X in school. His name was brought up once or twice, always followed by stern adjectives. If it were up to my free public education in Virginia, I would’ve always thought Malcom X to be a man who believed that coexistence was impossible. This portrayal of Brother Malcolm was of course followed (if ever even mentioned) by lessons on Martin Luther King Jr’s peaceful and loving legacy. The contrast was apparent. School taught me that Malcolm X was a villain while Martin Luther King was the only good guy.

It was only upon reading the autobiography of Malcolm X that I began to realize how cheated I was out of learning about an important figure in American history. Public schools withheld the legacy of a man who fought for equality, not just on a racial level, but on a religious level as well. Malcolm X’s conversion to Islam was the start of his journey to a more open and inclusive vision of humanity. Yes, he was a controversial figure as a result of his involvement in the Nation of Islam at first, but what many don’t know is that he left that close minded philosophy and became part of mainstream Islam; a religion that preaches equality across religious and racial lines.  

I don’t know the exact reasons why educators decided to undermine Malcolm X’s efforts in building a stronger and more tolerant American public, but I have a feeling it goes back to him being a Muslim man. At least that’s the reason administrators in a state like Virginia might base their decision off of. The fact that he was an influential Muslim man might scare some far right conservatives and speaking of his legacy might be viewed as “Muslim propaganda”.  Angry parents might call schools asking why teachers are “indoctrinating” their children. Instead of realizing that a figure such as Malcolm could bring together a nation that has marginalized a portion of its citizens (and by that I mean Muslims), it is instead decided upon to throw Malcolm’s legacy to the side.  

As an American Muslim, I would like to see students learn as much about Malcolm X as they learn about Martin Luther King Jr. Muslims have been, and still are, a part of American society. We contribute to it, live in it, pay taxes, but hardly get represented. Like Malcolm X, we are undermined and ignored. That is until a Muslim commits an act of terror. Then you can be rest assured the media will educate you enough on the matters of Muslims. Just keeping it real.

Peace and much love to y’all.   

Hijabi On Campus

I recently saw a video on Buzzfeed created by a group of African American students at UCLA's law school, describing how it feels to be at a school which is predominantly white. Now I know this is a touchy subject at a campus like James Madison University’s, but that video inspired me share my thoughts on this matter. This is not my opinion on the admission’s process or any type of affirmative action policy JMU might or might not abide by.

First let me introduce myself. I'm a nineteen year old Muslim American woman. I’m a hijabi, meaning I wear the hijab (or scarf) to cover my hair. I was born and raised in the United States, but my parents emigrated here from Egypt twenty years ago. I'm from Harrisonburg, Virginia. My dad works here as a computer science professor. My mother works at a day care center. I'm a sophomore on a full merit scholarship thanks to the Dingledine's, and I'm double majoring in political science and international relations. I'm fluent in both English and Arabic (although I find it easier to communicate in English).  

The reason why I gave you that little excerpt describing who I am is to then explain how it feels to be a racial/religious/ethnic minority, a feeling most JMU students might not be able to relate to. Picture yourself in a constant struggle to prove people wrong and you might have a slight understanding of how I feel. No I’m not oppressed. Yes I speak English. No I wasn’t born across the Atlantic. No I’m not a close minded conservative. Yes you can approach me same as you can approach anyone else. No I’m not an international student. The list goes on and on. You might not consciously have these questions but how I’m treated on campus by many students definitely reflects such thoughts. I’ve had people tell me “oh you don’t seem like the typical Arab”. To which I’m left wondering what exactly is the typical Arab and how will a person born and raised here know what that is. I’ve also been told I don’t dress like a lot of Muslim hijabi girls and that I’m more “fashionable”. Again this alludes to some kind of assumption that Muslim girls and fashion don’t mix. I understand these misconceptions come from people not personally knowing Muslim girls, but come on now…We’re all in college and should know better than to say these things.

I also often find myself in situations where it seems as if people are scared to approach me. I feel isolated, misunderstood and sometimes uncomfortable on such a huge campus. I’m a pretty social person and I approach people quite often, more than people have ever approached me, so I don’t blame myself for how I feel. Not only that, but I feel like I have to represent the American Muslim woman in the best way I can because I don’t have much help on this campus in that regard. I personally know of three other American Muslim hijabis on campus, while the rest are international students. I not only have to maintain my personal image, but the image of women in my community. I have to break people’s misconceptions and be a good representative of girls like me.

The difficulty doesn’t only stem from my responsibility to represent Muslim women, but also from an internal struggle. It’s hard waking up every morning and looking in the mirror thinking “look how different I am from all my classmates”. Different is good as long as people understand you, but it becomes a hassle when you feel like people aren’t approaching because you’re different from them. It’s also hard holding on to your identity and beliefs around people who have a completely different outlook on life and know little to nothing about your experience. Don’t get me wrong, I’m very proud of who I am and I try to educate people as much as I could, but I would also like for  people to take it upon themselves to learn about those around them. Reaching out to others will broaden your horizons and introduce you to people of many backgrounds, so don’t hesitate to strike up a conversation with a stranger. Everyone should feel welcome on their campus, but reality is, if you’re a minority you’ve probably felt quite the opposite at times. Some argue that subcultures don’t assimilate well, but the other side of that story is sometimes we’re not allowed to fully assimilate because of how we’re viewed. 

Moody Confession

I go through periods of severe moodiness. Sometimes it's pms and sometimes it's just because my brain decides to ruin my mood. Either way, I've been having a lot of trouble with my little situation. The smallest things will put me in the worst of moods to the point where I'll either start punching things or crying. It's very unhealthy because it not only affects me but affects those around me. My demeanor and actions are severely influenced by my moods, so you can only imagine what my loved ones put up with when I'm moody. 

I'm not quite sure how to manage my moods and actions so that one is not so greatly affected by the other. I can, for the most part, fake being ok but the facade quickly slips when I interact with people who are very close to me. I don't mean to be hurtful or angry and I do recognize my attitude as a problem, but I can't for the life of me know what's wrong. Maybe it's me being childish or immature, but I'm gonna turn twenty in a few months and it's not gonna be so good carrying that attitude into adulthood. It seems much easier said than done to just stop being moody and get on with life. It definitely sounds easy to me when I'm in a good mood- it's when I'm in a horrible state of mind that moving on seems impossible. I'm not sure who to turn to for this or if this is just something I'll grow out of, but talking about it is definitely therapeutic. 

If you're going through this or know of a way to quickly snap out of your tantrum like moods please let me know. I'll greatly appreciate it. I've tried everything from stress balls to breaking pencils and I still find myself stuck in this annoying cycle of moodiness. So yea....

Peace and much love to y'all 

My Opinion on the Egyptian "Situation"

It seems like Egypt has been all over the news for the past three years. And for good reason.  Egypt’s a mess. Whether you’re an Egyptian or just a person who follows the news, you know how unstable Egypt has been. Being an Egyptian American makes it especially hard no to get caught up in the black hole that is now Egyptian politics.Three years after the revolution, Egypt still seems to be fighting the same battle. I’ve been to Egypt twice in the last three years and many times before the revolution and I can honestly say that the country now is worse than it has ever been.

Let me break it down for you. After Mubarak, Egypt’s former dictator, was ousted, the Egyptian military ruled what was an interim government. During that period, many political parties formed or regained their vigor with the hope that democracy will allow them to pursue their political goals. The Egyptian people were impatient and protested against the military’s rule of Egypt. “Down, down with military rule” was the chant that I and many others took to the streets with.Mubarak was just another army general after all, and repeating the same mistake of trusting the military was something Egyptians were not willing to do. Back in 2011 that is. Anyway, one of the political groups that rose to power during that period was the Muslim Brotherhood. Yes, and who are they exactly you might ask? Well, the Muslim Brotherhood, or MB, is an old Egyptian political party that was founded on basic Islamic principles. They aren’t extremists, but they’re also not the most liberal, as with most religious political organizations out there.

Nonetheless, the MB gained a lot of supporters and won Egypt’s first democratic and fair presidential elections, making Morsy Egypt’s first democratically elected president.  I was there when Morsy won and the happiness and hope people had regarding the new president was at an all-time high. Of course not everyone agreed with the MB or Morsy and I myself was hesitant about the dangerous mixture of religion and politics especially that Egypt has a considerable Coptic population, and did not want the MB in power during such a critical time for Egypt.

A year or so passed and Egypt’s thirty years of corruption weren’t magically fixed. What strikes me as most detrimental to the Egyptian revolution (the failed revolution) is that people were not patient and expected results from Morsy right away. They hadn’t even let him finish his four year term when again Egyptians took to the streets in June of 2013 and gave what the military called “permission” to throw him out of office. Soon afterwards, none other than the military took over Egypt again in what many described as a military coup and the head of the military, General Sisi, is “running” for president in the upcoming elections. An election in which there will probably be no opposition.

Even more concerning is the fact that many anti-military protesters have died, with around 50 people dying on the revolution’s third anniversary due to clashes with police and army forces. The MB has been since called a terrorist group and any outward support for them may lead to police brutality or a jail sentence. What’s even more baffling is the number of Egyptians who support the military after all the blood shed they’ve caused. 

Still, I have hope for Egypt. Hope that one day the poor and powerless will have a say in their future. That religion won’t be used as a political tool to gather votes and neither will the media use people’s ignorance to their advantage. Times like these are when I most appreciate being an American. I can voice my opinions with a greater amount of freedom than almost anywhere else. I just hope one day that freedom can be extended to people all over the world.  

Peace and much love to y'all :)