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daughter is handling the situation. To her,
he said, the situation is a matter of right and
wrong. She did not understand why she could
not go outside because a plane hit a building
somewhere else. He described the first time
she went outside after the attacks.
"When my daughter came home, she said,
‘We went to the mailbox, we came back and
nobody did anything to us. There were people
driving their cars, trying to go to their houses,
but they didn’t do anything to us, because we
did not do anything to them.’ To her, it was as
simple as that. We hadn’t done anything wrong,
so they shouldn’t do anything bad to us.”
Sabir described an incident when he and
Begum visited an area grocery store and
noticed two children staring at them. Their
mother grabbed them and apologized for her
childrens’ actions and explained that they are
trying to learn about Muslims and that she was
trying to teach them what Muslims are.
“Even though I talked with them and shook
their hands, even though I did everything to
make them comfortable, they were so very
skeptical. I patted them and said, ‘Look, she is
my wife,’ and she took them aside and showed
them her face and said, ‘Look, l am a human
being.’ They were just children and they could
not comprehend. It was too big an impact on
them,” Sabir said.
In spite of the fear and lack of understanding
in the community, the focus group members
said that the majority of their interactions with
non-Muslim students since the attacks have
been positive. However, there are still common
misunderstandings and misconceptions.
The group collectively said these might be
caused by ignorance about who Muslims are
and what they believe. They said the more edu
cated people are, the more willing they are to
see someone else’s point of view.
Faisal Chaudhry, a computer information
services staff member, said people need to
become more familiar with each other and
that it is interesting to hear what people think
of Muslims.
"I won’t be able to speak for other cultures,
but within the Muslim community, or Middle
East, there are a lot of misconceptions about
what we practice, who we are,” Chaudhry said.
“That seems to come out at a time of crisis like
this, and we are surprised to learn what others
sometimes think of us.”
Begum said she does not think A&M students
understand her as a Muslim woman.
"I think that a lot of people look at me and
think that this is imposed on me, Begum said.
“And not only imposed, that is difficult to carry
on with what I am wearing. If you are looking
behind the veil, from where I am, my life differs
very little from yours.”
The group said a woman covers herself as
part of her modesty and that this is often mis
understood by non-Muslims.
Another male said the dress is part of the
religion and faith. Christian Nuns wear garb
similar to Muslim women, he said, but it is
accepted.
“You can find tribes in Africa that barely dress,
and it is acceptable," he said. "It’s about cul
ture. You cannot go to them and tell them that
they cannot dress like that ... The idea that
[women] must be oppressed to do something
like that is not correct at all and should be cor
rected in the media. It shouldn’t even be brought
up. It is part of the culture.”
Chaudhry said Muslim men and women
should dress modestly and should not wear
tight or revealing clothing. The clothing should
not attract attention, he said.
Other moral guidelines include avoiding cer
tain types of language, not being alone with a
woman who is not a member of his immediate
family and avoiding touching.
Muslim men are expected to dress from
the knee to the neck; some Muslim men
wear a beard to imitate Muhammad, the
Muslim prophet.
Misrepresentations in the media include a
generalization that all Muslims hate Americans
and that they support fighting. The word Muslim
means “one who is submitting to the will of
God.” One participant said extremists are often
people who do not understand their own reli
gion; that this is not a situation unique to the
Muslim religion. Islam, the group said, does not
condone the acts of Sept. 11.
"The people, based on the little amount that
they know about Islam, mostly out of context,
are doing things that are not in the teachings
of Islam and is not unique to Islam," a male
participant said. "We see this in Christianity
and Judaism. We see people blowing up abor
tion clinics in the name of Jesus. I mean, I
don’t think any sane Christian would say that
is Christianity, but they are still doing it in the
name of Jesus. So, similar things happen to
Muslims. They are not immune to that. I think
it is partly due to lack of education.”
Like Christianity, Islam permits fighting in self
defense, in defense of religion or on the part of
those who have been forcibly expelled from
their homes. It has strict rules of combat, which
includes prohibiting harming civilians and
destroying crops, trees and livestock. War,
therefore, is a last resort.
Sabir said people should be careful when
labeling others as terrorists. ^
"In general, sometimes there are people of
the Muslim people resisting occupation military
and they are fighting because they are getting
kicked out of their homes, or their children are
being shot or their houses raided,” Sabir said.
“Their opponents are going to label them ter
rorists ... so, right now you must be careful as
to where these labels are being placed and be
critical in examining that kind of thing."
A male participant said he does not think
most Middle Eastern people hate Americans,
but have hatred toward the American govern
ment. He said they love American ideas like
freedom and freedom of speech, but when the
government helps tyrannical Middle Eastern
governments stay in power, American values
are contradicted.
“I think that the Middle Eastern people know
a lot about the American culture,” he said.
“They know the values of the American people,
but when they see the American policies, there
is a contradiction between them.”
He said that as Muslim Americans, they felt
the wrath of Sept. 11.
“We all felt the destruction on Sept. 11, and
the rest of the country did, too,” he said. One
male participant said Muslims believe that the
land of Islam is a holy land and when Muslims
around the world see the Palestinian people
butchered by bullets with “Made in USA” writ
ten on them, they are going to have some
resentment.
Chaudhry said that while there is hatred in
the world, no one in the Muslim world uses this
resentment to justify what happened Sept. 11.
"No Muslim could justify the acts of Sept. 11,"
Chaudhry said. “There is no authority for that in
their religion or culture.”
The misuse of the term “fundamentalist” and
how it is loosely interchanged with the word
extremist was identified as a problem by the
focus group. One participant said fundamental
ism in Islam is a very positive thing and should
not be confused with extremism or terrorism. He
said being a fundamentalist means closely fol
lowing one’s religion. In the case of Muslims, they
fundamentally follow their values that include
peace and goodwill.
“Being a fundamentalist is a good thing
because you are sticking to the fundamentals of
your religion,” he said. “Being an extremist is a
bad thing because you are going to an extreme.
But unfortunately, in the media, the words are
used interchangeably."
There has been tension between Muslim
and non-Muslim faith and the focus group
members said there are things in the A&M
and surrounding communities that could be
improved.
The MSA offers classes in varying locations
every two weeks titled “Muslim 101" where
people can hear a presentation regarding Islam
and then the floor is open to discussion.
Chaudhry said he thinks the group has not
done all it can to reach out to the community,
but will make more of an effort to do so.
“I would say we have not done the best job
possible,” Chaudhry said. “I mean, I think we
have a long way to go ourselves in terms of
going out and reaching out to people and I
think we feel the urgency of that so much
more after Sept. 11. I think we will be making
more of an effort and I think we will be invit
ing others to join us, going out and meeting
others and sitting with people."
Prayer, devotion
increase during
Ramadan
By Lindsey Fielder
THE BATTALION
Ramadan, a month of fasting and prayer for Muslim adults,
began with the confirmation of the new moon on Nov. 16 at sun
set. Ramadan is a time of purification, encouraging good, for
bidding evil and striving for perfection.
Muslims are not allowed to eat, drink, smoke or have sexual
intercourse from dawn to sunset. Iftar, the evening meal that
breaks the fast, is a time of celebration and joy.
Kandoker Mahmudur Rahman, president of the Muslim
Student Association and a graduate student in economics, said
Ramadan is a time for self actualization and a devotion to
achieving perfection.
“Religiously, Ramadan is a time to strive for perfection and
nobody wants war during this time,” Rahman said. “It is tough
because our religion is not specific about this issue (fighting dur
ing Ramadan).”
Faisal Chaudhry, adviser for the Muslim Student Association, is
from Pakistan and has worked as a systems analyst at
Computing Information Systems for two and a half years.
Muslims observe the month of Ramadan because it is a com
mandment from Allah, he said.
“Observing Ramadan is the duty of ever^ believer,”
Chaudhry said.
Although most Muslim students are opposed to terrorist behav
ior, they also are opposed to the U.S. bombing Afghanistan,
Chaudhry said.
“We don’t think the U.S. bombing will help the situation, and it
may increase hostility toward the U.S.,” he said.
Muslim leaders are calling for a cease-fire during this time r) of
worship because they are concerned about the public opinion in
their country, Chaudhry said. During Ramadan, Muslims pray for
hardship in the world and it may agitate their feelings about the
U.S. when they are praying for their Muslim brothers around the
world, he said.
“Many Muslims see the actions of the U.S. as revenge, not as
justice,” Chaudhry said.
Mike Martin, a rebirthed Muslim, is retired from the United
States Air Force. He was raised Catholic, but believes he was
born Muslim and has returned to the faith.
Martin said the bombing of Afghanistan is futile. The Russians
left Afghanistan in rubble and Chaudry said the U.S. is only mak
ing smaller rocks of what is left of the country.
“The bombing is disrupting the lives of innocent people
who are not terrorists, and it makes their worship harder
and it is affecting the most holy month for Muslims over
there,” Martin said.
The absence of media for Muslims in Afghanistan leads them
to see the United States as the “bad guy" because they do not
understand why they are suffering, he said.
“All these people know is that they aren’t terrorists and they
don’t know any terrorists, but they are being punished for the ter
rorists’ actions,” Martin said.
Chaudhry said Ramadan will have special meaning after the
terrorist attacks.
“The feeling among Muslims is that there is more pain and suf
fering than before,” Chaudhry said. “We are fearful that the
volatility of the world is increasing Muslim hardships.”
Prayers will be focused on the increased pain and suffering
due to the war, he said.
“[The recent attacks have] given everyone, not just Muslims, a
sense of how fragile peace and harmony can be,” Chaudhry said.