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Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
Thursday, September 14, 2023 Vol. 77 No. 4
the student voice since 1960
‘JUST ASK A MUSLIM’
22 years later, Muslim students still face Islamophobia
DYLAN HEMBROUGH editor-in-chief
Around 48 percent of Muslim Americans have experienced discrimination, according to a 2010 poll — and young Muslims are not immune to it. These three Muslim students wish to change that, acting as ambassadors to their faith and culture. Yassine Ndiaye, a sophomore chemistry major who spent a portion of her life in Senegal, said she has worn hijab her whole life because the women in her life who she looked up to all did. “People knew me as Yassine, the one who wore the hijab,” Ndiaye said. “In a sense, we believe that our hair is part of the woman’s beauty. It’s a gem. You won’t find diamonds on the surface — you have to dig deeper down to see them.” Menna Elmokashfi said she has not always worn hijab, which “concealed” her identity as a Muslim unless she talked about it. Despite this, she said she still faced Islamophobia from religious and secular backgrounds alike. “I’d have to tell people that I’m Muslim,” Elmokashfi said. “There was this one girl in particular, she would tell me that I should read the Bible and that I’m wrong, and all that good stuff. This boy in particular kept saying, ‘You work for ISIS.’” Elmokashfi said when she made the conscious decision to start wearing hijab in her freshman year at Springfield High School in Springfield, Illinois, even more insensitive questions and remarks were thrown her way. “[One girl’s] demeanor towards me changed. We were not on bad terms at all, but she started acting very rude to me,” Elmokashfi said. “She was like, ‘Why do you wear that?’” According to a 2011 Gallup poll, 52 percent of Muslim Americans report feeling disrespected by Western society. Another poll from 2009 reported that, from a number of Muslim-majority nations around the world, 57 percent of those surveyed said they feel that Muslims are not treated equally to other citizens in the West. Rahmat Salau, a graduate student, said her parents were worr ied for her safety when
she left Nigeria to in the U.S. due views of Muslims of the American “It’s permedia. We see even not living in said. “If you’re by a cop, just be
attend college to the negative held by much populace. vasive in the it all the time the U.S.,” Salau ever stopped calm. So to my
parents that meant keeping a low head, go to school, do your work, mind your business and move on.” Salau served as student body president last year, and said she was often approached with questions about her faith. “I meet people who are generally curious about the religion,” Salau said.
“When we were doing Ramadan last year, when we fast … I had some student government members try to fast. Sometimes it can be a fun conversation about who the prophet Muhammad was.” However, Salau said being a Muslim in a prominent, visible position was a “double-edged sword” due to societal expectations about what a leader looks like in Western society. “I’ve had moments when I’ve had to explain my position, where I have to explain that I earned my position and I deserve to be here,” Salau said. “It’s not intentional, but there are undertones [of Islamophobia].” Ndiaye also said she had the conversation about xenophobia with her family before she decided to move back to the U.S. “I had that conversation with my uncles and aunts,” Ndiaye said. “When I decided to move back home, my uncle was like, ‘It’s a mind game — they try to beat you psychologically. Just keep your head up.’” Elmokashfi said she does not remember 9/11, but she said much of her family was directly impacted by the aftermath of it. “[My cousin] went to an Islamic school, and a week or two after 9/11, the place was completely destroyed,” Elmokashfi said. “A lot of them were scared to even go out and get something from Walmart because of how bad it was. I think 9/11 was the reason why some of my relatives moved back to Sudan.” Even with the tangible risk of discrimination and ignorant comments and actions, Elmokashfi, Ndiaye and Salau all said they take pride in wearing hijab. “The strongest women in my life wore hijab, and they were my biggest role models,” Elmokashfi said. “When I started wearing hijab my freshman year, it made me realize who my real friends were [and] see ISLAMOPHOBIA on page 2