A gentle response

Valley teenagers on the path of Islam find they answer a lot of questions from non-muslims.

By Ron Orozco / The Fresno Bee

Muslim teenagers say it isn't easy attending a public high school in the central San Joaquin Valley, where everyone, it seems, fires questions their way about Islam.

"Don't you realize wearing headscarves is oppressive to women?"

"How can Islam teach peace when Muslim terrorists set off bombs killing people?"

"Why do you fast during Ramadan?"

Muslim high school students in the Valley say they're learning to show patience when they're confronted with questions about their faith because it means a great deal to them how they're perceived by non-Muslims at their schools.
                                                                                                                                    Buchanan High student Jenan Ghazvini,
The perception of Muslim high school students isn't always flattering,                       wearing a traditional head covering
says Sarah Al-Hashimi, a Muslim and youth director at the Islamic Cultural            showing her connection with Islam,
Center of Fresno on East Nees Avenue.                                                                     walks past a group of students.
The Muslim students say their non-Muslim peers "still think we ride a                               John Walker / The Fresno Bee
camel," Al- Hashimi says.

The Muslims say they're grateful that mosques such as the Islamic Cultural Center, which opened in the summer of 2003, provide speakers to address topics related to Islam and to dispel stereotypes. And they're pleased that mosques provide safe settings where they can learn about their faith, support one other and understand that other Muslims deal with similar questions at their high schools.

The Islamic Cultural Center offers a weekly meeting for high school students so they can talk about topics that interest them, develop friendships and pray together. On a recent Saturday, Imam Seyed Ali Ghazvini led a discussion on the meaning of Ramadan, the Muslim holy season.

Ramadan is a monthlong celebration, marking when the Islamic holy book, the Quran, was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad. For 29 to 30 days, Muslims must fast from nearly an hour before sunrise to sunset. During that time, they cannot eat, drink, smoke or have sex. This year, Ramadan will begin Friday.

Muslim high school students say discussion groups help them deal with how they're perceived by non-Muslims at their high schools.

Khalid Lari, 16, a junior at Edison High School, says Muslims like him are perceived as people who condone terrorism. He doesn't.

"I get questions all the time: 'Why is terrorism allowed by your religion?'" says Khalid, who is active in extracurricular activities at Edison such as wrestling and the debate team. "People aren't educated. They think terrorists are linked to Islam."

Khalid says he is learning to not lose his cool. Rather, he says he tries to make light of the situations when students ask questions.

"A lot of people joke around about terrorists," Khalid says. "The only way you can take it is to joke back and show them it's not what they think it is."

Khalid says he is aware of just three other Muslims attending Edison High School, but he doesn't feel abnormal with his beliefs.

"Everybody is the same," he says. "Being Muslim or Christian is not that much different."

Jenan Ghazvini, 15, a sophomore at Buchanan High School and daughter of the imam at the Islamic Cultural Center, says she is asked questions about Islam by people in everyday life.

One reason is that Jenan wears headscarves identifying her as Muslim.

"People stare," she says. "A lot of people are rude. You just ignore them and walk away. It's foolish to say something back to them. It's a free country. They'll realize that what they said is really nothing to you."

Headscarves aren't required of Muslim females. It's their choice. Usually, they make the decision to wear them at age 9.

"It just says, 'I'm Muslim,' and a lot of people don't want that attention,'" Al-Hashimi says.

Some Muslims choose to not wear headscarves because "it's easier to blend in," Al-Hashimi says, adding that she can't fault such people.

Al-Hashimi believes the questions presented to Muslim high school students have increased since Sept 11, 2001, after the attacks on the East Coast were linked to Saudi militant Osama bin Laden and other Muslims.

Al-Hashimi was a 1999 graduate of Clovis High School, where she was the only Muslim student wearing headscarves. Al-Hashimi remembers just a few questions by fellow students.

"The attention Muslims are getting today is not positive," she says. "I can understand why Muslims wouldn't want to be identified that way."

Jenan says she decided to wear headscarves at age 6, when she attended an Islamic school in Pomona. At Buchanan High School, Jenan believes students are accustomed to seeing her with headscarves. She says they serve to remind her what she believes.

"It kind of helps me to keep away from doing wrong things," she says.

Jenan and Al-Hashimi respond to people with questions by saying that wearing headscarves doesn't serve to oppress women.

"I tell them it's a crown - and that I feel special," Jenan says.

Sarah Akhtar, 14, a freshman at Edison High School, says the decision to wear headscarves should "come from the heart." So far, she says, she hasn't come to that point, so she doesn't wear them. At the discussion on Ramadan, half of the girls in attendance didn't wear them.

Sarah says she doesn't believe Muslims should take the easy way out of anything. As example, Sarah says, she meets the fasting requirement during Ramadan not to drink, despite being a tennis player at Edison.

"My mom said, 'Don't fast on the day of a tennis match,'" Sarah says. "I said, 'Mom, if you think about it, the point of Ramadan is it's a challenge.' You're supposed to feel what people who are hungry go through. You hold back your natural desires."

Khalid, Jenan and Sarah say they continue to learn that it doesn't do any good to argue with others about their faith.

"It'll just make things worse," Khalid says.

Jenan says, "If you're going to tell them about your religion, you shouldn't answer harshly to their questions."

Al-Hashimi advises Muslim high school students to perceive the questions they're asked as opportunities to educate others about Islam.

"The Muslim culture is perceived as a violent one. So it's important that students keep their cool - and not be on the defensive. People just don't know about Islam, so you should explain it to them," she says.

MENU

A gentle response

Valley teenagers on the path of Islam find they answer a lot of questions from non-muslims.