”
When you have a billion and a half people belonging to a
religion, you are bound to find a few kooks and extremists among
their number,
”
Shista Azad said in answer to our questions about how she
reconciles her Muslim beliefs with the actions of terrorists like
Osama bin Laden.
“When you have a billion and a half people belonging to a religion, you are bound to find a few kooks and extremists among their number,” Shista Azad said in answer to our questions about how she reconciles her Muslim beliefs with the actions of terrorists like Osama bin Laden.
Teachers like Shista Azad and Maha Elgensidi, Muslim women from the Islamic Networks Group, (which works to educate people about Islamic beliefs), have been in great demand since 9/11. They are called most often to give presentations to history and social studies classes, police officers and corporations with cultural competency programs.
Shista turned the question around on us, “How do you reconcile Hitler with Christian belief? He professed to be a Christian, and yet look what he did. There are extremists in every religion, and they give a bad name to the millions who are trying to practice their own beliefs in peace.”
The last two weekends I had the privilege of co-chairing a Leadership Training Event called “Making a World of Difference.” Women attended from 41 churches throughout the Santa Clara County area, including representatives from Greenfield, Salinas, Hollister, Aptos and Monterey. One session was held in Santa Clara Jan. 31 and another in Hollister last Saturday; a total of 150 women participated, many of them dynamic leaders in their own communities. The women attending from Gilroy particularly enjoyed a class called “Creating Interfaith Communities,” and found it a fascinating experience to sit in a room close to a Muslim woman in her hijab (traditional scarf and loose-fitting modest dress) and be able to ask her every question they had ever wanted to ask a Muslim.
We found out that the way a Muslim woman dresses is not merely for modesty, but for the way it forces people to judge her more by character and intelligence, rather than just the shape of her body. Muslim men are expected to dress modestly as well. “When you see a man and woman walking through the mall,” Maha told us, “And she is in full hijab, but he is in tight western clothes, that is wrong. The Qur’an never had that in mind. The clothing codes are for both men and women.” The modest dress has an effect much like a nun’s habit. “When someone swears and I’m in the room in my hijab, they always apologize,” Shista smiles, “I like that.”
One surprising moment came when Maha admitted how hard it is to shop for bras. “It’s becoming impossible,” she confessed, “They all push you up here or shape you there, or have padding or parts that accentuate your figure. How can a Muslim woman find anything modest to wear?” she said, and all the women in the room laughed with her.
We learned that “Islam” comes from a root word “silm,” which means “peace.” Islam is based on the idea of seeking peace within self first, then with family, then with community, and then the ultimate goal of peace with the world. The Holy Jihad is the internal battle to submit ourselves to the will of God, the struggle between you and yourself to do the right thing. Maha told us, “My own personal jihad (struggle) is to be able to pray five times a day, to fast, and to resist lashing out at those who treat me with hostility.”
She regularly receives death threats.
“The harm that Osama bin Laden has done to other Muslims and to his own people is greater than any harm that will ever be done by Muslim extremists to anyone else. He has hijacked the Muslim religion and it causes me pain and will continue to cause me the deepest pain for the rest of my life.”
At the end of the session she bowed and physically demonstrated to us how she prays for peace each day. She can no longer pray in public since 9/11 because someone always calls the police to report “suspicious activity.”
When we asked about the rights of women and their own paychecks, she told us that any money a woman makes is hers to do with as she wishes, while any money a husband makes is half his and half hers. My husband sighed and said, “Isn’t that just the same way it is for us too?”
We have more in common with our Muslim brothers and sisters around the world than we realize. The most significant thing we brought with us back to Gilroy was the understanding that both Muslims and Christians have in common a desire and a belief in praying and working for peace on earth.
“As-Salaam Alay-Kum” (Peace be upon you) is the way a Muslim would greet you or me. The reply would be, “Wa Alay-Kum as-Salaam” (And may peace be upon you, too).
Kat Teraji’s column is published every other Friday in Gilroy Life. You can reach her at ka****@ea*******.net.
