A year later, campus Muslims still strive to dispel lingering, negative stereotypes
Muslims at TCU and in the community say they have been educating Americans about their faith since Sept. 11.
By Sarah McClellan
Photo Editor

Yushau Sodiq has had to answer questions such as, “Why are you Muslim?” and “Are you one of them?” since the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001.

“(The attacks) created a lot of curiosity,” said Sodiq, an associate professor of religion. “I’ve been asked why I belong to this group, and I have to answer that the people that did that are Muslims, but they are criminals. They did something wrong — something that was not Islamic.”

During the past year, Muslims in America have begun to realize the growing need to educate the public about their faith.

Imam Moujahed Bakhach of the Islamic Association of Tarrant County said he has visited churches, universities and synagogues to talk about the principles of Islam and dispel the negative images of the religion seen on the news.

“People heard a lot on the media and it made them wonder, ‘What is the Islamic faith?’” Bakhach said. “It’s not right (for the media) to put the Islamic faith on the spot.”

The Islamic Association of Tarrant County held an open house Saturday to help inform people about Islam. The event included two lectures that outlined the basic points of Islam and members handing out Islamic literature and personally explaining the religion to visitors.

“The Muslim community needed to get more involved with the Fort Worth community,” Bakhach said.

Muhammad Islam, president of the Muslim Student Association, also said people asked a lot of questions after the attacks.

“It’s natural that people ask a few questions, but my friends were cool about it,” Islam said. “(The attacks) changed my life as much as anyone else’s. I don’t see any relationship between Islam and what happened on Sept. 11.”

Tahira Hussain, a senior political science major, said the TCU community was supportive and she experienced no prejudice as a result of the attack.

“I have friends at International Student Services, and they were very caring because (international students) are their concern,” Hussain said. “They were worried people would treat me differently and that’s why they showed their support.”

Bakhach said, however, the attacks have led to an negative attitude towards Muslims.

“An American woman who is a member (at the Islamic Association of Tarrant County) and converted to Islam was wearing a hijab (veil, headdress) and someone told her to ‘go home,’ ” he said. “It tells you how much we need to educate about our faith.”

Muslims from other countries say America is their home as much as their country of origin, and many have children who were born here.

“I’ve spent more years in this country than in Pakistan,” said Nikhat Qureshi, a member of the Islamic Association of Tarrant County. “I came here when I was 24, now I’m 52.”

Another prevalent misconception about Islam is that women are treated badly, said Sayeeda Selod, also a member of the Islamic Association of Tarrant County.

“All these images of woman bashing in Islam is not true,” Selod said. “What is happening in Afghanistan has nothing to do with Islam. That is a form of male chauvinism found all over the world.”