Only the Beginning- Part I
by Nuor Shatila
Amira walked into school expecting it to be a normal day. Amira is the only Muslim that attends her high school. Everyday she is picked on by her classmates with their “terrorist” jokes. In her marine biology class, there was this group of students that would constantly comment on her faith in a negative way. They would either say it directly to her or simply speak loudly enough for her to hear them. There was this one guy in particular within the group that never said anything to her or spoke of the matter. Instead he remained silent through the semester. Amira could never figure out why these classmates were so mean to her. Still, Amira never spoke against them and always remained silent. She preferred to keep the conflict small and not create a big problem. She endured the jokes and comments.
Amira attended her local Muslim youth group every Sunday. Here she was able to express herself and connect with her community. One Sunday afternoon, the youth group program was about bullying in school. It was an activity where each person would write something that bothered them on a piece of paper. Then they would take that piece of paper, slip it into a balloon, and then blow it up with the paper inside. Amira wrote in her balloon, “Being called a terrorist everyday at school.” Everyone placed their balloons and thoughts in the center of the room. Each person had to pick another one up, pop that balloon, and read the thought. This allowed everyone to see the different struggles that the people in that room were facing, not only as Muslims, but as teenagers. Amira popped her balloon and the note inside read, “Loosing faith in myself.” This note touched Amira because it never occurred to her that someone would feel this way. After a moment passed for everyone to read their notes, anyone who wanted to share and give advice had the opportunity to do so. There were many interesting struggles with valuable responses. Then one guy volunteered and read, “Being called a terrorist everyday at school.” His advice was, “I feel like there are a lot of us going through this struggle. When we publicly tell others that we are Muslim, it is so they understand us better and know that how we are represented in the media is all false. What I would say to everyone facing this problem is to be strong. Don’t let them continue believing the lies on television. Don’t remain silent and let them say this false name to Muslims. We all need to be strong and learn to be leaders that represent our faith. Our classmates may not meet another Muslim other than us. As a minority in school, we must stand strong. For this person going through this dilemma every day, I say that you must take a stand and try to educate these people in the best way. If nothing is said, then there would never be a change.” Amira knew this message was directed to her. She absorbed each word and began to think of his words. She came to her decision that the next time this group of teens accused her of “terrorism,” even in their joking manner, she would speak against them…
