News > March 27, 2008

By Molly Nevola | Staff writer

“The world witnessed two hijackings on September 11: that of the World Trade Center and that of Islam.” The candid words of sophomore Mustafa Abdullah bit the crisp spring air.

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Some Muslims turned away after the vicious attacks of 9/11, Abdullah said, while others left the religion altogether.

“But some, including many university Muslim students, have looked at the events of September 11 not as an obstacle but as an opportunity to teach non-Muslims about this great religion,” he said.

In a war torn world in which many Muslims are subjected to questions, degradation and racial profiling, and at a university campus that is predominantly Christian by association, where do members of the Muslim community find their place?

For students here, it is neither a search for campus-wide observance of Islamic holidays nor an attempt to proselytize.

Rather it is a desire to create in the university community a greater consciousness of the practices and traditions of Islam.

“When I first came here, one of my friends told me he didn’t know the difference between a Muslim and a terrorist. That’s the society we live in — we simply need to educate,” sophomore Zahir Rahman said.

According to Rahman, there are anywhere from 10 to 15 Muslims on campus, a figure that has expanded since just last year when there were about three known Muslims.

This increase has brought hope to an idea that Rahman said he entertained during his freshmen year—to begin a Muslim Students Association organization on campus.

Now, Abdullah, Rahman and freshman Kennan Khatjb are in the process of creating an MSA.

So how active can a group be if it is only comprised of 15 members, lacks an official university leader and has yet to form an organization on campus?

The answer? Very.

According to Rahman’s own experience, about four Muslim students drive every Friday to Waughtown for mandatory weekly prayer called the jumah prayer, a once-a-week event that shuts down businesses and daily life in Muslim countries.

“Because it’s such a small group, we go to a mosque rather than having it on campus,” he said. Rahman has close ties with one worker in the Pit who is Muslim.

“I’ve told him that I want to make the prayer available on campus, because he isn’t able to leave campus due to the job,” he said.

Abdullah mentioned that there is a variety of devoutness for religious students on campus.

Personally, he said, while sharing the company with friends, the group will at times break for one of the five prayers of Islam. “Also, there are several of us who read the Qu’ran regularly,” Abdullah said. Khatjb agreed that devoutness varies from person to person.

“I would say that most of us do a good job practicing Islam, including the daily prayers and fasting during Ramadan,” Khatjb said.

Different viewpoints aside, Muslim students on campus embrace the safety net that has been created for them.

“People who come to Wake Forest know what to expect — we don’t come thinking there will be a big group of Muslim kids to pray with … the struggles we will have are going to be different but also the same — to create this identity of being a Muslim-American at Wake,” Rahman said.

Members of Islam generally are socially conservative – they do not drink and do not mix with the opposite sex.

There is certainly a degree of difficulty that comes with being a Muslim on this campus, Rahman said, because college lifestyle is contrary to some of their beliefs.

“Here you have friends of all different backgrounds. You are forced to be an ambassador of your faith, and this is why it’s nice to have a tight knit group,” Rahman said.

Abdullah noted that he often uses the Islamic “code of conduct” which prohibits actions such as gambling and taking intoxicants as part of his reasoning for not participating in such activities.

Khatjb admitted that he often finds weekends repetitious and boring due to the stringent code of Islam.

“Our abstinence from drinking sometimes hinders us from some of the weekend social events,” he said.

Although the university is predominantly Christian, these students, Rahman said, have made a conscious decision to attend despite its identity as a university of southern Baptist origin.

Rahman compared the Muslim identity with the American one, noting that often they are equal. “We have grown up in a country where we have to fast during basketball tryouts, go to school on religious holidays; we’ve grown up in a world where what our faith teaches us is often contrary to the beliefs of others in this nation, so we must constantly define who we are,” Rahman said.

Former undergraduate student and current medical student Rashad Daker said that he saw the Christian predominance as an opportunity to get involved and teach others about Islam.

From 9/11 vigil ceremonies to Hurricane Katrina services and baccalaureates, Daker consciously made efforts to promote awareness about not only Islam, but all religions on campus via the Interfaith council.

“I ended up getting a major in religion to further discuss Islam with others,” Daker said. “I think it is important to show that Americans can be Muslims, too.”

It is important, Khtajb said, that Americans learn about Islam for what it is, and not for how it is portrayed by the media. “It is saddening to see Islam as a whole blamed for some people’s actions,” he said.

But the university has indeed come a long way in diversifying the campus, and in more ways than one, according to these Muslim students.

The public frequently hears about the widespread racial profiling that exists in American airports, but Abdullah has frequently experienced it.

He has been asked questions about carry-ons and is often forced to retrieve already checked baggage for inspection.

“How many Americans travel regularly throughout the year? I know I am being subjected to racial profiling: I am being degraded as an Arab-American Muslim,” he said. According to Rahman, the university has made strides by organizing the viewing of the Darryl Hunt trials and hosting Vali Nassar, a leading expert on Islam.

“What I would like to see is effort made to make Islam in its truest sense more in touch with the student body,” Rahman said.

But there are events that have done the opposite, said Rahman. While the interfaith arch next to Wait Chapel has begun to integrate all faiths, some members of the Muslim community were displeased to see a university organization fund the AFTERdark event just last week.

“We were personally upset because after doing research, we found out that it was covertly evangelical, and it was religious — not academic,” Rahman said.

Rahman said that he believes the university should be promoting religion in an academic sense, and if it hosts and funds events such as this, the religious diversity does not shine through.

Personally for Rahman, the Islamic faith is something that shines through in his daily discourse in political science class, distinguishing his own beliefs from others and offering a new perspective.

“The opportunity to tell this story is a testament to the Islamic faith. It is important for developing students’ character and making them aware of the world in which they live,” Rahman said.

Muslims on this campus will continue to pursue the goals they seek of university recognition, an official organization and the education of the students that tread across this campus.