This past week, I was proud to attend an event as a Rose Scholar as I also had a lot of vested interest in with another organization (Muslim Educational and Cultural Affairs). As a American Muslim myself, some of the things Professor Jackson discussed really hit home with me. He mentioned that American Muslims are often called upon to prove their loyalty to the American common good, and blamed for being insufficiently American if they balk at standing up.

This point is a very real reality for me. Every time a terrorist attack occurs, my heart sinks. Beyond sorrow and grief for the victims and their families, and a heightened sense of fear of discrimination and safety for myself, I feel like I have to apologize for the heinous, deplorable, and inhumane crimes committed in the name of my religion. The Islam I know and have been raised with preaches love, tolerance, kindness, being good to your neighbors, charity, respect, and loyalty–so it is difficult to see my religion being synonymous with terrorism. All I see in the media or in comments of articles are people asking, why don’t the “supposedly good Muslims” stand up and get rid of ISIS and other terrorist organizations. I stand up as much as I can. I provide my condolences to the aggrieved, I apologize and actively denounce the crimes of terrorism, spread the teaching of the Islam I know to be true and peaceful, and even attend rallies held by Muslims to denounce terrorism. I do not know what more I can do, except to enlist in the U.S military. However, I, like other Americans, have dreams in life that I want to keep pursuing, such as attaining my degrees, having a successful career, and a loving family. In the eyes of others, by doing this, I am not proving my loyalty to America. This ties back to Professor Jackson’s point that we get blamed for being insufficiently American if we balk at standing up. So when I do what I can to denounce terrorism and keep working on my very normal dreams, I get accused of not doing enough to stand up to terrorism because I am not actually out there fighting them on the battleground.  I hope his lecture gave the people attending a more clear picture of Islam and what its true values are, as opposed to what they hear on the media.

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On a side note, while it is a difficult time to be a Muslim in the world, I am humbled by the support I have received by the wonderful human beings around me who are quick to stand up for me in light of recent events in the news and the political spectrum. This may not mean much, but truly, thank you from the bottom of my heart.