It's Up to Us
Sumaiya Beshir
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Entering that classroom was a challenge. Once I sat down in my seat, I had to
be ready to shoot my hand up at any moment in order to clear up yet another
misconception my teacher had about Islam. I don't blame her at all—I blame the
media. My teacher simply reads the newspaper often and watches the news. These
sources (and some others) are her primary sources of information, and they are,
unfortunately, more often than not, very wrong.
It is clear that the media is out to get Muslims. Every chance they get, they
drop a subtle hint about how we're terrorists, oppressed people, battered,
abused and whatever else they can come up with. Time and time again, I've seen
television shows and movies portraying Muslims as anything but good, normal
people. The women are portrayed as nothing but figures covered in black cloth
that can't speak English and are slaves to their men. The only exception to
this is when portraying a young Muslim teenage "rebel". But God forbid should
they display Muslim women as confident, capable people. The men are portrayed
as people with massive beards and major attitude problems who always act
unreasonably, violently, and oppressively.
Due to all this negative publicity, the words "Islam" and "Muslims",
unfortunately, have a negative connotation and are subconsciously associated
with bad things. That is why I do not blame my teacher, for she is simply like
the majority of people in society who do not necessarily think about what they
read and trust the media to some degree. So, now that the media is providing
people with all this inaccurate information, who's going to clear it up? Us -
it's our job to teach the people around us about the true Islam: the fastest
growing religion that promotes gender equality and indeed liberates women. It's
our job to educate our peers, friends, teachers, and authorities about what
Islam really is through being good examples ourselves. Indeed, it's a tough
job, but it's so important that it can be classified as a form of jihad.
I am writing about my experiences educating my grade 11 enriched English class
because I want you all to know you're not alone. I sit in that class, everyday,
ready to meet the challenge of the next statement or question about Islam. The
statements made can be offending, upsetting, and frustrating to me, but it is
important that I always respond politely and open-mindedly. If I take the
defensive side and yell back at my teacher, I am only proving what the media
has told them about Islam and Muslims; and, as we all know, Islam does not
promote violence and short tempers. Take the best example, which is that of the
Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). Our Prophet (pbuh) always faced challenges with the
utmost patience and respect for the challenger. He knew not to degrade them or
be angered with them (though these challenges can often be frustrating), but
simply responded to their questions, concerns, and arguments calmly and
politely. So let's challenge ourselves and strive to follow
the example of our beloved Prophet (pbuh).
I have found that with time it gets easier to do; it's no longer as frustrating
or nerve-racking, and has become, really, an everyday part of life. I have
become automatically alert, and after doing it for a while, raising my hand in
class and politely correcting a student or teacher, is no longer a big deal.
For both my teacher and I know it's coming, and insha Allah, bit by bit, Muslim
by Muslim we can change the negative image given to Islam by the media into the
positive image given to Islam by the Muslim people. Actions speak louder than
words, you know. So, pray to Allah (SWT) to help you, and then go out there and
do your jihad!
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