A situation documented on an American tv show the prejudice that American Muslim sometimes face, and a Muslim writer, Mona ElTahawysent me an article she wrote about the issue . On ABC's tv show, "What would you do?" the abuser, a baker and a Muslim woman were actors, but the witnesses were real-life customers, who were just coming in for a doughnut and coffee. While some customers expressed anger at the baker because he refused to serve the woman and asked her to leave the shop, some people thanked the baker for refusing service to a Muslim. This very real issue was raised by the tv show and it clearly demonstrates the many different attitudes towards Muslims in the US. Thanks to ABC for bringing up this issue of prejudice towards Muslims to light, and thanks to Ms. ElTahawy for writing about it. Now, please tell us what you think as Saudis who live in Saudi, but frequently visit the US, among other countries. Have you faced such prejudices?
BELLEVUE, OH -- When a Muslim woman wearing a headscarf tried to place an order at a bakery in Waco, Texas recently, the clerk refused to serve her saying, “We’re at war with your people.” The distraught woman replied she was born and raised in the United States, and appealed to her fellow Americans at the bakery to help her.
Thirteen of them tried -- by yelling at the clerk, asking for the manager, or walking out in disgust. Six customers supported the bigoted clerk. Twenty-two just looked away and did absolutely nothing.
The Muslim woman and the bigoted store clerk were actors in a staged segment of the ABC Primetime's show “What Would You Do?” But the reactions to the ugly scene were real -- a snapshot of post- 9/11 America.
Watching such bigotry shatters my heart into a million pieces. The scenario barely begins to convey the complicated picture of life for American Muslims. Not least was the reaction of the father of a soldier who had just returned from duty in Iraq: He was a vociferous defender of the Muslim woman.
For my own chapter of the complicated Muslim life in America, the little town of Bellevue, Ohio (pop. about 8,200) is the setting.
My brother Ehab and his family are the only Muslims in Bellevue, a green and warmly Midwestern town about two hours by plane from my home and its mirror opposite, New York City, a metropolis where I anonymously navigate a tapestry of ethnicities and languages.
Bellevue got its first Muslim family when the town hired my sister-in-law, Abeer, to become its only woman OB/GYN. She is now a local celebrity -- featured in the town’s paper and greeted by patients and co-workers alike at the mall, restaurants, and at my niece Danah’s soccer practice, where Abeer points out all the children she has delivered.
Like the Muslim woman in the Primetime segment, Abeer wears a headscarf. It matters little to her patients, who love her and who keep her waiting list as long as my brother’s commute to Toledo, where he is a cardiologist. I like to think that unlike the bigots and the shamefully quiet majority of customers in the ABC segment, Abeer’s patients would speak up if they ever encountered such hatred because they know a Muslim.
Ehab and Abeer moved to the United States from Egypt in 1999. I followed a year later. They were visiting me in Seattle on September 11, 2001. We didn’t leave home for two days because we were worried someone angry at Muslims would try to attack my sister-in-law, more visibly Muslim than I because of her headscarf.
A drunken man did try to set my local mosque on fire. But then residents in the surrounding neighborhood covered the mosque’s entryway with flowers and messages of apology and support. And for almost two months, volunteers stood guard outside the mosque holding signs saying Muslims are Americans.
My memory of that spontaneous support for Muslims from the community is what made the ABC segment so shocking. How could 22 people remain silent before the vilification of an innocent woman?
The ABC segment was just the tip of an iceberg of Muslim-phobia and vilification in America today. Thankfully, there have been no attacks since those on 9/11. But polls show the fears and suspicions are on the rise in America.
Why? A major reason is the use of Muslims and Islam to scare voters. It has become one of the cheapest cards to play in an election campaign: An anemic economy and an unpopular war make it classically requisite for a scapegoat: So, pull out a Muslim punching bag. Barack Obama's opponents think they can slur him and Muslims with rumors and accusations.
President Bush was commended for visiting a mosque soon after the 9/11 horrors, and saying clearly that Islam was not to blame. But his policies since then have been almost the complete opposite. The Patriot Act has been used to spy and hound inocent Muslims and has ruined plenty of Muslim lives -- but led to no terrorist convictions. Guantánamo has become a shameful blight on all that America once represented.
My brother was one of the 8,000 Muslim men interviewed by the FBI in November, 2001. Two years later, he submitted to being fingerprinted and photographed like a common criminal as part of a "Special Registration." What about him, besides his Muslim faith, warranted such treatment?
During my most recent visit to Bellevue, Abeer told me she wondered if her patients ever thought it was weird they were seeing a Muslim doctor. I told her that her work and her family’s life in Bellevue had undoubtedly humanized Muslims for the town.
My niece Danah and her brother Nour are the first Americans in our family. At the church daycare they attend, the teachers know not to give them any pork. Danah knows that 'God' and 'Allah' are interchangeable.
We’re eagerly anticipating the arrival of Danah and Nour’s twin brother and sister. Their parents are in heated debate as we speak over Muslim names that work well in English and Arabic. For now, my brother jokingly calls them Tic and Tac.
My hope for the four Eltahawy siblings from Bellevue, OH, is that they grow up in a country where their fellow Americans refuse to be silent witnesses to hatred but will instead fiercely stand up to bigotry.
"A mother’s plea" is a letter sent to me from Mr. Tariq Al Maeena, the editor of the Arab News. It is about education in Saudi Arabia and the lack of services for children with Autism, ADD or a learning disability. It is an honor that he shares letters and ideas with us on occasion. We really appreciate his readership and comments - thank you Mr. Al Maeena. Let's have a look at the letter, and comment on here about the issue of educational reform in Saudi Arabia. As young Saudis, and other nationalities interested in Saudi Arabia, we want to know what you think.
The letter goes as follows:
‘Dear Mr. Tariq,
I am writing to you this email requesting a favor. Many Saudi parents including myself are having a dreadful time at the moment. In my case, the problem started two years ago when I tried to enroll my youngest son in the same Saudi school as his elder brother. The school owner refused to accept him claiming that my son is autistic because he failed the entrance exam for KG2. She insisted that we had to have him assessed and so we did.
We felt that we had to do everything possible to have my son accepted so that he would be in the same school as his brother, but it was all in vain. She just didn't want my son in the school, and thus we had to consider another option which I have long resisted, and that was to put my children in an international school.
The process of registering both my sons in an international school was easy and heart warming. After what we have faced with previous school, it was humanizing. My sons went through the assessments easily, not because they were geniuses or wizards in the English Language, but because they were treated as kids who are growing, learning and have potential.
My children spent that past year in Jeddah Prep and Grammar school, leaving me to wonder why I had not thought about it before. My kids come home cheerful, happy and enlightened. My 7-year old comes home with a tiny school bag with a few notebooks but with a world of knowledge and learning. The teacher recognized that he needs help with reading, so she had him go a special learning lab at the school. Now my son enjoys reading, swimming and his personality has developed tremendously.
Now we have come to know that the Ministry of Education will not issue any renewals for permission for Saudi students to attend International schools. Not only that, the British school will have to only accept British pupils, German schools German pupils, Indian schools Indian students, Italian school Italian students, French school French Students, and so on.
Can you even start to imagine the consequences for such an irrational decision? What effect this will have on the expatriate community in the Kingdom? Many foreigners come to this country with the promise of a good salary, good accommodation and good education for their children. If these requirements are not met, they will not continue to hang around here much longer.
Also, in my son’s class, there are only 3 British students. Under this new decree, most schools will not be able to operate without Saudi students who make up the bulk of enrollment?
In other countries like Qatar and the UAE for example, nationals of these countries get a monthly stipend for their kids’ education and get insurance; they get all the help from their government to ensure that citizens live a decent life. Here we don't have that luxury and we work for what we earn, so we pay for this school from our own pocket and still we are told what to do and what not to do.
I will not put my sons back again in Saudi Schools, I would rather have them home schooled or move to Dubai or Bahrain . There was a meeting on the 14th of May in Jeddah Prep and Grammar School to discuss this issue. The school sympathized with the parents but there's little they can do. They are in more trouble than we are, because if things remain like this, they will be forced to close down.
On Friday May 16th of May, an article published in Arab News by Fatin Bundagi titled “What Saudi parents want” only touched the tip of the iceberg. My request is that you let people know what's going on. Hopefully, some media pressure will result. Even if my husband and I somehow manage to get a permit for enrollment, most of the other parents won't, and the school may not be able to operate next year. F.G.”
This letter from a distraught mother who wants the best for her children highlights exactly what is wrong with some of our Ministries who issue decrees without studying the destructive effects it would have on the future citizens of this country. This is akin to the Minister of Commerce dictating to me what vehicle to buy next, or the Minister of Housing and Rural affairs telling me which neighborhood I should settle in.
And where is the rationale behind such a move? If international schools deliver a better quality of education to our children, shouldn’t the Ministry of Education be more concerned about elevating the quality of learning in our government schools, rather than depriving some of our young of the opportunity to shine to the maximum of their potential and among other citizens of the world?
Or is it that some fundamentalists within this Ministry fear that close proximity to foreign teachers and children will erode the ‘special qualities’ of our society? Whatever it may be, I call on the Minister himself to take a second look at this ruling. Let us allow our children every opportunity to excel, no matter where it comes from.
The New York Times has written several articles about Saudi Arabia with a focus on the youth of the country.One of them is about Saudi-style engagements, and another is about love in Saudi Arabia and all the problems associated with it.Why do you think they are writing about love and marriage in Saudi Arabia?What opinions do you have about these articles? Is Saudi Arbaia well accurately represented in them?As a young Saudi, let us know what you think about articles in the western media about your country.
There are many Americans living in Saudi Arabia, yet not many of them take the time to write about their experiences in the country. "American_Bedu" writes about things as basic as a traditional toothbrush, called miswak in Arabic, to more complex topics such as polygamy and women driving in Saudi Arabia. Why is it that an American has taken the time to write so much about Saudi Arabia? Do you agree or disagree with the posts she has made? Do you think Saudis should write more about their country in order to educate non-Saudis? When a non-Saudi writes about the country, are they more likely to make mistakes, or more likely to be objective and tell the truth? Please check out her web site and tell us what you think about it. Please leave her comments on her site as well, she is open to hearing about what you have to say.
Princess Lulu met with Lara Bush when she was in Riyadh on an official visit recently, and it was brought up in an ABC interview with HRH Lulwa Faisal Al Saud. I hope to be updated more about what else came of the Bush visit and if the first-lady of the US learned much about Saudi Arabia. In this interview with Princess Lulu, HRH is very articulate and expresses her concerns about raising breast cancer awareness in Saudi Arabia. She also tackles some stereotypes Saudi women face and explains the difference between culture and religion and how it affects commonly discussed issues such as women driving in Saudi Arabia.Tell us what you think of this interview, and if you think it was well conducted and with cultural awareness and sensitivity by the interviewers.Most importantly, tell us what you think of the points made by both Princess Lulu and the ABC reporters.
