Shape your society

Jan. 28, 2017 — I specifically recall running into my mom’s room, telling her that for some reason, I felt the sudden urge to go visit the IMAM foundation mosque in Los Angeles. This place was a staple of my childhood, the hub of all of my 6-year-old social activity and an optimal location for the best Persian deserts.

Jan. 29, 2017 — I was filled with horror as my mom told me that six people were shot and killed at a mosque in Quebec City, Canada.

“This could have been us, Kimia,” my mom said with remorse, then declared that we couldn’t step foot into our place of worship as long as Islamophobic hate crimes continued to plague us.

Despite being a Muslim, I can assure everyone that I am affected very little in comparison to my more religious Muslim brothers and sisters who see their mosques as a home — a home that’s been broken into, one that they can no longer feel safe in. And while this situation might feel very far away for some, it’s very much real and legitimate. Researches at California State University analyzed data over 20 states, discovering that there have been over 196 reported incidents of hate crimes against Muslims in 2015, a 78 percent increase since the prior year. While this may feel like simply a number, these are individual people being affected by others’ hate.

Now, I will be completely honest with you. I’ve never considered myself a religious person. I don’t wear a hijab, I don’t fast for Ramadan and I’ve never actually prayed five times in one day.

Celebratory Islamic traditions and Persian cultural customs are the practices I actually carry out. Celebrations for the new year, opportunities to eat a lot of delicious food and chances to spend time with my family are what have allowed me to continue calling myself a Muslim.

June 18, 2017 — 17-year-old Nabra Hassanen was beaten to death with a baseball bat by Darwin A. Martinez Torres when going to a Virginia fast-food restaurant after a late-night event with her friends at the mosque. She didn’t provoke anybody or cause anyone harm, but it was her body that was found in a ditch late that night.

This grotesque image felt branded in my brain and the thought that any of these people could have been me or my family was terrifying enough to understand why my mom wanted me to stay away from my mosque.

These cases speak nothing to the daily biases and cases of harassment that occur for Muslim men and women.

Hasan Minhaj, notable Muslim comedian, recalls in his Netflix comedy show “Homecoming King” that after the horrible attacks of 9/11, boys in his neighborhood threw rocks at his family’s car windows and told him they were “coming after him.” The fact that he was willing to discuss something as serious as Islamophobia on a platform based on humor confirms how serious Muslim hate crimes have been and remain to be.

So, while I write this article in part as a message to everyone in the student body and beyond to utilize their privilege and voices to advocate for the oppressed beyond the scope of Islamophobia, I also write to remind all the Muslim individuals reading this that they are not alone in this uphill battle. The swarms of individuals rallying and protesting at airports after President Trump released Executive Order 13769, which detained and banned citizens of some typically Muslim populated countries, acts as a testament to the fact that the American people are still on our side. In all the bad news, these admirable actions provide us all with a sliver of hope.