Muslims in America

“Let's build bridges, not walls.”
— Martin Luther King Jr.

On Monday, February 17 at 4pm, I attended a one hour event hosted by the Muslim Student Association; it was entitled “Muslims in America: How well do you know them?”. I am not Muslim, but I decided to attend the event to learn more about the beliefs and lives of Muslim Americans. Ms. Meira Neggaz, the Executive Director of the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding, spoke to the audience about statistics relating to Muslims in the US. Then we got to hear from a panel of students from the Muslim Student Association at NC State who spoke about their experiences and answered questions from the audience.

An interesting statistic that Ms. Neggaz presented to us was that Muslim children are most likely to experience religious based bullying, and ¼ of Muslim bullying involves a teacher. This is a disturbing statistic because it is a teacher's job to make their students feel comfortable and welcomed. This should be a top priority for teachers because students learn best in an environment they feel safe in. Check out THIS website about the importance of students feeling like they belong in a classroom and why teachers are critical to helping students feel this way.

After attending this event, I feel that the best way for teachers to create a safe and comfortable environment for all their students by trying to understand them better and see things from their perspective. This not only improves their teaching, it will also set a good example for their students to treat each other the same way.

I enjoyed attending this event and am glad to have learned so much more about my Muslim neighbors. I will continue expanding my knowledge across multiple religions and cultures so that I have the tools I need to create a learning environment that encourages all students to love learning and attending school.

I will be using this event as an engagement experience in the cross-cultural theme of the Passport to Success program at NCSU.