Muslim students discuss Islamophobia and implications of 2016 election

It’s been a difficult time for Muslims across the country. Trump’s comments in the 2016 presidential campaign have released a flood of anti-Muslim sentiment in communities throughout the United States. With this rising tide of Islamophobia, some students have said they’re worried about outward displays of their faith. Reporter Denise Lin talked to Muslim students at UCLA to discuss the effects that Islamophobia has had on the Muslim community, and how students have been searching for solutions.

LIN – Last December, Nour Ouri made a big decision.

OURI – It was a really big day for me because I thought, “Am I going to be accepted? If I display my beliefs, if I wear the hijab – this is important to me.”

LIN – Like many other students taking finals, Ouri was nervous on her last day of community college … but not for the usual reason. She didn’t know how her classmates would react to her coming to class and, for the very first time, wearing a hijab.

OURI – I decided to keep it on and I walked into the class, and it was just really, really – you don’t understand, the fear I had walking into that class.

LIN – An unimaginable weight lifted off her shoulders when she found that she was welcomed as any other member of the class.

OURI – //sounds of chatter before class begins, fading in then out// and everyone said hi to me and was joking with me, and the teacher said, “Hey girl, what’s up?” She didn’t even comment on it. She knows who I am. And the whole time I had this anxiety about the whole event (…)

LIN – With the rise of Islamophobic sentiments across the country, many Muslim women who choose to wear a hijab face this same anxiety. Ouri, a third-year Arabic student and transfer student, explains that being openly Muslim can bring unwanted attention and judgment.

OURI – You get this feeling of uneasiness. On the bus no one sits next to me – they fill up all the bus, and I’m one of the last ones that people sit next to. //sounds of riding on a bus// You feel like you’re an unwanted part of society. You’re sitting here like, okay, no one wants to sit next to me. Some people would rather stand than sit next to me.

LIN – Though Muslim Americans like Ouri hope to live like normal Americans, Ouri explains that many face discrimination in the form of Islamophobia.

OURI – I’m not a bad person. I don’t associate myself with a terrorist group, but people associate you with that. … Your phone goes off with the Adhan, which is the call of prayer. So people look at you like, what are you planning? And I’m like, wait a second, you’ve got it all wrong.

LIN – Ouri’s experience opens a window into the wide array of anti-Muslim sentiment expressed nationwide. According to Public Radio International, hate crimes against Muslims rose suddenly after 9/11 and have not returned to pre-9/11 rates since. Muslim discrimination became especially apparent, again, in the 2016 election. Tobias Higbie, a UCLA history professor, explains that this fear of outsiders has been a recurring part of American history.

HIGBIE – The United States – our society, for whatever reason – has always had a tendency toward being afraid of outsiders at the same time it has had a tendency toward welcoming outsiders and giving them the opportunity to live here.

LIN – With U.S. involvement in the Middle East, some Americans incorrectly associate terrorist groups with people who are practicing Muslims.

HIGBIE – It’s politically advantageous for some people to make that case. It’s definitely Trump’s case (…) and from an intellectual or academic perspective or the perspective of the millions and millions of Muslims in the world, that’s ridiculous.

LIN – This political conflict has left many students caught in the crossfire. Ali Unar, a second-year political science student from Pakistan, and a board member of UCLA’s Muslim Student Association, has seen the flood of attacks on Muslims through the media.

UNAR – Santa Barbara, San Francisco … There have been so many cases. This causes a disturbance in the whole MSA community. If someone’s Muslim family is attacked, if a girl is wearing hijab, the next day she doesn’t wear it because she is threatened when she walks from campus to her off-campus housing.

LIN – Muslim students on campus have discovered many resources in light of anti-Muslim sentiment. For Unar, MSA was where he found his home.

UNAR – We have an MSA office in Kerkhoff; that’s the center of where we unite. Also, we have had support from the administration in times of crisis. Last year they funded halal meal options for Muslim students. This kind of support keeps us united with the administration and feel supported and feel there’s someone on our side in times of crisis.

LIN – Nikita Gupta, assistant director of the Bruin Resource Center and director of the GRIT peer coaching program, has been working to make sure students like Ouri and Unar are supported. The GRIT coaching program allows students to have one-on-one meetings with peer coaches who are trained in many areas, including something GRIT refers to as, “culture humility.”

GUPTA – Culture humility is a big part of the training; it’s a term that acknowledges that I can never know the full story of another person from a different culture. It’s about – I don’t know what your story is, but I can learn.

LIN – This idea of cross-cultural dialogue inspired the Olive Tree Initiative, a UCLA program which sends students to the Middle East for three and a half weeks in the summer.

GUPTA – It’s an opportunity to understand multiple perspectives on what’s happening with the conflict. It allows students to see it’s not as black and white as it may seem (…) to bring some peace to their minds, realize that everyone is struggling and that we’re hungry for a solution.

LIN – Though UCLA offers resources for Muslim students, some say that more could be done. Ouri tells of her personal experience.

OURI – I feel very alone; I know there’s a whole community of people, but it’s been hard because for some people, it’s hard for them to relate to your religion or who you are due to what’s been happening and Trump’s election. And you need emotional support like you’re doing fine, what steps can you take.

I went to the CPO office one day, because I needed help support. And the office was empty; I went over there for help and resources (…) I was like, you could have somebody there, or even leave a poster or something. I wanted to talk to people, make friends and reach out, and it felt like there was an empty echo.

LIN – Despite issues faced by Muslims in the U.S. today, even international students from majority Muslim countries continue to come to the U.S. for a strong education and a balanced school life. Unar came to for these very opportunities. His parents and teachers encouraged him to explore the world outside of his home in Pakistan.

UNAR – I was very optimistic, coming from a very small village in Pakistan in a family where no one has had a Western education, so it was a moment of pride, and I did not have any reservations. My objective was to gain from there, and come back to my community, help my society to grow.

LIN – Unar sees that, especially here at UCLA, progress has been made for the Muslim community.

UNAR – But here in the (UCLA) community you have education, intellectual; it’s a progressive community. You can’t feel it that much, because people can differentiate between what is right and wrong.

LIN – Though it’s been a difficult time for Muslims across the country, Unar sees change for the better in the future.

UNAR – I’m very optimistic about the future. The Muslim community has been targeted after 9/11. But there’s been progress; it’s been slow, but people know Muslims are not the reason for everything bad that has happened.

LIN – Before finishing our interview, I asked Ouri: Has everything that’s happened made you consider taking off your hijab? Even if it’s so important to you?

OURI – I did consider if for a moment but I thought if we give in to the fear with Trump, it’s just like giving in. You shouldn’t give in; you should fight for what you believe in. And I believe in my religion, and it’s a peaceful religion, and I’m a peaceful person, and I don’t hurt anybody. But if I continue to wear it, people will see not everyone is evil and not everyone can be labeled with stereotypes.

LIN – For Daily Bruin Radio, this is Denise Lin reporting.