2017 JRN 400 Projects

MSU community reacts to Muslim misrepresentations

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Batoul Sadek was a freshman at MSU when she first heard the term ‘towel head.’  

Her roommate’s mom was referring to her hijab. Later in the semester during dinner, Sadek  surprised her roommate’s family by revealing how empowered she feels, using the role of her religion as a means to create female-centered communities. “My old roommate telling me she was afraid to live with me when she learned I was Muslim,” was just one of the stereotypes Sadek, now a junior, has faced as a Muslim woman. But she isn’t alone – these are just some stereotypes Muslim women experience. Misconceptions

And the incidences of discrimination Muslims face continue to increase in the U.S.A., according to a survey conducted earlier this year.

Lansing

Prayer and exposure to Islam needed for Lansing in wake of Chapel Hill murders

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By Ian Wendrow
Listen Up, Lansing

LANSING-Thasin Sardar first heard of the triple-murder in Chapel Hill, North Carolina through Twitter as he was about to conduct evening prayers before heading to bed. He originally assumed the tweets were about a separate incident involving Muslims at another university in North Carolina. It wasn’t until he awoke the next morning did he begin to see #MuslimsLivesMatter trending and news outlets covering the triple murder of Deah Barakat, his wife Yusor Abu-Salha and her sister Razan. “It’s truly disheartening to see,” Sardar said, speaking on the tragedy of the murders themselves and the apparent silence from major media outlets for three days after the incident occurred. A community outreach volunteer at the Islamic Center of East Lansing, Sardar and his fellow imams at the center were reserved in their reaction to the killings.