Peace be upon you and welcome back,
I know its been ages since I last posted, but the college life can get pretty busy. Anyhow, I wanted to watch the movie Mooz-lum, but fortunately or unfortunately tickets SOLD OUT for the NY movie premiere before I bought my ticket. Anyhow, so I decided to enter a contest to see if I could win and unfortunately I didn’t but thats okay because in writing for the contest, I saw things through fresh eyes and I truly thank God for all the blessings He has sent my way. Here’s what I had written:
Question: Did (Do) you share an apartment or house with a person of a different faith? What is it like?
My first semester I had a double to myself and during the second semester, my roommate was hardly ever in the room. Junior year of college starts and the anticipation rises. We were friends, but how well will we serve as roommates? Questions plague my mind, but before I know it, the semester has started and I’m sharing a double with one of my Christian friends. I’m Muslim, wearing the hijab, fasting, and trying to keep up with my prayers. Will I get the strange looks as I prostrate before my Creator? I know the answer even as the question comes to mind. No, my roommate has seen me pray before. She knows I pray five times a day and that the semester started in the middle of Ramadan. We had these discussions, she’s learned about my faith. My sister’s painting of a mosque hangs above my bed, and the Palestinian scarf wrapped around my bedpost serves as a reminder to keep the oppressed people in my prayers. My Qur’an on my desk, the translation along side, the anticipation just mounts, but deep in my heart I know I’ll be fine.
The semester before, I had gone to Church with her and she had gone to Friday prayer with me. We experienced each other’s place of worship and we realized that both of us believe in the same God. We’re both praying to the God of Abraham. We discussed our faiths and asked questions so as to make sure nothing we do would offend the other.
Fast forward to the week of September 11, 2010. I can sense her quiet concern as she watches me pack my bag in order to go home. She worries about my well-being, among the frenzy that surrounds the Park51 Community Center. She tells me I should take the offer of getting a ride home instead of taking the subway, and after much “debate,” I had to give in. Thursday I tell my roommate that I’m heading home. “Eid?” She understands and tells me to enjoy spending time with family and stuffing myself with the sweets my father makes, the sweets she knows I love. That weekend amongst all the craziness that happens, I can feel her love and concern. She’s there standing by my side because she knows that the way Muslims have been tainted and painted in the media doesn’t represent the masses. She knows me and understands me. She understands my dietary restrictions and that I need to keep aside time to fulfill my prayers. I’ve learned about her beliefs and we’ve discussed the similarities of stories in the Quran and Bible. We’ve reflected on the wisdom of our Holy Books and we respect the minor differences. We’ve conversed about the politics and even with our differences, I feel as though in my roommate, I’ve found my spiritual sister. She uplifts me in a way that very few people can and the curiosity we both possess allows us to grow closer and to grow stronger.
This semester, we both volunteer our time as Peer Ministers (the inter-faith group on campus). We try to build bridges of understandings and though at times I know people struggle with their personal and religious identities, I think in my experience, I’ve been lucky. I came to a Catholic College, but the love and embrace I have felt, lets me know I truly belong. Those who surround me know that in this place and time, it’s people like me, my fellow Muslims, who are the most misunderstood and going through a hard time and they let me know that despite the images the media shows, I’m surrounded by people of all different backgrounds who are there to support me. In my room, on my campus, and in my life I’ve been blessed with a family, a family that’s not limited to blood or faith, but by the single most common thread- humanity. It is this basic thread that allows us to love, to respect, to care, and to always be there to support and carry each other through our difficulty. Different backgrounds have come together, joined together, by love.
I hope you enjoyed that piece and G-d willing I will post more often.
Take care and was-salam,
your sis in faith and humanity,
~poeT91 aka sanechange 
