National Affairs Add Poignancy to Ramadan

Author: Tim McCahill Assistant News Editor

With less than two weeks left of the Muslim holiday Ramadan, members of the College's Islamic Society have taken a step back to re-examine a year that has been a trying one for practitioners of the faith.

The holiday, a period for reflection and meditation, has an added significance for some this year as America and the world struggle to reconcile strange forces in the new calculus of global affairs.

Closer to home, the weeks and months since the Sept. 11 attacks have proven especially difficult for Muslim college students across New England. The New York Times reported on Nov. 12 that federal authorities were intensifying their investigative "sweeps" of campuses in the Northeast and beyond, contacting students from around the Middle East in hopes of gaining new knowledge on the events leading up to the attacks on New York City and Washington, D.C.

According to the piece, "220 colleges reported that they had been contacted at least once by the [Federal Bureau of Investigation] or [the Immigration and Naturalization Services] after Sept. 11." Investigations are motivated in large part, the article concluded, because one of the terrorists was living in the United States on a student visa.

Federal investigations on and off college campuses have come under fire from many in America, including prominent Muslim organizations, with some groups accusing the government of racially-motivated "profiling."

"The checks on Arab and Muslim international students are disappointing," commented Wasim Rahman '02, a former president of the Middlebury Islamic Society, in an e-mail to The Middlebury Campus. "While legal, I believe that such racial profiling only serves to group innocents with terrorists. Profiling goes against our notion of presumed innocence and inclusive culture. It is colored by an underlying belief that a whole ethnicity or religious community is suspicious simply due to the acts of a select few."

"Such profiling seems to be in direct opposition to statements made by President Bush that this is not a war against Islam," Rahman went on to write. He also expressed no knowledge of any member of the College's student Muslim community having been contacted by federal authorities.

Hosam Mekdad '03 echoed some of these sentiments. "There is a sense of uneasiness and vulnerability among Arab and Muslim students on campus. It is unfortunate that such a screaming breach of civil rights, which should be of concern to all Americans, is taking place."

Mekdad went on to express his concern that even members of the Muslim community at Middlebury may not be safe from federal scrutiny. "If the feds want to interview you, they will. I don't think that location here in Vermont is a factor." Like Rahman, Mekdad conceded that the Islamic Society was "not aware if the College has been contacted by the federal agencies or if any student has been interviewed."

"About people being picked up or profiled, I have no opinion," explained Rafat Kapadia '04, who will assume the role of Islamic Society president next semester. "This is a pretty sensitive topic. But it is important to know who is responsible [for the September attacks]."

Government investigations, however, have not hindered the Islamic Society from organizing a series of events this fall that were warmly received and well-attended by the College community. These included November's symposium on Iranian cinema, screenings of the controversial documentary "Jerusalem's High Cost of Living" and the film "The Message," as well as a celebration of the beginning of Ramadan on Nov. 17.

"Initially we did try to keep a low profile," admitted Kapadia. "We didn't stop planning activities. A few of the things we've done are certainly not in line with keeping a low profile."

Kapadia mentioned that while she did notice a greater number of people from outside the College attending events organized or sponsored by the Islamic Society, the goal of this semester's activities — increasing awareness on topics related to Islam — was the same as in previous years.

"While many of our activities were the same as in past fall terms, they had a special significance this year because we knew that there were more people who were interested in what we were saying," Rahman wrote in his e-mail.

"Initially, students were inclined to keep a low profile on campus, which lasted for roughly two weeks," he continued. "Instead of letting the attacks on Washington [D.C.] and New York keep us silent, the Islamic Society resolved to resume all its activities and take advantage of the opportunity to educate others about Islam."

Responding to greater interest outside campus boundaries, the Society also organized a four-week class at the Middlebury Congregational Church on Islam and participated in an interfaith Thanksgiving dinner with area churches. "We have striven to meet the desire to know more about Islam," Rahman commented. "The members of the Islamic Society have striven to be more conscientious about speaking to others about their faith in order to actively demystify it."

Despite an increased demand for knowledge on Islam, Rahman expressed concern that government investigations of college campuses might hinder future efforts to attract or recruit Muslim students.

"While there are roughly 45 Muslims on campus, most are secular and are Muslim because they are from predominantly Muslim countries," he explained. "No more than 10 practicing Muslim students have been responsible for the activism of the Islamic Society. While we've tried to meet all the on and off campus requests to know about Islam, I know that we all believe that Middlebury would be better served with a larger practicing Muslim community. Unfortunately, the number has gone down in the past year."

The months following the Sept. 11 attacks have witnessed an affirmation of the religious convictions of many Americans, Muslim and non-Muslim.

"[Religious belief] should become stronger, it makes more sense," commented Kapadia. "But I think [my religious convictions] are just about the same — I'm a pretty stable person."

"The events of the past year have affirmed my belief that it is important to be active in the community and to help educate others," Rahman concluded. "The Muslim community at Middlebury has worked to dismiss stereotypes about their faith and help their peers and professors understand Muslims in a personal and human way."