An article for the Smith Student paper: The Sophian Alhumdullah
In Her Eyes
Exploring Muslim Identity
Issue date: 10/2/08 Section: Features
As human beings we have the tendency to identify, group and characterize. Too often we allow our affiliation, whether racial, economic or religious, to limit us instead of allowing it to help us in the fight to expand ourselves. No one person can dictate to another how to find that route, since our similar hearts grow in unique ways and under unique circumstances. Mine is religion, namely of the Islamic faith, since I identify as a Muslim. By remembering its principles, I have been able to humble myself with others, look introspectively at myself against those high standards and forgive people. It is said that the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) proclaimed that Islam wasn’t sent down to give morality to people, but that it was already there; Islam’s job was to simply define it. In that same way, being at Smith has facilitated an open mind and a broader scope of the world and of lifestyles - whether defined or not.
From first glance, one may look at Smith and see a small quaint town in the middle of nowhere with a pretty little college full of young women busying themselves with esoteric studies of all sorts. “Liberal Arts” has the sound of something creative and non-marketable. But that is the beauty of Smith. Encapsulated in a bucolic setting is a dynamo full of opportunities to expand your mind and soul. The quiet, laid-back setting offers up few distractions, but plenty of opportunity for intellectual and creative stimulation. Energy is routed toward art, self-expression, spiritual enrichment and intellectual rigor in a setting allowing for time to share these qualities of life with others.
On a quiet winter day, when the sleepy campus was silent and covered with snow, I roamed about capturing photos of the way snow held onto the living. On a sweltering hot day, I jumped into the lake and reveled in its relief and pleasure. On a weekend visit to a local church, I spent a couple of hours explaining Islam to a group of young children. And, on so many days, I come back from campus elated with the intellectual stimulation and adrenaline I feel after a discourse with an instructor who understood my point and expanded my understanding beyond what I had ever considered.
And, perhaps in contrast to the tiny pearls that I have described above, Smith has accommodated all of my needs. I have a private room; I have halal food and a choice of even kosher food. I have a Muslim Students Association that is dynamic and interacts with Hillel and the Five College Consortium. Here is the opportunity to expand into a broader world. All is for the taking, or not.
Boston, only a two-hour drive away, is a place where I hook up with friends from Virginia at Boston University and the Boston School of Law. At Harvard I am part of a team that organizes an annual Muslim Inter-Scholastic Tournament. I have attended the Inter-faith Youth Corps conference in Chicago, the Reviving the Islamic Spirit conference in Toronto and have continued in my work as Public Relations Director for Muslim Youth of North America.
Locally, I am involved in the local chapter of Habitat for Humanity, Student Government Association, Middle East Peace working in coalition with Hillel, the Campus Anti-War Network and a variety of activities on the different campuses in the Valley. I also interact with a number of religious groups in the area to broaden my understanding of others and to have them better understand me and what I believe.
My experiences in the quaint little town of Northampton, much more sedate than my Northern Virginia home right outside of Washington, D.C., has broadened my world and provided a plethora of experiences and lessons that I believe will take years to fully absorb and appreciate.
