USA-TEXAS: ISLAM'S IMAGE HAS BEEN HURT BY TERRORISTS

Muslims at A&M say war has hurt religion's image
By APRIL AVISONEagle Staff Writer

Muslims on the Texas A&M University campus say they are like other students - they go to class, socialize, study for exams and try to live on a tight budget.

But they also are different.

Some of the young women wear a "hijab," or headscarf, covering their hair. They don't make physical contact with the opposite gender. They avoid eating pork and drinking alcohol. And they wake up at 5:30 a.m. to pray.

As Islam Awareness Month is recognized on the A&M campus in November, some local Muslim students say they want to clear up misconceptions about their faith.

Mohamed Zebda, 21, was born to Palestinian parents in Alabama and raised in Corpus Christi. Now a biomedical engineering student, he says he has had a good experience at Texas A&M.

"I had a lot of friends in high school who told me not to go to A&M because it's not diverse enough," he said. "There are times when I feel like people view me as a minority, but I haven't had anyone call me names on campus or anything. It just seems like they don't understand me. Some people ask me, 'Why don't you speak with an accent?'"

Misconceptions

It's tragic, says 18-year-old Maryam Ahmed, that people think Muslims are a violent people.
"We were hurt as much by the war [in Iraq] as anyone else, if not more," she said. "They blame us for the actions of other people."

[Booo Hoooo Hooooo, if indeed the majority of moslems in the world are 'moderate' and the terrorists are a minority, than I suggest you all get your 'moderate' moslem arses into gear and start doing something about those terrorists in your midsts to become 'moderate' otherwise stop complaining because you haven't done anything and you really don't want the West to do it for you because it's gonna get ugly...ed. A.I.]

It seems as though Osama bin Laden has become a poster boy for Muslims, without their consent, Ahmed said. Bin Laden, who has said he received an edict that Muslims should kill U.S. civilians, has taken responsibility for the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks that killed almost 3,000 people.

"There are people that think the religion espouses violence and tells its followers to do things like this," Zebda said.

In fact, Ahmed said, Islam is all about peace.

"It's completely the opposite of violence," she said. "Our ultimate goal as Muslims is to try to make it to heaven. You do that by good deeds. It's about trying to be a good person."

[The two of you must not have read the qur'an properly, but that is what you get when you really only memorize it and chant it 5 times a day without actually knowing what it says...LOLOL...ed. A.I.]

Both Zebda and Ahmed are dedicated to their religion and attend the mosque on Stasny Street in College Station. When asked what it's like to be a minority on a predominantly white, conservative campus, Ahmed laughed and said, "We're conservative."

"A lot of people don't realize we believe in Jesus as a prophet," [What you don't tell the people Ahmed is that according to you Jesus Christ was the son of Mary, I am here to tell you and that Jesus Christ was & is THE SON OF GOD ! ! ! e.d. A.I. A typical islamic taqiyya & kitman activity...The infidels are ignorant enough to just accept it at face value...] Ahmed said. "One of my favorite parts of the day is when I get to talk to people about this. They assume I don't even speak English. They are concerned about women's rights and ask me if I'm sad or unhappy because I wear the veil."

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Pertinent Links:

1) Muslims at A&M say war has hurt religion's image