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UMass Lowell Muslim Student Association familiarizes student body with Muslim culture

Alexander Gentile
Connector Staff

In McGauvran Hall on March 27th, several students from the Muslim Student Association sat armed with an assortment of hijabs, traditional cloths wrapped around the head to conceal a woman’s image in public. The students offered the campus a first-hand glance into Muslim culture through their style in an effort to familiarize the student body with a way of life remarkably foreign to their own.

With several colors and styles on display, students often walked by with curious looks as one of the MSA members, nutritional sciences major Romesa Hannan, kept a bright and hopeful face. “People generally stay in their own circle,” she said. One student had already come by having taken a picture with one of the hijabs. Hagir Mohamed, another student, was proud and ready to show it off.

What the Muslim Student Association sees in their environment is an urgent need to give the student body an opportunity to embrace their culture. Though the University is a diverse environment with many cultures and ethnicities present, according to Hannan and Mohamed, many people still see the Muslim Culture as overwhelmingly foreign, as evidenced by the somewhat nervous stares of passers-by.

Hannan wants to show students that, though the wearing of the hijab is essentially a reflection of an important cultural value, there is no difference between anybody that ideology should exacerbate to racism and bigotry.

“What really matters is what’s on the inside,” she said.

Amid the climate of the post-9/11 years among other events, she and other students see their efforts as ways to break apart the “terrorist” image, though Hannan admits that things have gotten better. Mohamed says that the hijab is a “reflection of values” that should be accepted.

“We use it to cover our hair,” she says. In Muslim cultures across the world, according to Hannan, the wearing of the hijab is a reflection of modesty and conservatism that they wear proudly, even stylishly. Taha Siddiqui, president of the Muslim Student Association, wants to bring understanding and acceptance to the university. “There has been a lot of misunderstanding on what Islam means and who Muslims are”, he said.

When asked to comment on the event, Siddiqui said the hijab allows women to be seen for more than their beauty. According to Siddiqui, Hannan and Mohamed the hijab gives women the ability to represent themselves as intellectuals.

The event, called “How do You Look in a Hijab” was part of Muslim Awareness Week, a five-day cultural happening with several events to spread awareness of Muslim culture and teachings. The week’s events included Monday’s Muhammed: Who was our Prophet, Tuesday’s Write Your Name in Arabic, Wednesday’s Islamic Awareness Dinner with Imam Siraj Wahhaj, a world-renowned speaker on Muslim awareness and Friday’s Movie Night: The Message, a film that explores the history of Islam.