By Shereen Yousuf, Common Ground News Service
Chicago, IL: I miss speech team. Originally, I never desired to be a part of speech team, or “Forensics” as my friends used to call it. Whenever they told others they were part of Forensics, they would immediately follow it with, “And no, we do not get together and dissect frogs.” When I started high school, I had no idea what Forensics was, or that this identity crisis existed among the members. Wearing my hijab, or the Islamic headscarf, I was essentially “wrapped” in my own Muslim bubble. My greatest concerns were trying to reconcile my place as a young Muslim girl in America, and specifically, in a public high school.
My fifth grade experience will always be one of my worst memories. My first day, I told my classmates that I wore my headscarf for religious reasons. The boy sitting next to me responded by putting stickers all over his face and shouting, “LOOK, I HAVE TO WEAR STICKERS ON MY FACE — IT’S PART OF MY RELIGION!” The class roared in laughter, and continued to follow this ringleader throughout the entire year. He would knock on my desk, and when I looked up he would say, “Room service — want a towel?” The rest of that year my name had gone from Shereen Yousuf, to towel head. The worst part about fifth grade; however, was when this particular boy would pull my headscarf off from behind. The ‘teasing’ was something I expected, but to physically take it off my head was a complete and utter violation.
The summer following my fifth grade year I remember pleading with God five times a day that not a single soul from my fifth grade class be in my sixth grade class. Eternally grateful, my prayers were answered. I did not know anyone in sixth grade, and the friends I made that year are still my friends today. They are all non-Muslim, but were there for me and during my struggles regardless. In fact, they were the ones who introduced me to Forensics in high school. They had joined when they were freshmen, and asked me to do the same.
I finally decided to audition my junior year, the year following September 11th. I wrote and performed a speech on 11 September, on how Islam is not a religion of terror, and why two Muslims could both say Allahu Akbar, God is great, but have completely different ideologies. The response I received was amazing. I remember students and adults alike approaching me afterwards stating, “Wow, I’m really glad you said this stuff. You completely changed the way I think.”
I stuck with speech team, and by my sophomore year in college I delivered a humorous speech about the Muslim experience in America playing off of Muslim stereotypes. I actually received a bronze medal at the national tournament for that one. I made fun of that boy in fifth grade, saying that when he put the stickers on his face, I responded by turning to him and blowing up his desk.
Interacting with non-Muslims who have been so kind to me throughout my life made me want to learn more about their faiths. I first heard of Interfaith Youth Core when I transferred to DePaul University my junior year. I immediately desired to be part of it simply because of its name and then decided to intern for them this summer. I realized while working here that had it not been for my friends in sixth grade, I would never have fallen into the path of standing up for my faith in a productive manner. The other interns remind me so much of those four friends I made in sixth grade. There are three Jewish interns and one Christian intern. They are supportive of my identity, listen to me about my struggles, and essentially act in a way that makes me believe that if everyone could interact the way we do, and build relationships in which we admire one another’s dedication to faith, the world could become an ideal place to live.
I value the idea of religious pluralism, and uniting through our shared values, because I experience it everyday at IFYC. One of these shared values is community service. I feel that one of the greatest services may not only include working in a garden, but planting the seed of open-mindedness, tolerance and respect for other people, and allowing it to grow. I miss speech team because it became an outlet for me to speak my mind, but the interaction I experience here is essentially what I’ve always wanted as a Muslim in America.
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Shereen Yousuf is a senior at DePaul University in communications and Islamic studies. She is involved in several organizations on campus and co-founded a non-profit organization that strengthens the identity of Shiite youth in Chicago through service work. This article is distributed by the Common Ground News Service (CGNews) and can be accessed at www.commongroundnews.org.