Editor’s Note: This is the second part of a three-part series about Muslim culture and understanding.
After the events of Sept. 11, the national news media flooded American homes with stories of violence, unrest and war in the Middle East. However, coverage is often confusing and centered on small groups of people. Middle Eastern culture represents an unknown topic as American citizens struggle to understand the Islamic communities which live and study in their own back yards.
Ibrahim Alhafidh, a 23-year-old student in the English as a Second Language program at Mississippi State University, was born in Al-hasa, Saudi Arabia. He knows all too well what it is like to be Arabic in the United States.
Harris: How long have you been in Mississippi?
Alhafidh: About nine months ago I came here. I came here because I need to continue my bachelor’s degree in computer sciences.
Harris: What do you think about Starkville compared to Al-hasa?
Alhafidh: It’s much smaller than Al-hasa but the people are still friendly. I have as much fun here as I do in Al-hasa, and Mississippi State is much, much better than Al-hasa’s schools. I really like the people here.
Harris: When you first got here did you feel that you had trouble getting into the country?
Alhafidh: No, it’s the same rules as any Arabic country.
Harris: I thought maybe it was harder to get into the country after Sept. 11.
Alhafidh: Before, people from Saudi Arabia were able to get a visa in about three hours and you could stay in America for as long as you want. Now, it’s really hard. You have to get an appointment one or two months ahead, take your passport to the office. After one week you have to go back, and even then the visa is only good for a maximum of two years. Some of us are scared to go back home because they might not give us a visa to come back to school.
Harris: Do you think that there have been times in Starkville that people have been unfair to you because of your nationality?
Alhafidh: You know, maybe some people in the South, they either don’t like people who are skinny with black hair, or they don’t like Middle Eastern people. Some people say that when they see us at the airport they are scared. Maybe we have a bomb. But not all people from the Middle East do that. We are cool. They think all the Middle East people do the bombs and that we don’t like American people. But we hate any bombs anywhere. The same people that do bombs here do them to us in Saudi Arabia.
Harris: Who are those people?
Alhafidh: They are extreme people. They think they are really Muslim, but they are not. They hate any people not Muslim. Real Islamic people don’t kill people or bomb people. Real Islamic people love everyone, not only Muslims, because we all think about the God. The people bomb us too. It’s like the Mafia. They say it’s for religion, but I think it’s not. I don’t know where they get that idea. We study Islam in school, and our parents teach us what is right and wrong, but we never talk anything like “if we kill ourselves we will go to heaven.” No. We will go to hell if we do that.
Harris: What do you think about Saddam Hussein?
Alhafidh: I don’t know. He’s a really bad president. He killed his people. I have no more opinion about him.
Harris: How about Osama bin Laden?
Alhafidh: Hmm, bin Laden. I have two ideas. One is because he is from Saudi Arabia, he made us a lot of trouble. The second idea is that he’s really a terrorist. After he did what he did in the United States, the Saudi Arabian kingdom took his citizenship. He’s not allowed to go to Saudi Arabia. Our government does not call him Saudi anymore. He’s the most wanted one in Saudi, just like in America. Some people here like to remind me and my friends that Osama bin Laden is from Saudi Arabia. That is really not our fault.
Harris: Do you think that the war between the U.S. and the other Arabic countries will have any positive returns?
Alhafidh: There’s no religion I know talking about having war. There are two things in the Middle East causing the problem: Iran and Iraq. The U.S. attacked Iran because they tried to have a nuclear bomb. That’s a good thing. They attack Iraq because of Saddam Hussein. Also a good thing. America saved the world. America is a big strong country. But the conflict between Sunni and Shiite is a big problem in the Middle East.
Harris: What do you think it means to be Muslim?
Alhafidh: A good Muslim person has to smile at everybody when we see others. We have to pray every day five times. We have to be friendly for anybody. We don’t have to drink. That’s a good one because when you don’t drink, you don’t do anything bad. In our county, religion is our life. Every law that we have comes from the Quran. When we wake up, we pray. When we go to sleep, we pray. Everything we do is for our God.
Harris: Do you think that Islam is similar to Christianity?
Alhafidh: I have read the Bible, and it is really close. The difference is that Christians think that Jesus is the son of God, but we think Jesus is a prophet and a good person like Muhammad. We believe that Jesus will come back in the end. A lot of our morals are even the same. If you do good things in your life, everything will be okay. You just have to be a good person, and the God will love you.
Harris: Do Muslims think that Jesus is just as important as Muhammad?
Alhafidh: We think of them the same way. Moses, Muhammad, Jesus, Adam: they all have a message. We never pray to Muhammad, we pray to God. Christians and Muslims believe in the same God. In the Quran Muhammad talks about Jesus. Jesus was the only prophet who was born without sex. Muhammad even says he is special because Jesus is the one who is coming back in the end.
Harris: What about women in Islam. Is it okay for a man to hit a woman in certain situations?
Alhafidh: A lot of people here think that we are so terrible to the Arabic women. The difference between our cultures is that in the U.S the woman leads the man in the house or in the relationship. In Arabic countries the woman’s most important job is to raise the children. It is in the Quran that a mother is to be respected three times as much as a father. Men are supposed to work and give his wife money so the family can do well. In the Quran it does speak of times when a man might hit his wife, but not really hit her. Like very, very soft. Like a pat on the shoulder just to make her understand us. We never hurt the woman because we must understand she’s woman. It is a last resort because we must always try to not have a divorce.
Harris: Why do women have to wear veils?
Alhafidh: That’s what our religion is talking about. The big reason for the woman to cover her body is because some men may lust after her. Even rape her. It is for their protection. Also, when a woman covers herself, it makes you consider her personality more. Instead of seeing her as sexy, you consider her personality, whether or not she is a good woman and a good person.
Harris: What do you think American people must understand about Islam at this time?
Alhafidh: Islam is really peace. You say hi, we say “may you have peace.” They have to understand that not all the Muslim people terrorist. We hate the bomb and those who kill innocent people. Our religion is like Christianity. Islam is easy on its people. The news makes us look so bad, and it makes me sad to see that. I want everyone to live together as one community and to learn about us so they know that many of us are just as upset at the bad people as they are. I just want everyone to understand that I like being here. I like Americans, and I don’t think Christian people go to hell. I think they go to heaven because they believe the God.