Khalid Hudson speaks at the “Meet Your Neighbors” event held on the Square Sunday. (Photo by: Cady Herring)
Non-profit organization Change Mississippi hosted an event aimed at breaking down borders between different faiths this Sunday at the Square. For the inaugural “Meet Your Neighbors,” members of the Oxford Muslim Society and Ole Miss Muslim Student Association set up tents in Oxford City Hall’s parking lot and answered questions about their faith.
Change Mississippi President Ryan Grover said the event was a response to President Donald Trump’s executive order banning immigrants from seven Muslim-majority nations, originally issued Jan. 27.
“Change Mississippi is a grassroots focused effort to make Mississippi the great place we know it can be,” Grover said.
Signs reading “#Let’sTalkAbout” hung from the white tents, clueing visitors into the issues being discussed at each booth.
Participants talked over Muslim history, Islamic extremism, life in the U.S. and a discussion titled “What’s Going on in the Middle East.” There was also a tent labeled “Learn to Write Arabic,” in which Ole Miss students learning Arabic would write a visitor’s name.
While organizing “Meet Your Neighbors,” Grover said he visited the Oxford Masjid–“mosque” in Arabic. He said the Muslims he spoke with were surprised to discover his lack of knowledge about Islam.
Mahmoud ElSohly, pharmacy professor and president of the Oxford Muslim Society, spoke at Sunday’s event. ElSohly said he has lived as a Muslim in Oxford for more than 40 years.
“We really want you to talk to us, learn things from us, what we are, who we are and what we stand for,” ElSohly said. “We want you to get that information from us, not the media.”
ElSohly invited attendees to come to the mosque and recited a verse from the Quran, emphasizing God’s creation of different tribes and communities in order to get together and learn about each other.
“Islam doesn’t teach us to hate each other, doesn’t teach us how to kill others,” ElSohly said. “It teaches us to be peaceful and to be lovable of each other.”
Mississippi Rep. Jay Hughes also spoke Sunday.
“We’re all so very different, but together we’re one,” Hughes said. “We all bring amazing talents, interests and culture that makes us who we are.”
Hughes said his mantra of “more combines us than divides us” applies to the religiously diverse Oxford community. He said compassion is the common denominator in every human being and every religion.
“It all starts with education,” Hughes said. “It’s about adults and standing firm when we see something that is wrong.”
One tent in the City Hall parking lot Sunday explored “Life as a Muslim Woman.” The speakers said hijabs make Muslim women more recognizable than Muslim men, and these women often receive more attention.
Oxford Muslim Society member Mona Haron attended medical school in Egypt before she joined her husband to Oxford 10 years ago. After sending her three kids to school, Haron said she worked toward her Ph.D. and is now a drug researcher at Ole Miss. She said nobody is forcing her to wear a hijab.
“My husband isn’t like, ‘Yeah, you have to wear it,’” Haron said. “It’s not like we are oppressed or anyone is forcing anything on us.”
She said in some Islamic communities women face oppression, but such mistreatment has nothing to do with religion and more to do with culture.
Junior integrated marketing communications major Fatimah Al-Sherri said she was born and raised a Muslim in Oxford. She said culture plays a big part in how women are treated in other countries.
“They lack real Islamic knowledge and let culture play a bigger part,” Al-Sherri said. “These people might not want to give women the complete rights that they have under Islam”.
Haron said Oxford is a great place to live and the media exaggerates the negative treatment toward Muslims.
“I’ve never really experienced any kind of racism. I’ve kind of lived isolated, I guess,” Al-Sherri said. “I’ve heard Muslims talking about being yelled at, but I never could really relate to that. Oxford is a diamond in the rough.”
Al-Sherri said she was scared when President Trump took office because she realized islamophobia was still an issue.
“Just because we have a good experience in Oxford doesn’t mean it’s not hard for others,” Al-Sherri said.
These Muslim women said they do not want to be seen as different.
“We are just normal people. I wish everyone would understand this concept,” Haron said.
Arabic instructor Asmaa Taha came to Oxford from Cairo last year and delivered the final speech of Sunday’s event.
“Just like any other religion, Islam is about peace, about love, being nice and open-minded and tolerant to others,” Taha said.
Grover encouraged guests to visit the Oxford Masjid for prayer service Fridays at 12:40 p.m. or any other evening at 7:30 p.m.
