Ahmed Elmasry, an honors student at Mercer majoring in Liberal Arts, grew up in Egypt which is a dominantly Muslim country. From his childhood, he says he was a faithful and devout Muslim. He had many friends and never had any issues publicly expressing his faith. Then he moved to the US when he was 18.
Ahmed says that his identity as a Muslim seemed to create boundaries for him in making friends in college.
He says, “I was a strict Muslim as a kid, not because of my parents. I wanted to be. But then I lost faith.”
He says a big part of his fall out from Islam was due to an emotional tragedy.
“I was about 16 or 17. I had to watch my grandmother die slowly after a stroke which left her disabled. I had to bury her with my own hands. Then I lost faith. When I lost faith, I started having an identity crisis.”
Crises of faith are not unusual for adolescents and can be particularly common for Muslims.
In an article from NPR written by Leila Fadel in 2018, she explores the struggles of young Muslims and the reason why they erase or conceal their faith.
Fadel states, “erasure comes in part from the focus, negative or positive, on Muslim immigrant communities and a depiction of Islam as only a foreign faith.”
Fadel goes on to cite author Su’ad Abdul Khabeer who wrote the book, Muslim Cool: Race, Religion and Hip Hop in the United States. In the book Khabeer writes, “Not only are we losing the generation before us and their leadership, but we’re also being sort of erased.”
In the aftermath of his identity crisis, Elmasry says, “I lost a lot of Muslim friends after getting a tattoo and that hurts.”
Tattoos are prohibited in Islam as it is considered a form of altering the natural physique of the human body.
Although Elmasry is no longer devoted, he says, “I don’t say I’m Muslim. I say I was raised Muslim. I’m afraid of being judged by that and because of the media’s perception. On this campus, I didn’t have any friends the whole first year. I tried to make friends and once I told them I’m Muslim, they stopped talking to me and some completely avoided me.”
Elmasry says that putting his faith aside and becoming more integrated with his non-Muslim peers gave him more acceptance.
He says, “I didn’t use to give a damn but I realized I do want to care about the people I’m attached with.”
Others have taken a different path.
Amira Mubarak, a freshman at Mercer majoring in Biology explains her experience saying, “People said to me, you’re beautiful, you’re young, you don’t have to [wear the hijab]. The only problem I have is in prayers in college that people will be watching me and judging me and I feel insecure.”
Non-Muslim students at Mercer have varied reactions toward Islam and Muslims at college.
Brian Amigh, a Mercer Honors student majoring in Psychology says, “Isn’t American culture founded on the basis of religious freedom? The right to dress religiously is integrated into our culture. Muslim people feel judged at the school. In an ideal world, no one views them different but that’s not the reality.”
Those who have expertise in cultural studies, such as Mercer sociology professor Dr. Edward Avery-Natale have specific advice to offer.
Dr. Avery-Natale advises Muslim students who are intimidated to show their identity out of fear of being judged that “Being vocal is the right choice. There’s evidence to suggest that knowing a larger group of people [from any race or religion] diminishes prejudice and having regular interactions with a diverse group, you come to understand they are not just a group but unique individuals and [this] diminishes stereotypes. It’s hard to believe all Muslims are terrorists if all the ones you know are good, how can they all be evil?”
Dr. Eric Villepntou, an adjunct professor of Anthropology at Mercer, expresses his ideas on raising awareness of the Muslim identity saying, “We can make more headway if we try to talk about it. We hear about ISIS a lot. I wish we had more [Muslim] students share their points of view and be involved in discussion. I’m seeking diversity. I thrive on that stuff.”
Although he encourages people to be vocal, he also voices his concerns saying, “The USA has a history regarding treatment of minorities…We lump people in certain groups and put them in an envelope and close that envelope.”
One Muslim student at Mercer, Rukhma Mir, shares her perspective saying, “If you’re not accepting yourself, you will not be accepted.”
