Tag: Religion

Islam and its Stereotypes

The interview I had with Omar Aldaei was enlightenment on a very personal level. During this interview, I was able to gather adequate information on the issue of religion. Moreover, I was able to get first hand information from the interviewee and create personal assumptions. In this essay, I will furthermore discuss the topics that we talked about in the interview and give personal insights in regards to the same.

In regards to what religion is, Omar said, “I think religion is a system of faith, and worship, where many people have subscribed to.” (03: 17) Personally, I agree with his explanation because people of different faiths subscribe to different religions and with time, they develop faith in this religion and begin to worship their idol. We also discussed the issue of Islam and whether Omar had a hand in how he became a Muslim. He was born in a family of Muslims and due to the belief of his family’s teachings, he decided to remain in the religion. “Since when I was young, all I have known about religion is Islam. My parents were born Muslims, my grandparents were Muslims, and the entire line of family were Muslims. I chose to stay in this religion because I believe in their teachings and because I think this is the only true religion.” (05: 30)

In my opinion, I believe most people continue believing in the religion they were brought up into and only a small percentage of individuals change their religion; mostly in their adult life.

In the interview, Omar talked about how he had begun figuring his Islamic religion from the tender age of thirteen. “I figured out what my religion entailed when I was thirteen. This is the time I had more questions about religion than answers, and I usually get religion advice from the Imam or from my parents.  At that age, I saw what entails humanity, by seeing how religion helps the poor, and the suffering in the society, I surely wanted to be part of.”(07:00)

During this time, he had started questioning issues including religion which was directed to his family. He adds how he learned about humanity and the concept of helping the poor and the society at large and how he desired to be a part of it. I believe actions in religion are what either pull an individual closer or further away from said religion. In most cases, people want to be involved with a religion that “does the right things” and most of these are what attracts people in a religion. In the case of Omar, seeing that his religion did the right things made him want to be more involved. On the topic of misconception about the Islamic religion, Omar defines it as faith and not a place of ignorance or superstition. He also adds how religion has been there for thousands of years and will continue to be practiced. I also believe that religion is not a superstition but a practice done by people with a certain faith towards a certain idol. 

On the issue of discrimination in the interview, Omar admitted being discriminated against and he also talked about how other Muslim individuals had faced the same. In his examples of scenarios of discrimination, Omar admitted to being labeled as a terrorist and people not wanting to be involved with him. Personally, I have also been treated as a terrorist on many occasions due to the fact that I am also a Muslim. Non-Muslims judge us based on our way of dressing which gives off an illusion of “a person we are not” and this creates difficult situations for Muslims. Omar also talked about being denied certain utilities and employment opportunities. It’s also evident that Muslims are sometimes denied access to clothes stores or jewelry stores because of the fear of bringing terror. Moreover, our dressing discourages us from getting employment opportunities due to false suspicions or due to the false fear non-Muslims have against Muslims. The problem with some intolerant non-Muslims is that they make assumptions that since the statistic of Muslims being involved with terrorism is higher than other religions, they pass the same judgment onto other innocent Muslims.

When I asked Omar about how the Islamic religion has impacted his life, he talked about the positive effect on issues such as his education, beliefs, principles, and character which was passed down from his parents and also how other people misjudge his religion when they believe Islam does not advocate for peace. Even with Omar explaining to non-Muslims how peaceful his religion is, he still feels how others misjudge his religion. This again boils down to how people believe that all Muslims are terrorists and with this fear, some of these non-Muslims have no faith that a Muslim can be peaceful. According to Omar, he believes the Islamic religion is the worship of the true god based on your beliefs, principles, topics with the end times, and what humanity entails. He also added how his religion made him freer in his daily activities. Personally, I believe every religion taken by an individual creates an environment of peace and the feeling of satisfaction hence Omar feeling freer in his religion. In addition, on the concept of Islam being a true religion, I believe every religion comes with its principles and truths which is what constitutes to a religion.

In relation to what religion felt close to Islamic, Omar talked about Christianity and how stories in the Bible and Quran are similar. I have also felt that Muslims and Christians have a similar history and both religions seem to have a few beliefs and principles in common. Omar believed that religion was the only way to live in a conflict-free environment and in harmony with different people from different religions. This may be true, but excluding everything else can be hard to keep people in harmony. This is because a sizeable percentage of individuals do not believe in any religion which means that if we were to only use religion to create a livable environment, some people would not want to be a part of it and there would be no continuous peace from all humanity.

In the interview, I decided to ask Omar what would lead me into his religion despite me being a part of it. He answered by saying his religion had good teachings and beliefs which from a personal level, I would agree to. I believe that this religion is as wonderful as other religions out there, and no religion is better than the other despite the beliefs. Despite the many beliefs portrayed and practiced by different religions, I believe that everyone should be engaged in a religion where they feel comfortable and that their beliefs can be of benefit to their lives. According to Omar, he grew up only knowing the Islamic religion which is what has led him to be comfortable with the religion based on its principles such as when he talked about how as a thirteen-year-old, he witnessed how his religion helped the poor. As stated before, religion is not only an institution but also what actions are depicted by its followers. Ethically, we can all differentiate from what is wrong and right. If a person believes a certain action is wrong in a religion, they are most likely not to be involved; however, if the person does not have any moral standards or beliefs, he/she can get involved with any religion. In the case of the Islamic religion, there is the belief of peace, helping the poor and being kind. This religion also follows strict rules based on morals and this is what creates a livable environment among the believers. However, I believe everyone has the opportunity to choose a suitable religion for themselves.

Tradition & Progress

Mandy (middle) and her children, (from left) Bobby, Alison, and Brittany, 2017 (All Rights Reserved)

This is a series of personal entries and a letter creatively formulated from an interview with Mandy Martinez. This series is an attempt to humanize the little girl who was robbed of her first love, the teenager who wanted to be understood, and the woman who was strong enough to be herself. The last entry is entirely non-fiction, as I pulled it from my very own journal.  

March 1989

Dear Diary,

Today in class we learned about genealogy. The teacher asked us to make a family tree. I learned that I am Hispanic, French, and Moroccan It was easy to fill in the branches closest to me: my mom, Michele, my dad, Armando, my mimi, Lucienne, my papa, Bill. I had to ask my mom about our family, to assist me in filling in the branches that extended past my immediate family. Then the teacher told us to predict our futures. We were supposed to add a page of branches dedicated to our future family. I looked at my mom’s name, my grandma’s, and my great grandma’s; the boxes framing their names were connected to their husbands. It felt weird making up my husband’s name, and not because I am only eleven and I shouldn’t be considering marriage, but because I never pictured having a husband.  But what else would I put in that little blank spot next to my name? I decided not to write anything. Ambra was sitting next to me while we made the family trees. She wrote, “whoever I fall in love with” in the box. I like that. I like her too. We became friends today. 

Goodnight,

Mandy M.

April 1989

Dear Diary,

Ambra and I ate lunch together every day for the past month. She always gives me her Jell-O Pudding Pops and I always give her half of my turkey sandwich. I like her a lot. She has pretty, blue eyes and dark hair. She has become my best friend. She tells me I am the best girl friend. I wonder if she has any other friends that are girls? Am I really the best? I hope so.  I want her to stay my best friend for a long time. She walks me home every day. Ambra’s mom lets her because she lives on base too, not far from me. Speaking of moms, mine is driving me nuts. She tells me I spend too much time with Ambra. Wasn’t she just encouraging me to make more friends that live on the military base? She says my compliments are inappropriate. She won’t even let her spend the night like my other friends do. Geez, I don’t know why she is so scared of Ambra. It’s not like she is a bad influence. The only way I can remain Ambra’s best girl friend, is to keep it a secret from my mom. And that’s just what this diary is for: keeping secrets. 

Signing off. I hope Ambra brings a vanilla pudding pop tomorrow.

Mandy M.

May 1989

Mandy, her sister, Tammy (middle), and their mother, Michele attending Pridefest, 2016 (All Rights Reserved)

I have a confession- one I can only tap onto my typewriter. I did a terrible thing. My big sister, Mandy, didn’t deserve to be punished. I did. I talked back to the teacher in class today and the teacher called my parents. Beads of sweat trailed down my face as I neared the front door. I didn’t know what to expect, a spanking? No, mom would find a punishment that was fitting for the crime, like soap in the mouth to wash out my back-talking. I hate the taste of that blue oily soap. And drinking water only makes it worse. When I walked through the front door, mom was sitting on the couch waiting. Mandy was behind me, my protector. She ran upstairs before she could get caught in the middle of my mother’s rampage. She yelled at me for a second, telling me how much I embarrassed her for disrespecting a teacher. What would all the mothers on the military base think when my peers hinted towards my rebellion to their parents? She likes to remind me about how much they gossip about the bad kids at church. Then what would the others at church think? I was afraid of getting grounded and losing my whole weekend over talking back to the teacher, so I said it. I said the one thing I knew would take the attention away from myself… I told her Mandy was gay. How do I know she’s gay? I saw her kiss Ambra at school. On the lips! Mom’s fury was no longer aimed towards me. I placed it promptly onto Mandy. I’m so sorry, Mandy. I didn’t know she would whip out the belt. 

Sincerely,

Tammy M., Mandy’s sister

January 1994

Entry #217

What a weird couple of months. First, I see Mandy with her boyfriend, Enrique, and figured she would only ever just be a friend to me. Another straight girl. Then when I talk to her in Sophomore Spanish class, she laughs off their relationship like they are just friends. “I don’t really like-like Enrique. I mean he’s cool, but he’s just not the person I want.” Those were her exact words. I could tell she got giggly and happy towards me, so I finally considered the possibility that she may be into me. I went for it and asked her on a date. We grubbed on In & Out, listened to the new Nine Inch Nails CD, and I even planted a kiss on her cheek. Not bad for a first date. We spent two whole months together before she let me even see where she lived. She told me she was afraid her parents wouldn’t approve. The word she always uses to describe them is “traditional.”  Well, she was right, I think. Mandy promised me she would talk to her mom about us so I wouldn’t be a secret anymore. That was the last time we spoke. I tried talking to her at school, but she changed her classes. I tried to call her, but the line never rang more than twice. I guess that’s the end of that.

With a broken heart,

Tina K., Mandy’s second love

Dear Father John,

Mandy and her mother, Michele (left), attending Pridefest, 2016 (All Rights Reserved)

It has been brought to my attention that my sixteen-year-old daughter was having an inappropriate relationship with another female. The person my daughter is infatuated with wears raggedy dark clothing, has a choppy haircut, and is, worst of all, a woman. I am sure you have dealt with blasphemous over-sexualized youths in your program much worse than my Mandy. I think she may need some guidance, if this phase of hers continues. I would like you to teach her the proper way of life; the traditional life with a husband and children. Mandy wants to be a nurse; she wants to help people. That proves she is a good person despite her sinful desires. I have done my research and have come upon a conversion program you are holding in the summer. I am interested in registering my Mandy this upcoming summer, if she doesn’t change her ways immediately. I want to be a grandmother. I want my daughter to feel whole! I trust you to guide her away from the alternative lifestyle I fear she may want to live. 

In the name of tradition and The Holy Spirit,

Michele M., Mandy’s mother

June 2003

Dear diary,

Mandy and her family at Pridefest, 2018 (All Rights Reserved)

I haven’t written in this old thing in years, but I feel as if writing will give me some form of therapy. I think I am finally ready to leave Robert. He is a good man, an amazing man. He is a perfect father to my three children, and I will always love him, but something is missing. Something has always been missing. I have sacrificed my true self to satisfy my mother, my husband, and my children. I am a fucking adult. My mother cannot run my life or threaten to send me to a conversion camp. I know my kids will be hurt by the separation, but my oldest, Brittany, is six years old. I have time to help her understand as she ages. All of them. They will understand because they love me. I am a lesbian. It feels so refreshing to write. The ink is dry upon the page and my words have meaning. I am going to leave Robert tonight. My kids will forgive me, right? What if they hate me for dragging them into an alternative lifestyle? Now I sound like my mother.

I can do this.

Mandy M.

July 2015

Mandy, her wife, Angel (left), and her children, Bobby, Alison, and Brittany, 2018 (All Rights Reserved)

Hey, journal. It’s Alison again. Who else would it be? Whatever. I just got home from Pridefest with my family. We all got decked out in rainbows and had so much fun. Mom and I saw our favorite drag queen perform! Pride is my favorite family tradition. Everyone is so inclusive and fabulous! After Pride, mom and her girlfriend, Angel, took us to Steak N’ Shake for the perfect burgers. While we were all sitting in the squeaky booths, scarfing down our burgers, I noticed my mother’s smile. It was a certain smile that is only possessed in the genuine haze of late-night diner food. It was a smile I recognize, for it portrayed her happiness in that moment. The genuine gleam to her grin makes me grin, because I know my mom is happy. My grandma called mom after she saw the pictures my mom posted on Facebook from Pride. She asked if she could join us next year. Progress. 

Love,

Alison K, Mandy’s daughter

Uzay/Space

“Death toll rises to 50 in New Zealand mosque shootings,”

“The gunman intended to continue his attack,”

“Manifesto filled with anti-Muslim Screeds-”

These are the words I read as I attempt to

Write a poem about an interview with my

Muslim brother.

I think back to the summer

My family welcoming him into our home

The laughs we shared after work into the late of night

Teaching each other new things

Protecting and Loving each other fiercely

Despite the obvious difference

In our skin and voice

When people find out that you are Muslim

They shift in their person

They go from friendly conversation

To barely saying anything at all

All because of what society has taught people to think

Uzay told me that if he could change anything about society

The religions would not be important

It would be who you are, what you do- that would be important-

And yet, the hatred is rooted so deep that

Senseless genocide seems to be the only response to difference

For a class about genocide, I am writing a poem about genocide,

Because I am reminded all the time that Uzay could be killed

For what he was born into– and not what he got to choose

Some say that Ignorance is bliss, but ignorance is far from bliss

Ignorance is the reason that I fear for the loss of my dear friend

Ignorance is the reason that muslims are universally stereotyped as violent

Ignorance is why 50 people that were trying to worship in their safe space

Are now dead

So when will it end?

Artist Statement:

Gabrielle Moss, Portrait of my little sister and our Turkish friends, St. Louis, April 2019. All Rights Reserved.
Gabrielle Moss, Portrait of Uzay as a baby, Istanbul, April 2019. All Rights Reserved.

I have never really written a poem, nor did I think I could, but passion made it seem like one of the easiest things that I have ever done. I seemed to have too many words for a narrative that made sense, so this free verse style of fragmented thoughts worked well to depict everything that was on my mind in the moment.

Gabrielle Moss, Portrait of Gabrielle and Uzay, Eureka, Missouri, April 2019. All Rights Reserved.
Gabrielle Moss, Uzay’s Family (Grandmother, Twin Sister, Mother, Father), Istanbul, April 2019. All Rights Reserved.
Gabrielle Moss, Uzay’s Family (mother, twin sister, father, older brother, Uzay), Istanbul, April 2019. All Rights Reserved.

During my interview with Uzay, I asked about some things that I saw firsthand during his time in the United States. The stanza that starts, “When people find out that you are Muslim-,” is in response to a question that I asked- “How do you find people react to your religion?” Over the summer I saw people meet my friend with hesitation, aware of his foreign ethnicity at first glance. They treated him so differently from me and my fellow native co-workers, approaching him with fear and lack of knowledge. Anytime I see things in the news like the New Zealand Mosque shooting- which is referenced in my poem- I am reminded of how vulnerable Uzay is in this world that doesn’t practice tolerance and universal acceptance. Much like the persecution of Jewish people for their religion, the Muslim people of today are facing dangers for their religious beliefs as well. Because of the connection I was able to draw between the experiences, I couldn’t think of anything better to write about for this project.

Finding Identity in Kansas City

For 18 years, Anthony had grown up in Austin, Texas. He recently moved to Kansas City, Missouri to go to the University of Missouri- Kansas City, to get his Bachelor of Arts in Journalism.  I am also a student at the University of Missouri- Kansas City. Unlike Anthony, I have lived in Kansas City, Missouri most of my life. I was also born in Texas, and shortly after I was born, we moved to North Carolina for my dad’s job. My dad was unhappy with the job in North Carolina, so we moved to Kansas City, and we couldn’t be happier. Kansas City is such a unique city where you can find a place you belong very easily. Anthony and I have one thing in common, and that is that we were both raised Catholic. The one big difference is that we both had very different experiences with the church.

When I was 4 years old, I was baptized Catholic. I did not get a choice, nor did Anthony. The big difference between our stories is that I went to catholic school for 16 years. I was surrounded by people with the same beliefs as me, and at the beginning of every class we start the class off with a prayer. Anthony did not get this. His parents made him go to Religious education class once a weekend because he went to public school. Anthony then came out to his family as gay when he was around 16 years old. Our faith journeys are very different.

Anthony was born into the Catholic Church; his parents chose his religion for him. He was baptized as a baby and went through the sacraments (baptism, first communion, reconciliation, confirmation).  Anthony has always thought of church as being a burden. When he was younger, he never wanted to go to church and, since he went to a public school, his parents made him go to religious education classes and youth group. When Anthony turned 16, he realized he still was not interested in church and decided that his ideas did not align with the Catholic church. Since Anthony was so young, he did not get any say in if he wanted to be a part of the Catholic church or not. When asking Anthony if he wished he got the choice to decide if he wanted to be Catholic or not, he responded by saying, “I would say probably no. Being raised in the Catholic church has opened my eyes to this and is something I don’t really want to be apart of. Even though I might have had a few struggled and I felt a little awkward at times to be part of the church. I think growing up that way really made me realize that I had my own viewpoints separate than my parents and family had,”(3:44). This, for me, was very hard to hear because I was also raised Catholic and went to 16 years of Catholic school. It was heart breaking to hear that Anthony didn’t appreciate Catholicism as much as I do.

Anthony came out as gay in 2015 when he was 16 years old. For Anthony this was hard because he knew that being Catholic and gay was something that was difficult to achieve . A lot of old fashion Catholic’s do not support gays, and Anthony knew this. Anthony knew he had some struggles coming his way. The first people Anthony came out to were his parents. In the interview Anthony said, “My mom was really upset. She started crying and talked about how disadvantaged I was going to be. But my dad could tell. He had an idea and he was more okay with it, I guess you could say. As far as my extended family, I really did not feel like it was necessary because they all lived outside of Texas so I felt like it wouldn’t have made a difference if I came out to them. I really didn’t see a point,” (4:03). Imagine not having your mom not totally on board with your sexuality. That in itself must have been extremely hard. Anthony’s mom since then learned to accept him for who he really is. No one in Anthony’s family knows that he is gay besides his parents and his sister. He isn’t hiding it from his other family he just doesn’t see them and doesn’t find it super important to tell them. In the interview, Anthony said that he waited a while to tell his sister just because they are 15 years apart and he is not that close with her.

I asked Anthony if he would consider himself Catholic and his answer was, “At the moment I do not know. This is something I have struggled with for the pasted few years whenever people ask me what religion I am or if I am Catholic. I just don’t think I should entirely separate myself from the church. I am afraid to do it honestly,”(6:53). Anthony admitted that it is hard being gay and Catholic because he said when he came out, he started to judge the people in his church because he assumed, they were judging him. Anthony now has learned that no one is really judging him and that he is invited and welcomed into his church. Anthony, throughout his life, has struggled being gay. In the interview I asked him how being gay effected his self-image and he said, “I think for a while even after I came out I guess I really didn’t want to be perceived as gay even though I had come out. I just didn’t want to be looked down upon me. I didn’t want people to see me and be like that person is gay. I didn’t have a problem with being gay, I was just afraid of the perception people would have of me. I was afraid people would look less of me or they wouldn’t want to be friends with me because I was gay,”(2:30). This interview was so interesting to me because I have never had to experience wondering if I was accepted in my church or not. I have always just thought I was loved and accepted by my church community. Anthony is a very strong person to have to question whether or not he is accepted at such a young age.  Since getting to college, Anthony has realized that he does not get treated differently because of his sexuality. He feels like he is accepted and welcomed at the University of Missouri- Kansas City.

A Tolerant World

Imagine a world of tolerance,

The skies are clearer and the birds chirp louder,

Around the corner stands a little boy in a dress,

Unafraid of any judgment he stands prouder.

His mother holds his hand with strength,

She knows she can provide,

Her check is as much as any mans,

The years of sexism she took in stride.

Across the street stands a couple,

The color of their skin is not the same,

But the love is real and the hearts beat loud,

So between these two souls there is no shame.

Down the road sits a mosque, in front of it stands a church,

Two religions that have been side by side since birth,

No longer is there animosity between them,

They both promote love on this vast and holy earth.

A young girl approaches the doors to school,

Not fully a citizen, nor on a vacation,

She speaks a different language,

New to this country and new to education.

Her parents came here to work and live

Their new neighbors offer a helping hand to acclimate,

Bridges are built so this family can feel safe,

And between the children a friendship is what they’ll create.

This world can exist for both you and me,

Effort and tolerance establishes a strong foundation,

We can build this life for a brighter future,

A better city, a nicer state, and an even greater Nation.

Katey Johnston, a depiction of Brad Moser and Katey Johnston, Overland Park, March 2019. All rights reserved.

On a Wednesday afternoon in February, I sat down to digitally interview a man by the name of Brad Moser. He was kind enough to lend me a hand for an interesting class assignment. The assignment was to speak with someone different than yourself; for Brad and I that difference was religion. He is Mormon, while I grew up Methodist. The questions I asked him to answer were personal, but as I found out, he is an extremely open individual. Proud of his religion, and how it has shaped both him and his family, it has made the obstacles it brings worth it. This interview allowed me to connect my class work to his life. The main way I connected was through the misunderstandings of his religion. In class, we have discussed how many of the stereotypes and myths surrounding Judaism are false, or untrue, in today’s world. One stereotype that follows those in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is that they all have multiple wives. This is not true for this religion today. Brad believes these stereotypes still exist today due to people’s indifference and unwillingness to educate themselves. The inspiration for my poem comes from our discussion on creating a tolerant world. Brad believes that at some point we can become what he calls a “Zion society”; in order to get there, we must first educate. Brad works in education himself and this is why he stresses the important role that this plays in creating a tolerant world. The poem is my imaginative world of this tolerant society; where everyone is allowed to be themselves and are tolerant of all others and their differences.

A Normal Oddity

I was walking to my car from my Chemistry lecture around 7 pm. My phone started ringing; Maddy Herrell was calling me. “Hey! I’m just calling to let you know I’m right on Main Street,” she told me. My apartment was right off Main Street so she would be getting there much before I would. “Okay, I am on my way right now,” I told her, just as I picked up my pace. It took me twenty minutes to reach my apartment and just as I got there I saw a small car outside of the gate, idling with the headlights on.

I met Maddy last summer and we continued to keep touch every now and then which really got us to know each other personally. We found out that we had very different views on politics and religion, which made her a perfect candidate for my interview because I wanted to know how she felt and responded to living her whole life in a very conservative town while being herself: an atheist.

The interview was set up in my room; I sat on my desk chair and she sat on my bed. I wanted to first address her school and personal life and show how incredibly engaging she is at just eighteen years old. Maddy is involved in the IB program which “…stands for International Baccalaureate….and it is a very tough and stressful thing to go through” (1:15), and on top of this, she has to juggle being on the track team and working as a waitress for Texas Roadhouse.

Maddy’s impressive resume was one of the first things about her that surprised me, and after having her explain this to me I could see she became a lot more relaxed with the interview which helped me change the topic and talk about more distinctive features about her. “I would like to shift gears a little here and talk about the more personal aspects of yourself: the aspects that may also set you apart from others and make you stand out” (4:47). I told her just before she followed up with a nice, relaxing assurance. I asked about her views on religion, and she responded that she had been an atheist since she was a child. This was mostly due in part by her mother’s influence and how she explained to her what religion was when she was only in elementary school. “You know my mom, she explained to me both Christianity and Atheism; she knew a lot about both. I just never saw Christianity as a realistic possibility” (5:10). She goes on telling me that, for her entire life, she has never found any sense in religion. This was really unexpected for me when I took into account that we both grew up in the same town of Peculiar, Missouri, a town that is overtaken by Christian-Conservative morals.

In Peculiar, you could find a church by heading three miles in any direction, in fact, right next to Raymore Peculiar High School is the United Methodist Church. Christianity was the common thread that residents held on to, so Maddy’s situation makes her the most unfortunate outlier. “Peculiar is a very ‘hick’ town and with most people leaning toward the Republican side…Most of my friends in school are Christians conservatives too,” (6:32) she explained. I asked her if she ever wanted to live anywhere else and with a brief pause, she responded: “I definitely would in the sense of moving away from that culture” (8:07). The only thing that keeps her back is her friends, all of whom she met living there and of course, no matter how bad a place is, when you grow up somewhere it is always going to be your home. In regards to politics, Maddy is a strong Democrat and again, this was greatly due in part by her mother. Her mother has always been a woman who never saw the truth in religion or Republican matters, and despite living in a right-wing town, she always kept her position.

I asked her how she felt living in Peculiar and if she had ever been fearful, and of course, she explained that in some instances she does feel scared by being out of place in a crowd of “dudes with big trucks, Confederate flags, or Trump banners” (9:20). Maddy thinks that the influence of Trump on the Peculiar community has been nothing but poor and that the President has excited ignorance and even white supremacy. “Because of all this, I feel like I don’t have a say at my school, or like I shouldn’t have one because I would get made fun of or laughed at,” (9:50) she added confidently. Being picked on has been something Maddy faced at school with her opposition toward conservatism and she said that the only thing to do is to just shake it off.

Parker Hauptmann, Portrait of Maddy Herrell, Kansas City, March 2019, All rights reserved.

I was very intrigued, however, when she mentioned white supremacy at her school and I wanted to dig deeper into this. “Was there an instance where you have seen someone being judged by their race?” (12:12) I asked. With her eyes wide open, “Oh, of course, I mean I know there are instances like those everyday….The whole town has this problem where, if there is anyone who stands out as being non-white will definitely be looked at or judged” (12:15). After she said this I started to think back to my experiences in town, and she was absolutely right; Peculiar residents are not very fond of seeing non-white citizens, particularly the older folks.

Up until the early 2000s, Peculiar was a completely caucasian town, but when the county population grew dramatically, more people flocked to the quiet, peaceful countryside. For the first time, African-American, Latino, and Middle Eastern families were added to the population, and it was quite evident that it was a shock to some natives. Maddy and I grew up during this time and going to school with kids that were a different race than us was normal but that didn’t mean everyone lived in harmony.


Parker Hauptmann, Portrait of Peculiar, Missouri, September 2018, All rights reserved.

She continued by saying, “…at school, this is totally worse. We have a bunch of racism happening, mostly because a lot of high schoolers are very stupid and immature” (13:05). The immaturity comes from kids saying racial slurs that start out as jokes but gradually spread into actual assertions; an example would be the use of the n-word: a common term used in today’s songs and youth culture. “The n-word gets said like everyday, and it’s mostly by white students too. They’ll just be saying it whether they are referring to a friend or rapping song lyrics that have the word in it….the word has definitely been used through hate and racism at our school, this is where our ‘hick’ and ‘confederate flag’ notion gets to use” (15:10).

Maddy told me a first-hand experience of racism at school involving a foreign-exchange student from Germany who was at a football game. Since his first time at Ray-Pec, he has been under much torment for his thick accent and looks but on this particular night, “he was standing on the rail just minding his own business and all of a sudden I hear one of the lower-classmen behind me yell, “What’s that German kid doing here, go home!”(15:27). Maddy immediately retaliated and proudly stood up for her friend.

I followed up her story by asking her if she was in a similar situation all due in part by her atheism because as said before, this was not a common ideology for a Peculiar teen to have. She appeared to be more nervous with her response:“…I remember in 4th grade, this one kid found out that I didn’t believe in God and just started telling all the other kids. Everyone just kinda kept giving me looks, and just like, whisper to each other about me” (17:17). This type of reaction was very common and she would even lose friends over it; “As if my religion changed who I was,” (17:17) she included.

Parker Hauptmann, Sixth Grade Portrait of Maddy Herrell, All rights reserved.

The most traumatizing experience she went through involved her 6th-grade teacher. Maddy was heard saying the Lord’s name in vain and her teacher was so furious as to call her out in front of the entire class. “She just started talking about how the Lord is her shepherd and ‘You won’t say my Lord’s name in vain’, practically preaching in the classroom” (21:20). I felt sorry for her after hearing this account because if this happened to me in 6th grade I knew I would be so scared as to cry. Maddy assertively stated that a teacher has no right to influence religion like that, yet it still happened to her.

As the interview concluded, Maddy left with one last postulation, “If someone judges me for what I believe in then their opinion doesn’t matter….I just don’t care what they have to say to me” (22:11). This is a perfect representation of her; she is strong, considerate, and wise beyond her years. Even though we don’t have the same perspectives, it is because of her attitude towards me that we have continued to be friends, and if more people had the same outlook then relations would be much easier to hold on to.

Do you believe in faith? Do you believe in love? Do you believe in God above? Well up here we will tell you so.

Up here, in this wonderful township, We will proudly represent his sponsorship. Nothing brings us closer; a perfect relationship.

God loves his beautiful children, through thick and thin. One big, happy family. A righteous kin. But will he still love you if you don’t see him?

If you don’t see him, you do not love him. You do not admire his creations. You are unresponsive and live under fabrication.

Don’t get sucked into the wrong. Don’t go down that road. That’s Satan’s lair; he will take you and not let go.

Small Town America

I was born and raised in California, where I was treated like dirt, we moved to this place to escape it all.

Little did we know, this place would become our nightmare.

This place is called, Small Town America, which from the

outside looks like freedom.

But little did we know, Small Town America did not treat well.

When we arrived, all seemed well, the grass was green, the sky was bright.

Small Town America, became our home and our delight.

It was perfect, for a while, until people realized what had arrived.

The people quickly found out who we were, we then became known as pests, like mice.

While, Small Town America was free from poverty, it was not free from choice.

You see in Small Town America, you can do anything, except be a different religion.

Small Town America has strict rules,

these rules must be followed, or persecution will occur.

My family was found to be Mormon, a religion that means no harm, and Small Town America did not react well.

The town began to cry, and as fast as we found freedom, it was taken away by the people of Small Town America.

Small Town America, a place we thought had freedom of choice, made us realize we had no choice at all.

Small Town America, began to yell, the town began to hunt us, as cats do with mice.

Small Town America, had become the place where we became persecuted.

Small Town America, threatened and harassed, until no longer could we bear it, and moved away at last.

Small Town America, a place that seems like freedom, turned into our living nightmare.


Isaac Earnheart, Dark skies in the Midwest, Missouri, April 2019, All rights reserved.

Inspiration: I had an interview with someone who was different from me religiously. The person I interviewed was born and raised in California and suffered many hardships as a youth because of the lack of income and religion. The person’s family moved to a small rural town, outside of Kansas City. When they arrived nobody had yet realized they were Mormon, but as soon as they were found out, things got difficult. The town turned on them quickly and began persecuting them and would threaten them verbally. I used the line, “The people quickly found out who we were, we then became known as pests, like mice.” I was relating it to the graphic novel Maus. In Maus, the Jewish people were often depicted as mice and were persecuted by cats, who were the Nazis. I used this to push my point that in Small Town America, people who do not allow religious freedom are just like the Nazi’s, they are attempting to destroy and restrict others freedom. The person talked about how over time people have learned to accept them, but there is still many people who persecute them daily.

I am Guilty Too

Society has a habit of wanting to change people. Individuals would like for everybody else to look like and behave like them. When people do not conform to the traditional ideas of what is acceptable, they become targets for discrimination and dehumanization. It has become easy for the modern person to assume that overt dehumanization is an issue that is locked away in the past, that somehow we as a modern society have moved past such behaviors. But reality would point to a different conclusion. Noah Hanratty is a freshman at the University of Missouri and knows first hand what it feels like to be dehumanized and to have to live in constant fear of how society will treat them. Noah is openly non-binary and uses they/them pronouns to describe themselves. Non-binary means that Noah wouldn’t say that they are male or female; instead, they are “Sitting happily in the middle” (21:37). This identification as non-binary goes against societal norms, in which everyone exists on a gender binary. For most people in society, gender is a check yes or no question, either you are male, or you are female. This exclusion from the social norm would make Noah stand out from other people and unfortunately bring on discriminatory behavior.

Noah Hanratty, Photograph of Self, Columbia Missouri, February 2019, All rights reserved.

This idea of being non-binary was mostly foreign to me before actually meeting Noah. I am a cisgender female, which means I was born a female and that’s how I identify now. During my time growing up and going through school I had been vaguely aware of people who were transgender or non-binary, but the idea of not fitting into the gender binary was never something that directly affected me, so I never thought I had a reason to consider it. However, being unwilling to try and understand the daily struggle that Noah and people like Noah were going through only added to their daily effort to have their identities recognized as valid. To not have your identity be considered valid is a dehumanization tactic to try and either get people like Noah to conform to societal standards or have people remove them from society. Noah’s mother even said, “That she’d never call me by those pronouns” (10:30). It seems to me that tactic that Noah’s mother is using is an attempt to try and have Noah conform to what society says Noah should be.

That conversation was not an isolated incident with Noah’s mother. Noah knows that their mother is “very religiously motivated when it comes to some things. And so she says that basically, she knows where I’m going” (11:48). It appears to me that Noah’s mother is trying to use religion, something that Noah grew up with, as a way to make them feel like how they identified was wrong, that they weren’t allowed to do that. I attend church and have heard the argument that she is making. It’s the idea that God created man and woman and that there is no in-between that can exist. By using religious arguments, she is trying to tell Noah that they need to change or else. It’s a thinly veiled threat that something will happen to them unless they start acting how religion says so. It is these sorts of threats that would make Noah feel unsafe and threatened. These threats are implying that Noah is some sort of “other” that does not belong in society; it’s a dehumanization tactic. It is important to note though that not all people who are religious believe this and behave this way. However, because of this argument that Noah has heard repeatedly from their mother they say, “I don’t feel safe in the church” (11:48). Which is understandable. If someone who claims to represent a particular religion were threatening me with Hell, I wouldn’t feel safe either.

But religion isn’t where Noah’s mother stopped in her attempt to have Noah conform. Noah asked their mother, “If I got married to a woman would you be there? And she said she didn’t know. And so just like that was the turning point” (10:45). This comment would appear to be an attempt by Noah’s mother to show that her support and love is conditional. If Noah doesn’t conform and marry a man, their mother may not come and support them at their wedding. Parents play such a vital role in weddings, so by saying that she might not be their Noah’s mother is saying that her support and by extension love, is dependent on Noah behaving as their mother would want them to. These comments made Noah feel so unwanted that they thought it was necessary to move out of their mother’s house. With the help of a friend Noah packed up all of their things and left the home that they had grown up in so that they could find a place where they felt accepted and validated. The emotional hardship of all of this was apparent for Noah, “You’re my mom, you’re supposed to be there for me” (12:36). By using her support as a tool to try and make Noah say that they are a female, Noah felt that their mother wasn’t doing what she was supposed to do as a mother.

When I first got to hear Noah’s story and hear about the things that were said to them, I was shocked, and I felt terrible. I wanted to be able to go back in time and stop any of this from happening to them. These comments that their mother had made seemed so blatantly dehumanizing and hateful, but I began to realize that it wasn’t just comments like that that would make Noah’s life more difficult. It was also people ignoring their struggle, which I was guilty of as well. I knew there were people when I was growing up and in high school that was transgender or non-binary, but I wasn’t sympathetic to their struggles because I believed it didn’t affect me. By standing by and not standing up for them in my school or not supporting them when they were going through similar experiences at home, I was also guilty of participating in the process of dehumanizing them. In ignoring the struggle of people around me, I was also a perpetrator of making people feel unsafe and unwelcome. I wasn’t creating an environment where it was okay to be whoever you were. Instead, I was perpetuating the idea that if you weren’t like me, then I didn’t have to care about you. Overt acts are not the only form of dehumanization. By ignoring people, ignoring their identity and their struggles, I also participated in the dehumanization process.

I have gone through much of my life believing that discrimination, dehumanization, and bigotry were small isolated issues. Overt hatred of people who are minorities existed primarily in the past. The few events that did occur were not indicative of most of society, and the perpetrators would be quickly apprehended. I was wrong. People go through life every day trying to avoid conflict. Noah describes it as “It’s kinda like when you’re walking down the street, and you see a frat boy and his friends. And you’re standing you’re like, oh no something could happen, something could happen, something could happen. And then when nothing happens, it’s just like a sigh of relief. Like okay, this time everything is fine. But it’s just kind of like you’re waiting for the dam to burst” (06:50). This perpetual fear that something could happen, whether it’s a physical confrontation or hate speech, exists in every moment of Noah’s life. In his film, Night and Fog Alain Resnais says, “There are those who look at these ruins to-day, as though the monster were dead and buried beneath them. … Those who pretend all this happened only once at a certain time and in a certain place — those who refuse to look around them. Deaf to the endless cry” (31:00). This film, in particular, is looking at the concentration camps and the hatred and antisemitism that caused it. He’s arguing that those hatreds still exist today. It’s foolish to believe that any form of hate or discrimination no longer exists.

However, there is hope for things getting better. For Noah, life has changed and improved with college. He’s found supportive friends and teachers that make him feel safe and that people care about them. That doesn’t mean the struggle is over, but things can get better. To continue to make the world a more accepting place Noah says, “I think it involves a lot of listening and trying to understand someone before attacking them” (22:25). By hearing Noah’s story, I’ve been able to better respond to the people around me who face persecution. By listening to people and attempting to understand them, we can begin undoing the process of dehumanization. I can’t fix the problems of dehumanization, but if I try to understand what the people who are facing it are going through and give them a place so that people can hear their voice, I can help make the change.

Getting to Know Another Culture

On a beautiful sunny day, I got a call from a childhood friend. It has been a long time since we got the chance to talk or even catch up. His name is Singh. We both thought it would be a good day to just talk and to catch up. We decided to meet up at his house, which was in Lenexa, Kansas. He lives about 30 minutes away from downtown Kansas City. I was very excited to see my friend. Once I got to his house, we started to talk about how India was.

Before we continue Singh’s story, let me tell you about a little bit about me. I’m also Indian but my religion is Hinduism, which is different then Sikhism. I was born in America and grew up in America my whole life. I never lived in India but I have visited India. Sikhism has always fascinated me and I wanted to learn more about the culture.

Singh is from Jalandhar, India. His parents moved to the United States when he was very young. His parents moved to the United States because they wanted Singh to have a better life than they did in India. Singh told me that in India, many people are starting to do drugs at a very young age. Almost every child around drug starts doing them because of peer pressure. That’s the number one reason Singh’s parents moved to the United States. After we caught up on life, I told Singh that I have a project for a class. The project involves interviewing someone that has different views or are from a different culture. I asked him if I can interview him for the project. He agreed. Singh has a different religion and culture than me. I was born and raised in the United States. Singh was born in India, then moved here.

We started the interview at his house. I was wondering how different living in the United States and living in India could be different from each other. Singh said, “Well the biggest difference is how in America that you flip the light switch and it is on, but in India, it isn’t like that. In India some or even the whole day we don’t get any electricity. Another one is how we must fill up water in a tank for the whole house, but in America, you constantly have water any time of the day. People in India mostly wash their clothes by hand instead of machine like in America” (3:00). Those are some of the things we take for granted living in the United States. I asked Singh if he liked living in the States or India better. He replied by “Yes, I do like living in the States more than India because the quality of life here is better.” The only thing Singh doesn’t like about the States is that he really misses his aunt and uncles. I don’t blame him. If you are close by your family you feel more at home. Singh also added that India has trash everywhere on the streets. The way you get hot water in India is by boiling water, but in the States, you just turn the handle to red and it’s hot. Singh also mentions that in India the temperature outside is the temperature inside of the house. I never really thought about how people still wash their clothes with their hands in India. People in the United States never really know how easy life in the United States is. Most people take this for granted. People should be happy about the little things in life than be complaining about conditions that can’t be changed. Singh and I both agreed that many people in the United States complain too much about how hard life really is.

What fascinates me most was Singh’s culture and religion. I asked if Singh can tell me a little bit about his religion. He said, “Yes, the religion is based on ten gurus were the messages of god. The ten gurus where human beings. There is the holy book called the Sri Guru Granth Sahib. It’s about the lineage of the ten Gurus. It’s like the Bible in way but different” (12:00). I wanted to learn more about his religion and the meaning of the word Sikh. So, I did some research of my own over the religion. The word Sikh means disciple, seeker, and learner. Sikhism firstly originated in northern Punjab (a state of India) around the end of the 15th century. Sikhism is also the ninth largest religion in the world. Sikhism is based on the first Guru Nanak’s spiritual teachings also the nine gurus after Guru Nanak. Guru Gobind Singh named the Guru Granth Sahib, which is the Sikh bible. There is also a baptism in the Sikh religion, it’s called ammrit sancar. During the baptism, a sweetened water is stirred with a double-edged sword while prayers are sung. It is then drinking by the person who is being baptized. Most Sikhs don’t get baptized. Sikhs who are baptized wear the five K’s. The five K’s are kes (uncut hair), kangha (small wooden comb), kara (circular steel or iron bracket), kirpan (sword), and kacchera (special undergarment). That’s what Sikhism is in a nut shell and it’s an amazing religion in my opinion.




Arsh Dhillon, “Portrait of the Ten Gurus”, 2019, All rights reserved.

One of the prejudices I heard about Sikhs is called the 1984 Sikh massacre. This was a series of pogroms against Sikhs in India. It was a response to the assassination of Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguard. There was an operation called Blue Star that happened between June 1 to 8,1984 by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi to remove religious leader Jarnail Bhindranwale and his armed militants from Amritsar, Punjabi. These led the two Sikh bodyguards to assassinate Indira Gandhi. The government and the common people started to beat Sikhs and kill Sikh. About 8,000 to 17,000 Sikhs were killed in 40 cities across India. This was just like what Hilter did in getting rid of the Jews.  

Another thing I wanted to know was what holidays Singh celebrated. Singh said, “There is Vaisakhi which is the celebration of the Khalsa brotherhood. You go to the temple. In the temple, there is many varieties of food and a lot of other activities you can do. They have volleyball tournaments and even basketball tournaments. My favorite part is when we have a parade that goes around the block, which is five to six miles. There is a trailer for people who can’t walk or for older people. Also, on the trailers are were the priests sing the cultural songs. There are also people carrying drinks like water and juice. People carrying trash bags and chips too. It’s a very cool experience. Another one is Diwali which is the celebration of freedom. It’s just like the fourth of July. In Diwali people light candles unlike the fourth of July. We also turn on every light in the house and put the candles in the middle or around the house. Other than that, it’s just like 4th of July” (14:45). I went to Vaisakhi with Singh and it was one of the best days of my life. Vaisakhi was packed with excitement and the people were so kind, it was just amazing. Especially the food was so delicious, the food was packed with out of this world flavoring. I would recommend anyone to go and you will love the experience, plus you won’t forget about Vaisakhi.


Arsh Dhillon “Portrait of Punjabi Culture”, 2019, all rights reserved

Overall, this interview with Singh was just a beautiful experience. I learned so much about another culture and religion. A religion that is just beautiful in every way. I am really appreciative for Singh spending his time valuable time with me. I would encourage other people to go out and explore the different cultures that we have in the United States. It really changes your perspective on life because you learn about different religions and cultures. Explaining a different culture or religion is complicated, but you must experience the culture for yourself to fully understand it.

A Kuwait Christian Man Who Worked in a Bakery during the Iraqi Invasion

On the 16th of February 2019, I sat on my desk and began staring intensely at the face of a distinguished middle-aged man with a mustache and a slightly bald head. This was the face of my uncle Faisal Almedej, aged forty-three, who lived in Kuwait. However, his image seemed to be a little bit different from our video calls since he looked uneasy in spite of having expressed great excitement when I requested him for an interview. Family ties play a significant role in my culture as a way of maintaining strong bonds with members of our extended family. Though I did not have a strong connection with Faisal, I knew him from my parents. Also, I knew that he had a family and worked as a mechanical engineer. Faisal was a hard working person and was committed to his family since he wanted the best for his family. I knew my cousin Faisal as a staunch Christian unlike most of the family members who were Muslim. Religion isolated Faisal from my family members, and it always made him stand out from our family members and relatives during social gatherings.


Faisal’s Uncle, Nasser Al-Shawe. All rights reserved.

I started our interview by asking him to tell me a little bit about his personality. During the introduction, Faisal stated that he felt different from the rest of the Kuwaiti society because of his Christian roots.  I asked Faisal to tell me about a scenario when his Christianity made him feel insecure and discriminated by the Kuwaiti society. Faisal took a deep breath before answering the question since he had a lot of stories to share. I could tell by looking at his eyes that he wished I never brought up that question in our interview. He sighed deeply and began sharing some of the events that had happened to him at the age of twenty. He began by narrating the 1990 Gulf War wherein everybody knew that Iraq had invaded Kuwait (20:40). Faisal narrated this event without emotion since he was furious with the events that took place. His voice changed when he began talking about the invasion of Iraqi forces in Kuwait. He was filled with emotion while talking about how Saddam’s forces hated Shia Muslims in Kuwait. This hatred forced the Iraqis to expel the Kuwaiti Shia’s forces from their houses and started killing them.

During our interview process, I was horrified by the events that Faisal was narrating. I had read about the Iraqi in 1990 which resulted in the Gulf War. I did know that my cousin was affected by the Gulf War since the Iraqi soldiers were intolerant of religious differences because they were Sunni Muslims who were targeting the Shia Muslims in Kuwait. During our interview, I kept wondering how the Iraqi forces would treat a person ruthlessly since he was not a Muslim. Faisal went on narrating the events that took place and uncovering all the hidden secrets done by Iraqi forces. Faisal stated that the Iraqi forces received information that Kuwait had a small population of Christians living there. His voice changed as he said the next words because Iraqi soldiers kicked them out of their house and either killed them or enslaved them. I could not imagine the horror of being in a war zone where your enemy wants to kill you because of your religion.


A portrait of Uncle Ameen, a teacher during the occupation. All rights reserved.

Faisal continued talking about how the Iraqi forces were taking control of his neighborhood. Iraqi soldiers used heavy arm machinery such as tanks that shook the earth when they patrolled the streets as a show of strength to the helpless Kuwaiti residents. Faisal stated that the Iraqi forces who kicked him out of his house were no ordinary troops since they wore red caps that identified them as elite soldiers. During their patrol search in Kuwait, the Iraqi forces provoked images of the ruthless elite SS Nazi troop. Faisal was captured by Iraqi forces after they discovered that his father was a Christian. He was then taken in as a slave and was forced to work at the bakery where he was assigned to prepare food for the army.

I kept asking myself why the red-capped Iraqi forces were ruthless to my cousin. Faisal stated that the soldiers had motives of using force to kill or enslave Christians. One of the major reasons was that they had bad blood towards Kuwait since they wanted to take their wealth. Saddam wanted to overthrow the government, subjugate its people, and proceed to collect revenue from the Kuwait oil reserves. The second reason was because of the religious differences between the forces and the Kuwait residents. According to Faisal, the Iraqi forces were ruthless to the Kuwait residents because of their differences in religion. Therefore, they did not care how they treated people living in Kuwait. In our interview Faisal stated that he hates Iraqi soldiers since they took his country and killed more than 400,000 people including women and children (27:51). Faisal recounted how the Iraqi forces used violence to instill fear in Kuwait residents by mistreating them and killing them. He said these words with tears filled in his eyes when giving an account of how he witnessed Iraqi forces hanging old men and women on the streets.


Kuwait currency during the invasion, All rights reserved.

I had never considered the deadly impact of intolerance. This is because I viewed intolerance as an undesirable act in our community since it violates the rights of other people. In my opinion, intolerance stops society from benefiting from the social and economic growth of our homeland. Listening to Faisal, I discovered that religious prejudice could lead to mass genocide in our communities. For instance, Hitler used racial differences of the Jews to justify their internment in concentration camps as well as defending the killings that took place during the Holocaust.  The Iraqi forces used their faith differences with the Kuwait Shia’s and Christians to justify their slaughter and their inhuman behavior.

Faisal was more than willing to share with me about the hard times he had suffered. He stated that despite being mistreated and forced to live in a deprived environment, he was forced to work at the bakery to cater for his mother and to ensure that other Kuwait families had something to eat. He recalled how each Kuwait family played its role in ensuring that they survived. Faisal’s closest friend, Saad, committed himself to keeping the neighborhood clean by removing the bullets and shells that littered the streets. His father joined the foreign troops in fighting the Iraqi forces that had taken control of Kuwait.


Shells collected by Faisal’s cousin after the Iraqi invasion, All rights reserved.

I wanted to find out how the Muslim Kuwaitis treated Faisal during this troubled time of the country. Faisal stated that everybody was committed in ensuring the survival of the homeland and differences went unnoticed. Faisal smiled as he remembered how his Muslim neighbors worked together with him and treated him with a lot of respect. According to Faisal, the Gulf War brought them closer and made them better as a whole than the invasion since they worked and lived together and identified each other as Kuwaiti citizens (18:07). These words filled me with great hope since it meant that the prejudice that people had could be overcome. I questioned myself whether the situation had gotten better for him after the end of the Gulf War. I asked Faisal to share with me the greatest challenge he faces today as a Christian in Kuwait (20:10). Faisal said that the biggest challenge today is that Kuwait residents do not understand the importance of diversifying our societies (21:21). Faisal gave an account of an event where he informed people that he is Christian.  His feeling of not being accepted in society was so great that he felt like relocating to a different place. Faisal stated that the idea of him moving was rooted in the hope that one day people would learn to be tolerant and treat each other with respect and consideration, regardless of their religion.

Emmanuel Benjamin Ghareeb, a Kuwait priest, during the occupation. All rights reserved.

As he continued speaking, I kept on asking myself why society was unfair to Faisal. He was a person who was loyal to his country and proved to be a true patriot during the Gulf War where he used his position as a baker to provide food for his neighbors. Faisal’s sister, who is also a Christian, used her position in the broadcasting station to leak important news to Kuwait residents who were at a greater risk if the Iraqi forces found them. Faisal discovered that during the difficult time in the country’s history, he had been treated as a brother and friend by his compatriots. However after the war, his identity as a Christian had made him an object of discrimination. Kuwait residents did not remember how he had helped his neighbors by providing food and protecting them from the Iraqi forces. I felt ashamed when I realized that I was part of the problem. I treated everybody with respect, and part of fault rested on me due to the fact that I viewed Faisal’s family as different based on their faith. Faisal’s family did not celebrate the special Islamic religious holidays or go to the mosque. This situation made me realize how my perception towards Faisal affected his being as well as his identity in society.

A Church that was in Kuwait that is now located in Al-Ahmedi. All rights reserved.

People should be more accepting of different cultures in our communities. We must understand that each person is entitled to follow his own religious path. People should not be victimized for exercising their freedom of religion. Instead of being prejudiced against people who are different from us, we should treat them with consideration since they are part of the human family. We should judge them based on their actions and character. Therefore, I believe that we should develop an inclusive society which accepts people regardless of their tribe, gender, religion or culture. Also, we should increase our exposure to people who come from different cultures and religious backgrounds because it will help us identify the common values we share as humans. This will help us create a society that accommodates everyone regardless of their religion. Also, it will help in addressing the social injustices taking place in our communities and how people can live together regardless of their religious perspective.