MARIA
BRISTOL, R.I.__ Stepping into the Intercultural Center at Roger Williams University is like stepping into someone’s house. A full kitchen, dining room table, chairs, sofa, coffee table, and television all work to make the students feel at home. Covering the walls, and some of the tables, are decorations from all around the world, no doubt contributed by students who have been abroad. These elements all work together create a place where anyone, especially international students, can go and feel comfortable in an otherwise unfamiliar environment.
On the second floor, Maria Adkins, Assistant Director at the Intercultural Center, sits in her office with binders and papers piled around her. There are various photographs sitting on her desk and peppering the walls with souvenirs lining the windows. She is wearing a dark colored-cardigan with her straight, blond hair splashed onto her shoulders, and smiling with her blue eyes.
As the Assistant Director at the Intercultural Center, Maria, 33, is always busy. She works to coordinate and run activities on campus such as Global Fest and the “Hour With…” series, during which various cultures and countries are given the opportunity to give a lecture about their customs and help the student body become more informed. She’s held similar positions at other institutions; however, there she was only involved with international students through dealing with immigration. She came to Roger Williams University knowing she would be involved with the students on a much closer level.
“My job is way more than just immigration,” Maria says.
Maria grew up in South Brunswick, New Jersey until she was 18, graduating from South Brunswick High School in 1995. It was during this time that she developed an interest in international studies.
“Both my parents are Swedish and I grew up going there every year and speaking Swedish,” says Maria. This attitude carried over into college, where she decided to study abroad in France during her junior year. For Maria, that was the turning point. After she came back, she traveled everywhere. “It was like an addiction.”
She graduated from the University of New Hampshire in 1999, majoring in International Affairs and French. After graduation, she went to Africa, South America, and Latin America, even working for a travel company for three years before deciding to work with international students. Returning to school, she chose the School for International Training and received her Master’s in International Education in 2004. From there she went to work for Suffolk University and used her background in immigration to work with students. While she enjoyed immigration, she wanted to get closer to her students, so she came to Roger Williams University when there was a job opening.
“At Suffolk, I was working with over 1,000 international students,” she says. “Here, there are around 180 international students. It’s easier to get closer to them, to get to know them.”
For many international students, Maria is often the first person they have contact with from the University. She runs International Orientation, and is the go-to person for any legal documents students need, whether it is information about getting a Social Security number, filing taxes, or getting a drivers license. By providing guidance for international students, Adkins parlays her love for travel into something helpful and useful for many kids entering an unfamiliar environment. Such was the case for Noor Alaweyat, 19, a sophomore from Bahrain. She got to know Maria during international orientation and has remained in close contact with her ever since. Maria helped her obtain a Social Security number so she could get a job on campus and filer her taxes this year. “She was very helpful,” says Noor. “She really cares, and she’s passionate about what she does.” Maria maintains this relationship with most of the international students on campus.
Her duties as Assistant Director, Maria also serves as the faculty advisor to one of the smaller, but important clubs on campus: the Muslim Students Association. She became their advisor through her work in the Intercultural Center, becoming close with students she worked with from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Pakistan, Bahrain, and other Middle Eastern countries that were involved with MSA.
“I started helping them out, scheduling and planning activities, and eventually they asked me to be their advisor.” The affect Maria has on the club was obvious. “She really has made sure things were on the right track,” says Fatima Bukhamseen, the President of MSA. “And she has guided us when things were really rocky.”
For next year, Maria is busy planning events for international students and the MSA. One of her goals is to bring an Imam, or Islamic religious leader, to campus. The search is made difficult by the lack of Imams in the immediate area and the level of commitment necessary, but she is optimistic. “We need someone who can commit to being here for the students, and have their well-being in mind,” she says. But as overwhelming as her job may seem, it is obvious that Maria loves it, and loves what she does. She enjoys having a close connection and has left a lasting impression on many students on campus. On her impact on campus, Noor says, “If you were to ask any international student on campus, she knows them. She loves her job and she cares.”
NORTH SMITHFIELD, R.I.__ It is a calm, cool spring night, standing in the parking lot of the Masjid-al Islam mosque in North Smithfield Rhode Island. The sun was setting: the last remnants of its light clung to the horizon as the metal minaret of the mosque punctured the sky like a dark needle. The wooden playground behind the mosque stands still save for a single swing swaying in the warm breeze. The building is constructed of red brick with huge windows and wooden double-doors framed in stone ogee arches. Then, as the clock hits 7:30, a voice pierces the silence, projected through the loudspeakers mounted on the four corners of the mosque. “Allah Akbar, Allah Akbar” the voice calls in a soothing tone. The phrase, meaning “God is bigger than everyone else”, starts off the traditional call-to-prayer, which is broadcast every day before each of the five daily prayers. By the time the closing phrase is sung, “Gat gamat al sala”, it’s time for prayer, and everyone heads inside.
Before entering the prayer room there are several customs that must be observed. Shoes are removed and women cover their hair with a scarf out of respect. Before praying, the face, hands, and feet must be washed. The mosque has separate washrooms for men and women. The men’s is located right outside the door to the prayer room, while the women’s is located up a set of wooden stairs, out of sight. The room itself is a large, open square, big enough to hold at least two hundred people comfortably, with enough room to allow them space to kneel and bend over. Protruding from the ceiling is a medium sized dome, a staple of mosque architecture. The walls are painted white, and the floor is covered in a luxurious red carpet with a repeating arch design. But the room looks strangely empty tonight, and even though the 12 worshipers, all men, have plenty of room to spread out, they all form a line in front of the Imam at the front of the room. In front of them is a large digital clock, displaying the exact time, military time, and Mecca time. All 12 men bow to the Imam and the prayer begins.
Scenes like this play out all over the world. With over 1.5 billion practitioners, Islam is the second largest religion on the world and is growing rapidly. However, despite this, many people still view Islam as foreign, strange, and something they will never come in contact with. But that is slowly changing as Islam becomes more mainstream. In the United States alone there are 2.4 million Muslims, which is a sizeable population. With this growing population, mosques, like the one in North Smithfield, are becoming a familiar sight as members become prominent fixtures in the community. One of their main functions, besides being a place of worship, is to be a place where people can learn about Islam. Masjid-al Islam welcomes all non-Muslims to attend daily prayers, ask questions, and attend lectures on Islam and Koran given twice a week. They even offer a copy of the Koran for guests as a gift. For Muslims, religion is a huge part of their life. The word Muslim means “one who submits to God”. They are identified not by their country of origin, but their religion and they want to share this important part of their lives with other people.
One of these people is Shahbaz Raja, the assistant Imam at Masjid-al Islam, who leads the daily prayers and gives lectures. Originally from Pakistan, Shahbaz has devoted his life to Islam, memorizing the entire Koran, an impressive feat considering Arabic is not his first language. “The Koran is the only book in history people have memorized all the way through,” he says. “We do this to prove that it hasn’t changed. Islam and its rules can never be changed.” Shahbaz is surprisingly soft spoken, considering his position. He is humble, wearing a gitra, or white hat, similar to a Jewish yarmulke, white baggy pants, and black slippers that can be worn in the prayer room. But as shy as he seems, he greets every man coming to worship like family, with a friendly handshake and warm smile, sometimes kissing them lightly on the cheek. The mosque draws in Muslims from all over Rhode Island and Southern Massachusetts, but Shahbaz is familiar with all of the regulars. “We usually have about seven or ten people coming in for regular, daily prayers,” he explains. “But on Fridays, for Jum’ah prayer, we can get up to 200.” The mosque is always open, and Shahbaz is there before sunrise, when the first daily prayer takes place, and leaves after the last prayer takes place after nine at night. With a fairly large Muslim population in the area, he tries to create a sense of community within the mosque and its followers. “We have a very strong community here, and we try to set up activities to build on that.”
Islam, especially since 9/11, has not gotten a fair shake in the media. It is often the case that the only Muslims Americans see on TV are extremists, fundamentalists, or terrorists. These groups in no way represent the majority of Muslims and their reactionary ideas often go against what many Muslims are working towards. Osama Syed, a student of Shahbaz at Masjid-al Islam, explains that, as in every religion, there are fringe groups in Islam. “There are some people who are distorting the message,” he says. “And some who are sticking to the correct beliefs.” Unfortunately, the people distorting the message of Islam are the ones broadcast on news channels across the world. But using this miniscule group to represent the beliefs of all Muslims is like saying the KKK represents the beliefs of all white people, when in reality they are a minority that is not well liked in the community. They are trying to change Islam, but as Shahbaz expressed earlier, Islam cannot be changed. He says, “People who want to change Islam will not succeed.”
It seems that in America especially, there is the prevailing notion of “us” and “them”. But even a basic examination of the fundamental Islamic beliefs reveals a startling discovery: at the core, Muslims are more like “us” than most care to believe. “Many people are not aware of the basics of Islam,” says Shahbaz. Christianity, Judaism, and Islam all share common roots and most of the prominent figures in Christianity and Judaism play a major rule in the Koran. “Many of these figures, Jesus, Moses, Abraham, they are all mentioned in the Koran as prophets, or messengers of God,” says Shahbaz. “The prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, was the last prophet, but there are over 100,000, all with the same message.” And what is that message? “Worship the one Creator, Allah, and you will be successful.” That is what lies at the root of Islam, the worship of one God, the same God Christians and Jews worship.
There are other aspects of Islam that may seem baffling to those unfamiliar with the religion. There are five daily prayers Muslims perform, whether in a mosque or in a prayer room. When praying, Muslims face the direction of Mecca. There is also a special prayer on Fridays, called the Jum’ah. “There are five daily prayers, no excuses,” says Shahbaz. “You pray from age 10 to the last day.” Muslims are also required to fast during the holy month of Ramadan and cannot eat while the sun is up. There are also special prayers they must attend during this time. These prayers are around 20 times longer than the normal daily prayer, and they may cover the whole Koran in a single day. Another requirement is that they give two-and-a-half percent of their earnings to charity. “We give, from rich to poor,” explains Shahbaz. “We don’t discriminate based on race or religion. If you are needy, we will help you out.” The final thing all Muslims must do is once in their lifetime make a pilgrimage to Mecca, a city in Saudi Arabia, if they have the means to do so. Mecca is the holiest city in Islam. It is where Muhammad was born in A.D. 570, and where he began to preach the Islamic religion in 610. If a Muslim prays at Masjid al-Haram, the sacred mosque in Mecca that surrounds the Kaaba, with the right intentions, then his or her sins will be forgiven by Allah. These four things, along with the belief in one God, make up the core beliefs of Islam, or the Five Pillars.
While the media tends perpetuate the belief that all Muslims are devout adherents, attending each of the daily prayers and wearing traditional garb, the truth is that there are just as many casual worshippers as dedicated ones. Just as in Christianity, where there are people who attend Mass every Sunday and those who may stop by on Easter or Christmas, there is a disparity among worshippers. Some Muslims may complete every daily prayer, some may only attend Jum’ah prayer, or some may only attend prayers during Ramadan. This is yet another way in which Muslims are more like “us” than we realize. It is time to do away with the “us” and “them” mentality pervading American thought and accept Muslims into the mainstream fold. Slowly Muslims are attaining high profile positions in the government, which allows for greater exposure. Keith Ellison from Minnesota was elected to the House of Representatives in 2006, becoming the first Muslim elected to the United States Congress. André Carson became the second Muslim elected to the House of Representatives in 2008 when he won the seat for Indiana’s 7th congressional district. There are also several Muslims serving as Senators and Representatives on the State level. These elected officials work together to promote Islamic causes on a national level, which have been traditionally ignored. Hopefully these elections are representative of a growing trend in both politics and culture that signals the end of an era of fear and misunderstanding and usher in a new one of tolerance and acceptance.
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