Go Big Read Event

The Go Big Read event I attended was Breaking Stereotypes: Women in Islam.  The event consisted of a panel of Islamic experts and activists from around the area who talked about the different experiences they had.  The panel consisted of Sheikh Ziyad Hamdan, the Imam at the Islamic Society of Milwaukee; Inshirah Farhoud, a pediatric nurse practitioner at the Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin as well as a member of the board for the Islamic Society of Milwaukee; and Reema Ahmad, a community organizer in Chicago and Milwaukee.  They all brought many different experiences to the table and different perspective on how to fix the same problem. 

            The most outspoken member of the group was Sheikh Ziyad Hamdan.  I found it surprising that the only man on the panel was the most outspoken of the three on all the issues that were discussed.  He was extremely enthusiastic about all the topics and never seemed as if he was willing to give up the microphone and stop talking to pass it along to the next speaker.  One of the biggest problems he sees with the Islamic world is the lack of education people of the Islamic faith have about their own religion.  He specifically brought up references to the Taliban, ISIS, and Boko Haram in Nigeria.  He looks at these groups with disgrace and believes they are not truly upholding the teachings of the Islamic religion, partly because they do not understand all it has to offer.  These groups are extremists and do not understand all of what Islam is trying to teach and thus, they are living their life in a way that is not appropriate to be called the Islamic way of life.  Sheikh Ziyad Hamdan believes if these groups of people were educated they would better understand the ways of the Islamic lifestyle and become more accepting and less brutal. 

            One example he specifically brought up was the attack on Malala Yousafzai.  She was attacked and nearly killed because she was trying to go to school and learn.  Sheikh Ziyad Hamdan believes the Taliban would not have tried to kill Malala if they had been educated and understood the teachings of Islam.  For the teachings of Islam say men and women should learn and be educated and no one should be denied the right to knowledge.  If they had known what the Islamic religion says and had truly believed in it, they would not have done such a terrible thing.  Too many groups claim to live their life according to the Islamic lifestyle yet misunderstand it and lack the proper knowledge of it.   With the proper education and the proper commitment to the Islamic lifestyle, these extreme events of terror will cease to exist and the Muslim religion will cease to be held up by such poor standards. 

            Ishirah Farhound and Reema Ahmad have similar ideas to each other.  Both of them have noticed a difference in the way young people of the Islamic faith act towards it when they are at school and then when they are at home.  This does not help to solidify the faith in any sect of society.  Ishirah Farhoud believes the older generations of the lifestyle need to encourage the younger ones the religion is a normal way of life and should not be looked upon as something that is weird and unusual.  Too many times are Islamic followers considered as portraying an unusual way of life that is not considered normal.  However, that is not the case.  When it is looked at deeper, it can be seen as a very normal way to live one’s life and should not be looked down upon in the slightest.  The younger generation needs to be encouraged to embrace their lifestyle and embolden it in everything they do. 

            I found this talk to be extremely interesting and eye opening as well.  What Sheikh Ziyad Hamdan  spoke of is something I found extremely intriguing.  Most, if not all, practicing Muslims find what the terror groups of ISIS and the like to be doing to be completely horrendous.  They do not follow the ways of traditional Islamic thinking and should thus not use the lifestyle as their excuse for what they are doing.  I personally believe some of the followers of the groups do not actually believe in the way of life but are just trying to use it as a way to push back against western lifestyles.  The Muslim religion is not typically associated with the Western style of life so that could be an out they are using to try and signify their hatred of the western style of life.  Unfortunately, it is thus putting a bad rap on the religion in many places throughout the world even though the true religion has nothing to do with the many problems these different groups are causing. 

            I believe education in general, not just to the followers of the Islamic religion, is the strongest way to fix the problem.  If that occurs, people all around the world will understand the flaws in these terrorist groups’ ways and rise up to stop them and stop joining them.  Education, as it so often is, is the solution to the problem that is ravaging the world.  If the world better understood the complexities of the Islamic lifestyle many problems would be fixed, including the suppression of the women from the culture.  Once the world becomes educated on the issues and teachings of the Muslim religion, the world will start to come out of the shadows of fear it is hiding in and we will all be able to live peacefully together without the problems we currently face today.