Changing
Minds – one at a time
Syed Soharwardy
Last fall I was invited to speak at a camp where senior high school
students of
There were more than 200 grade
11 and 12 students in my four classes.
These classes were held on four separate days.
Coincidently, there was no Muslim student in these classes.
I wanted to find out what
these students know about Islam and Muslims. Therefore, we did an exercise. We
divided all the students into separate small groups. Each group was asked to brainstorm and write down on a flipchart
negatives and positives about Islam and Muslims. Following stereotypes were unanimous among
all groups.
Negatives
Muslims are terrorists / violent
Muslims are women Abusers / In Muslim families
women are oppressed
Muslims hate Christians and Jews
Muslims believe in getting 70 virgins after dying in a suicide bombing
Muslims wear turbans
Muslims are smelly
Muslims drive caps
Muslim work in convenience stores
Positives
Muslims are well educated
Family oriented / close family ties
Love their religion / very religious (This may be seen
as negative too)
Hard working
Dress modestly
After this exercise, we
discussed all these stereotypes. We had a long very interactive questions and
answer session. We also watched PBS
movie “Empire of Faith”. Following is the
feedback that I received from the instructor of this course. It proves that the Canadian and American
media is poisoning the minds of our future generation but when our youth find
out the truth, they are extremely intelligent, honest, open mind and very
receptive of the truth.
Course instructor told me
that the overwhelming majority of students felt that they had
been misinformed about Islam and Muslims but the presentation (Islam
101) has changed them. Here is the feedback from some of the students.
SAMPLE REFLECTIONS OF
CONNECTIONS STUDENTS ON “ISLAM 101” BASED ON THE QUESTION:
“WHAT WERE SOME OF THE
ACTIVITY HIGHLIGHTS FOR YOU DURING THIS FOUR-DAY WORKSHOP?”
Islam 101 - Syed Soharwardy
1.
The third thing that I enjoyed was the presentation about Muslims. I
really saw a lot of their culture was similar to the beliefs of my religion. And I am sometimes on the receiving end of the stereotyping
that Muslims receive so I understood where he was coming from.
2.
The Islam Presentation.
I was surprised to see all the stereotypes that we could come up with... Even
at myself. You do not really realize how you think of these people until you
put it on paper.
3.
One other thing I liked was where the Arab person (I cannot actually
remember his name) came and talked to us about the Muslim culture and the
common misconceptions.
4.
Islam 101. Certainly my favourite presentation.
He was just so straightforward and showed me a side of Islam that I sure did
not see on CNN. I never knew all of those things about the Muslim faith, and I
am so glad that I was able to listen to it.
5.
Another thing that I found really good was
Islam 101. I believe now that if I were ever to leave Atheism and choose a
religion, it would be the Muslim faith because I believe (just my belief) that
the Muslim faith is one of the best religions. It includes other faiths within
it and has a little bit more to boot. I also enjoy how the presenter of the
Islam/Muslim stereotypes can just laugh at our summed up stereotypes. He
reminded me of myself because I can laugh at my ethnicity and all the
stereotypes that go along with it.
6.
2) Islam 101 was incredibly eye opening for me. Before that night, I
knew zilch about Islam or the Muslim people and it was great to hear that most
of the stereotypes I even had before, were false. Since then I have had a
greater respect for the people within my school that have the courage to wear
their hair covers around knowing that most people see them and automatically
think "terrorists". I could not imagine dealing with that kind of
thing on a daily basis.
7.
The Islam 101 I learned so much about the extremists in the Muslim culture and I have so much respect for Muslim people and it
really did change my life.
8.
The Islam 101 presentation was absolutely amazing,
also. It was incredible to learn so much about a culture that has kind of been unknown to me, and to have had so many
stereotypes cleared up. I felt as if I could have listened to him talk for
hours and hours.
9.
The Islamic speaker was also very good at opening my eyes to Islamic
perspective and their view on things. I learned that most Muslims are great
people and worthy of our utmost respect. I think Syed
was an amazing person and was excellent at explaining concepts.
10. My favourite
experience was when the Islamic person came in; he was the only person that
actually kept me awake. It was very interesting. Our school will hopefully
understand when we have the Muslim guy come in next
week. Maybe it will change people’s thoughts on Muslims as it did for us!
11. The Islamic guy... sorry I cannot remember names all too well; he made
me think of what Muslims have to go through on a daily basis.
I am very optimistic about the future of Canadians. As these young children grow and hold
positions in the political and media organizations, they will bring a very
positive change in our Canadian society.
I see a very bright and prosperous future for all Canadians including
Muslims and non-Muslims. We just need to have some patience, perseverance and a
continuous dialogue among Canadians.
Long Live
Syed Soharwardy
Founder, Muslims Against Terrorism (MAT)
President, Islamic Supreme Council of
Phone: 1-866-208-6898
For
Immediate Release
Date: February 6, 2007
Five interfaith dialogues at
different churches were arranged where hundreds of Canadians
attended the Islam 101 presentation and asked questions on Islam and the
current issues. Six Islam 101
seminars were held at different high schools in
Last November, a meeting with
During the past six months,
more than ninety lectures and seminars were arranged for Canadian
Muslims and Muslim youth in Calgary, Vancouver, Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton,
Richmond Hill, Montreal and Ottawa where thousands of Canadian Muslim families
attended the programs and asked question on Islam and the current issues. God
willing, these programs will continue in these cities on weekly or monthly
basis.
Through ISCC’s
two TV programs, Vision of Pakistan on Vision TV and Islam 101 on
Phase II (International
Phase)
The second phase of Fighting
Terrorism Through Sufism (FiTTS)
will start on February 21, 2007 when Prof. Soharwardy
will travel to
On March 22, 2007, Prof. Syed Soharwardy will be the
keynote speaker at a conference on Prophet Muhammad (peace be
upon him) in
On April 4, 2007, Prof. Soharwardy will address a large gathering of British youth
of Pakistani descent in
On April 7, 2007 at 7:00 PM,
the project FiTTS will be concluded at the Living
Arts Centre in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada where hundreds of Muslims will
gather to celebrate the birth, the life and the message of Prophet Muhammad
(Peace be upon him).
It is important to know that Tasawuf (Sufism) is Islamic mysticism. Sufism provides
meditation for spiritual growth. The problem with many Muslims is that they
have ignored the requirements for spiritual growth. A strong spiritual person
will never have an evil mentality / thoughts.
A strong spiritual person will love and respect God’s creation.
Throughout history, the Sufis have shown tolerance, acceptance and courtesy
towards Muslims and non-Muslims alike.
For information on Muslims Against Terrorism, please visit www.m-a-t.org and for Islamic Supreme Council
of Canada, www.iscc.ca .
For any questions, please contact Syed B. Soharwardy @ toll free (866)-208-6898 or email: info@m-a-t.org or contact@islamicsupremecouncil.com or soharwardy@shaw.ca
.