The Typical IcebreakersYear: 2016House: AdamsConcentration: NeurobiologyFrom: Philadelphia, PA
The Atypical Icebreaker: Religion.
Of late, religion has undeniably become more prominent and more volatile on the world stage and thus, evermore important. Meet Aniqa Hassan, the president of Harvard’s Interfaith Forum and the girl who is somehow able to judiciously shed some light on such a charged topic.
What is Interfaith Forum?Interfaith serves as the liaison between people of different faiths. It’s an opportunity for dialogue between these different faiths, an effort to ask deeper questions about religion and its implications on society. Every week, we have dinners in Adams called “Feasting on Faith”. It’s open to anyone who is interested, and is really an open discussion surrounding the given topic for the week. We’ve discussed everything, from the existence of free will to the existence of God. Does man control religion? What is the role of women in religion? What are its implications on society? It’s a safe zone, where you can say anything and ask anything. Ultimately, it’s about understanding.We also have other events throughout the year, such panels featuring really respected religious leaders, as well as reverends and chaplains at Harvard. We also hold community service events– the next one is trick-or-treating for UNICEF–and will also facilitate and coordinate any interfaith events that people reach out to us about.
Why did you get involved?I was in Interfaith in high school, and what made me join then was the Islamophobia after 9-11. I grew up as one of few Muslims in a community that was predominantly Jewish, and because of that, I felt like it was my duty to defend Muslims and reach out to people of other religions to build a bridge between these faiths, rather than to spread hate. My community showed me that people aren’t born with hatred for other people; hate is a concept taught by society. It’s interesting because if you ask someone who is self-proclaimed as anti-Semitic or Islamophobic if they’ve ever met someone who’s Jewish or someone who’s Muslim, usually they say no. Why does this happen? Why does a woman wearing a hijab signify oppression? I got involved because I wanted to find a factual basis for why these things happen, and how we can fight these stereotypes. What would happen if all these faiths came together and worked with each other instead?
What will you remember most about Interfaith?I wrote about this in my college essay, actually. But back in junior year of high school, I remember being at Passover dinner with a bunch of people. This was around the same time the controversy about the Cordoba House–you might’ve heard it called the “Ground Zero Mosque”–was growing. The idea of the Cordoba House was to provide a community center that anyone could use as a safe space. There would have been a room for Muslims to pray in, but it wouldn’t have been a mosque, and it also wouldn’t have been at Ground Zero–it was two blocks away. Anyway, someone at the dinner asked me what I thought about the entire thing, and I wasn’t sure what to say. There’s understandably very much sensitivity surrounding the issue, and I didn’t want to offend anyone. Then one man at the table said, “I think they should definitely build it there.” He was Jewish, and the rationale that he used was that they were doing to the Muslims what they were doing to the Jewish years ago. And that analogy was eye-opening, and it was so inspiring to see a non-Muslim defending Muslims. That’s when I realized that it isn’t about Muslims fighting to change societal perceptions about Muslims–it should be a collaborative effort to better everyone’s experiences with Muslims and the Jewish and all other faiths, and to form a better humanity.
What is your least favorite thing about humanity?Assumption. Humanity so often assumes it knows more than it actually knows. But making these assumptions about anyone is incredibly dangerous. It’s the root of all evil when it comes to interfaith interactions. Because if we base everything that we “know” on what the media says and what we’ve heard, we won’t really go and see what it’s actually about.