The UConn Muslim Students Association (MSA) hosted their yearly event, ‘Islam: Faces and Races’ on the evening of March 24. The overall themes of peace, acceptance, recognizing privileges over others, and fighting ignorance resonated throughout the night.
The keynote speaker was Imam Taymullah Abdur-Rahman, the Muslim chaplain at Harvard University and teacher at Harvard Divinity School. Taymullah also writes for The Huffington Post.
The event opened with a Quran recitation by Hamza Vohra, welcoming remarks by Shaheer Hassan, followed by a presentation by Hason Khan that focused on his non-profit organization, the “Kali to Kali (Village to Village)” project. Khan has worked to help empower, educate, and provide health care for children in Pakistan by building a library and computer lab in a Pakistani school and donating books, supplies, and clothing to 103 Pakistani girls.
The event’s speakers recognized how Islam has been misconceived as a religion of violence, when the reality couldn’t be more different. Khan said, “As the youth, we have the responsibility to challenge the mindset of others, to develop our own opinions, and to shatter the stereotypes that damage our society.”
Rome Ballroom, filling up before the event began
After the Maghrib prayer, Imam Taymullah spoke. He discussed recognizing inequalities in judging darkness of skin and how one’s beauty and perceived worth can be compromised in the eyes of society and within Islam. People are made to aspire to “whiteness” and the privileges that come with it, he said, and often try to achieve it by disconnecting from their heritage and abandoning their identities.
Valuing some people over others because of identities such as race, class, background, or gender, creates blind spots of ignorance, Taymullah noted, and Islam aids Muslims in coming out of their comfort zone to recognize their privileges over others and dispel ignorance.
The Harvard chaplain said, “Many of us think we side with the 99%, when in actuality our daily lives are more readily in line with the social sentiments and lifestyles of the 1%.”
Taymullah expressed how advocating for causes such as ‘Black Lives Matter’ is “cool” when you’re in college, but then most people go on to receive their 1% educations for a 1% job “and call it a life.” Few people, he said, stay on a path of helping those in need of support, systematic justice, and opportunities.
Imam Taymullah ended his speech by encouraging the audience to stay wary of ignorance, classism, and attitudes that mark others as inferior by always questioning oneself and meeting people with a pure, judgment-free heart.
UConn seniors Samir Chaudhry and Hamza Vohra both gave speeches following Taymullah and MSA Vice President Sana Suhail made the closing remarks. The night wrapped up with those in attendance enjoying a free Chinese buffet catered by UConn before the Isha prayer.
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