A Culture of Encounters
A trip to Detroit immerses students in Muslim American experiences and perspectives.
Just six hours after leaving Milwaukee last spring, eight Marquette University students found themselves immersed in Detroit-area communities with concentrations of Muslims second only to the Middle East, South Asia and Africa, and unparalleled in the United States.
Learning new perspectives at mosques, the Arab American National Museum, and meetings with civic leaders and Muslim American college peers, the five-day experience countered often negative characterizations of people of the Islam faith.
“We are in a time when we look at Muslims as the enemy, and it was just the opposite,” says Stephanie Hood, Grad ’17, then a master’s student in clinical mental health counseling. “It was very humbling. It is a beautiful culture. It’s very misunderstood.”
The spring break 2017 trip, “Encountering Muslims, Countering Islamophobia: Islam in America Immersion,” was led by Dr. Louise Cainkar, associate professor of social and cultural sciences, who received a Marquette Strategic Innovation Award for this and future trips to Dearborn and Hamtramck, Michigan.
Sitting down with a dozen Muslim students from the University of Michigan–Dearborn, the Marquette contingent learned firsthand about being feared, shunned or labeled a terrorist because of your faith, culture or clothes. It was a lively exchange, revealing similarities while exploring differences.
At one point, a girl who had been quiet suddenly spoke up to explain why she voluntarily wears a hijab. “She views herself as beautiful, and she doesn’t have to show off her hair and body to have that outside validation,” says Claire Keyes, a senior majoring in psychology and social welfare and justice. The message became clear: To this young woman, a hijab is not a symbol of oppression but one of empowerment.
We are in a time when we look at Muslims as the enemy, and it was just the opposite. It was very humbling. It is a beautiful culture. It’s very misunderstood — Stephanie Hood, Grad‘17
The visiting students also observed customs and practices
at area mosques, including an imam chanting the call to prayer
in Arabic. Only some mosques broadcast the call to prayer over
a loudspeaker — a practice akin to the use of church bells at Christian churches but one that proved controversial because some non-Muslim Detroiters questioned and feared what was being broadcast in Arabic. “All it is saying is come pray together,” says Nadja Simmonds, a senior in theatre and digital media.
Immersion, says Cainkar, is the best way to make such discoveries. “You have to live it to get it.”
“Differences are important … and don’t need to lead to hatred,” says Alexis Garcia, a junior majoring in history and secondary education. “You can keep your culture intact without having those differences divide people.”
— Laura Merisalo
