I watch the news and hear the American side of the stories, both of which portray Muslims as a collective. However, Muslims are people. In a recent presentation in the University of Northern Colorado’s Mind 182 class, one Saudi student spoke of a story where his older brother found out that he had been ditching school to play soccer. This is a classic example of a personality trait. The student loved soccer and did not think of school as important. It is hard to forget how many American college students have experienced the same desire to ditch school when, as the semester progresses, it gets easier to find a parking spot on campus and attending classmates become fewer. Another presentation led a female Saudi student to say that her dream was to make education for students with special needs better in her country. There are a volume of people who want to make education better for students in the United States. A recent delegate assembly of the Colorado Education Association is such an example. I tell you, Americans, Muslims are not much unlike from us. The difference is that they live in a dissimilar environment. Their surroundings are more regulated, something that has led to few women having political rights. However, what is often missed in the news is the fact that there are a few women that are speaking in Arab and Middle Eastern politics. One such example is the fact that Kuwaiti government has Dr. Modi Abdul Aziz Hamoud, the Minister of Education and the Minister of Higher Education. Looking at her image above, she is pictured just like US Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor. Neither woman is wearing a hijab. They are both wearing professional clothing that is fitting for government positions. Ultimately, both look very similar but are in parts of the world where ideologies are opposite when it comes to women. However, they are not much different as they are both serving their governments.
This evening I watched one of my economics classmates smoking a cigarette. I yelled his name out the window and he smiled. I said good luck on the final and he understood what I was saying. The first time I met him, I was open to meeting him, but ultimately had my concerns and skepticisms. He was friendly to me and it changed what I thought of him. I remember asking what language he spoke. He said he spoke both Arabic and French. I never imagined that an Arab would speak French. He was communicating to me in English. The first time I met my coworker at the ticket office it was similar. I found out that he spoke English and French. However, I had no skepticism or concerns about him. The only difference between my coworker and classmate is that my classmate looked and sounded like he was from the Middle East. My classmate still has emotions, like smiling and feeling good that I remembered his name, just as my coworker has emotions when it comes to areas of his life. They are both students at the University of the Northern Colorado and in the eyes of the student body they are equally important.
The purpose of knowing whether someone is similar is that it gives us the ability to connect. It is like the new Pepsi commercial at the movie theater, and below, that is designed to make the world a better place. After everyone has shuffled around the cards that say what is important to them, the person at the top of the screen pours a Pepsi. The Pepsi is a symbol of connection because everyone can see the Pepsi that is being poured. They are a connection and just like Pepsi is trying to make the world better, we have to make the world better. The Mind 182 class referenced above is an example of positive diplomacy. As students, we are asked to sit down with each other and with students through the Soliya Connect Program. Within class and through Soliya we are interacting with students from the Middle East. We ask questions, they ask questions, and we all start to formulate researched ideas about each other through discussion. When I asked the Saudi woman who came into our class if women were killed for being out in public without men, she was surprised. She was clear to say that what the media portrays as Saudi Arabia is not real. I have also had the ability to support this with fact, such as hearing from other Soliya students that are not from Saudi Arabia who have similar experiences with the people that are in Saudi Arabia. I am able to see that there are women in the Kuwaiti government. Ultimately, what I am learning is that there is more truth to what people of the countries in the Middle East say about their country than what the people in our country say about their country. This is the same as if they were talking about my country. It is better to ask the person who lives and breathes from the culture than the person that truly has had no experience.
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