D.C. Intersections

An American University journalism class explores race and culture in the Metro area

College Park, Md. - 6 posts

Two Worlds Apart: One Girl’s Struggle in Achieving a Muslim Identity

Muslim identity in high school

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| By Cody Snell |

Interview with Al-Huda student Noor Tagouri (Click on link to listen to audio story)

When Noor Tagouri’s parents told her she would be transferring to a religious high school in College Park, Md., she was expectedly reluctant. She would be leaving behind her friends, her home and public school in the close-knit confines of La Plata, Md.  The southern Maryland town of about 6,500 people was the only home Tagouri had ever known after moving there from Alabama as a two-year-old.

Her parents decided to relocate to Bowie, Md., a prominent suburb of College Park – not because of a change in jobs or a desire to start over, but because they wanted their four children to attend the Al-Huda school, one of the only all-Muslim educational institutes in the state.

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College Park, Md. – The Dar-us-Salaam Community

College Park, Md.

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Dar-us-Salaam is a developing Muslim community in College Park, Md. In 1995 an Islamic school was started with 26 students, which grew into a Muslim American community organization and neighborhood. The school has developed into a multi-grade institution with over 500 students. The community itself is unique because of its dedication to religious teachings and the migration of its residents to the area as a result of the school. In addition to the school the community now involves includes  a grocery store, a medical clinic, a karate institute, and a center for Islamic resources. Dar-us-Salaam translates to “community of peace” and tries to incorporate teachings of the Qur’an and Sunnah into everyday life.

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Grocery Store Follows Muslim Values

Grocery store with Muslim values

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By Kristin Tangel

Nestled within a shopping center in College Park, just a short drive from the Beltway, is International Tropical Foods, also known as Salsabeel. It is run by the Dar-us-Salaam Community.

Half grocery store, half Islamic bookstore, it stocks halal food, religious and school literature, CDs, DVDs and clothing that fits Islamic modesty guidelines.

“We try to keep a little bit of everything,” said manager Rizwan Khan.

Halal food is permissible to eat by Islamic standards, and halal meat has to be slaughtered in a specific way.

The animal must be in good health, according to Khan, and must be calm and no other animal can be present. It must be killed by one stroke of a sharp knife while invoking the name of God. Then the blood is drained.

Pork is forbidden under halal rules, but the store sells bacon and other traditionally pork products made from beef and turkey. Also, seafood is considered halal, with nospecial slaughter provisions.

The store also sells black seed products, hailed as a source of amino acids, carbohydrates, minerals, oil and fiber. Black seed comes from the Nigella sativa plant and is found in few stores besides halal and Middle Eastern shops.

Black seed, also known as “blessing seed”, is popular because it is mentioned in the hadith, of word of the Prophet Muhammad. Employee Mukhtar Sheikh said that many non-Muslims come to the store to buy black seed products.

Dar-us-Salaam used to have a separate kitchen, but a fire rendered it unuseable in May 2008.

The store previously sold only African food (under the same name) before the community took over it.

Khan said there are plans to expand the store into the space next door so it could offer a wide range of cuisine, especially because of the multicultural makeup of the community.

The Islamic garments for men that are sold include the kufi (hat) and the taub, a style of long gown worn by the prophet. Muslim men should cover their body from their belly button to their knees, at the minimum.

“Men cannot have tight clothing, except when we’re staying in the house,” said Sheikh.

Women can purchase clothing such as the hijab (head scarf) and jilbab (long dress).  They are supposed to cover almost their entire body except their hands and some choose to cover most of their faces.

The store also carries textbooks for Al-Huda School.

“It brings traffic when students come to pick up books,” Sheikh said.

During the holy month of Ramadan, most of the faithful do not eat or drink anything during daylight hours. The store is still open, however, so people can buy their fast-ending dinners.

Muslims traditionally break their fasts with dates or water. The store carries many varieties of dates.

Because marshmallows and jelly beans typically contain pork products, the store carries those items made from fish and beef gelatin.

For the holiday Eid al-Adha, people can sacrifice livestock by doing it themselves or ordering from a butcher. The meat is given to them for personal consumption or donation.

The store also sells perfume, as well as holy water from the Zam Zam spring in Mecca, where pilgrims visit on the Hajj. Known since the time of Abraham, the source was lost until Muhammad’s grandfather had a dream and rediscovered it.

“People can drink as much as they want,” Khan said.

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Dar-us-Salaam Family Medical Practice

Dar-us-Salaam Family Medical Practice

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By Erica Goldfine

Neatly organized stacks of 10 different magazines sit on a table. A few children’s toys lay on the floor near an empty water cooler. A large TV is mounted to the wall displays health-promotion advertisements for products like fiber cereals.

The office nurses and multiple receptionists talk to patients about their insurance and appointment scheduling. About half a dozen patients sit in the waiting room, reading the magazines, browsing their phones or talking with family members.

At first glance, there is nothing different between this doctor’s office and most others across the United States.

But a closer look reveals that the mothers in the waiting room of the Dar-us-Salaam (DUS) Family Medical Practice are speaking Arabic to their children. And all the women that work at DUS Family Practice wear beautifully designed, colorful hijabs, or Muslim head coverings, for women.
In the corner of the waiting room, there is an “Islamic etiquette” poster about visiting the sick. Above the seating area of the doctor’s office, a black, white, and yellow Arabic painting hangs on the wall. The TV alternates heath promotion ads with a quote of the prophet Mohammed every so often.

The DUS Family Medical Practice, located in Greenbelt, Md., began in January 2005. The medical practice is one component of the Dar-us-Salaam community. The community is “a model Islamic community based upon and adhering to the teachings of the Qur’an and Sunnah,” according to its Web site. The DUS Family Practice is an integral part of the Islamic community that has been created in the southern part of Maryland, close to Washington, D.C.

Dr. Naseem Sharieff, director of the DUS Medical Center underscored the idea that Dar-us-Salaam is creating and follows their strong ideals.

We “are trying to create a community through a model community to show people that things can be done in a humanitarian grounds,” Sharieff said in a phone interview. “Together we can make it a very good, strong community,”

Sharieff said the foundations for the the medical practice are based on Islamic principles that focus on helping others and taking care of one’s neighbors. This is based on the principle that every Muslim must give 2.5 percent of their income to the community to help build and sustain the entire community, Sharieff said.

Muslims donate a portion of their income, she said, to help those truly in need, those who do not have “insurance or a home,” or those who may have any type of crisis whether it is physical, emotional, or material.

“DUS has let us build a community where each one is worried about others and not just being selfish.  When you live your life as an individual, you must do for the community, you do not have an option,” Sharieff said.

The DUS practice prides itself on being a doctor’s office that is willing and able to help any patient.

“It is care of a person in totality, not just their physical health,” Sharieff said in a phone interview.

On a recent weekday, Amistin Perrera and her 13-year-old daughter, Solara Jaafar, sat in the waiting room of DUS. Perrera spoke to Jaafar in Arabic while Jaafar looked down at her shoes, responding in English. Perrera was dressed in head-to-toe Muslim garb in neutral browns while her daughter donned jeans, Ugg boots and a fitted sweater. The two very different women awaited Dr. Sharieff’s arrival.

Perrera and Jafaar are long time patients of Dr. Sharieff and the DUS Family Medical Practice. Perrera and Jaafar have come to DUS for almost five years and have always enjoyed the atmosphere created by the doctors and employees of the office.

“All of the doctors are nice, Perrera said. “They understand how to talk to the people. Some of the doctors I talk to, they don’t know how to talk to people. That’s why I like it here.”

After Dr. Sharieff arrived, Jaafar and Perrera walked to the back of the office with her and sat in Sharieff’s office, covered in papers and lined with bookshelves. Jaafar, who had the appointment with Sharieff, shifted in her seat but seemed comfortable interacting with her mother and her longtime doctor.

“It has been a good experience (coming to DUS) and they always help,” Jaafar said.

As a part of the Islamic principle of charity, the DUS Family Medical Practice, never turns away a patient if they cannot afford the services or if they do not have insurance to cover the costs. Sharieff said that the clinic is not free. It is a business clinic that takes insurance but will accommodate a patient who does not have insurance.

“They see people not money,” Perrera said.

Over the past five years, the clinic has evolved from one doctor to a multi-specialty office with six physicians. The office offers pediatrics, geriatrics, cardiology, and a social services department.

The office, although small in square footage, sees 7,000 patients, according to Sharieff. The patient population has grown through word of mouth and without any type of marketing, she said.

“People come and they feel the warmth, they transfer from one doctor to us,” Sharieff said.

DUS medical practice focuses on a more holistic type of medicine. They prescribe medications when needed but also turn to more natural types of medicines. According to their Web site, the clinic tries to go beyond physical and psychological needs. Sharieff said every doctor in the DUS practice stops to talk to patients and understand their health problems and concerns before writing a prescription.

“A lot of stress of life is too much, this is deeper than a normal doctor would talk about,” Sharieff said. “We really want to help all the people in totality, rewind them, put they’re thoughts together…it’s more naturalistic medicine.”

Jenny Adams, the outreach coordinator of DUS, appreciates the time and effort the doctors of DUS take with their patients.

The DUS medical center was originally created to help employees of the community, but it has also become a clinic that Muslim women in particular feel comfortable visiting. Sharieff explained that while in a medical setting Muslim men and women are comfortable touching, Muslim women are typically more comfortable with female doctors.

Adams said she feels comfortable in the DUS office because they understand her religious practices as a Muslim woman.

“The staff understands and respects my needs. I know that my doctor will be female, no need to ask,” Adams said. “I know that I won’t have any embarrassing surprises with a male nurse unexpectedly walking in, or passing by, when my hijab isn’t arranged.”

Adams, like many other patients of the Dar-us-Salaam Family Medical Practice, believes the practice is an asset to the community as a whole.

“Practical, natural healthcare advice is given along with medicines for acute needs,” she said in an e-mail. “In addition, my doctor takes the time to talk with me, adopting a holistic approach to one’s well being.”

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Preschoolers learn about Hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca

Muslim Preschool

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By Carimanda Baynard

Laughter rings throughout the classroom. The patter of little feet precedes the eager greetings between friends.  Vibrantly colored curtains hang from the windows.

The Al-Huda Preschool is like any other to the untrained eye. Located within Dar-us-Salaam, a Muslim community organization that includes a K-11 school, in College Park, Md., the preschool is the point of entry for many families.

According to the school’s 2009-2010 demographic data, the Al-Huda Preschool has 40 female and 30 nine male students.  Their families are from Pakistan, Ethiopia, Arab countries, Bangladesh and other countries.  Nineteen are African American, and 12 were reported as being of mixed ancestry.

Al-Huda Preschool teaches children 18 months through 4 years old early developmental skills in math, reading and writing to prepare students for kindergarten. Religious education and elementary Arabic are also important parts of the curriculum.

A friendly voice greets visitors and parents upon entrance: “Hello Sister,” she says.

The voice belongs to Sister Mirvat Mohammed, Al-Huda Preschool’s director. Sister Saadia Machnout-Ansari and Sister Shemsiya, who teach the 4-year-olds, stand in the adjoining room are two women with similar welcoming demeanors. \The children cleaned up their toys and wiped down their play area, and followed Sister Saadia to a bright, multi-colored checkered carpet for circle time.

Sister Saadia’s calm demeanor with the children stems from years of teaching experience. Born and raised in Morocco, she studied French and Arabic. Working at Dar-us-Salaam, which includes Al-Huda Preschool, for approximately 17 years, she truly enjoys working with preschool children.

For these preschoolers, the develop of basic educational skills like the foundations of reading and math, coincide with instruction on Islamic values, the Qu’ran, Arabic language and Islamic songs.

“This is an opportunity to mold young minds and plant the seed,” Sister Saadia said.

Part of molding young minds is teaching students about Muslim holidays and traditions. Al-Huda PreschoolThis past fall, Hajj became a focus of the curriculum.

Hajj is the pilgrimage to Mecca that constitutes the fifth pillar of Islam. Hajj is viewed as a moral obligation that must be carried out at least once by every able-bodied Muslim. The pilgrimage, undertaken each year by more than a million Muslims from all over the world, is seen as an embodiment of the unity of the faith across nations.

Sister Saadia began the lesson for the day, teaching the children about Hajj. She retrieved a book from the bookshelf, with a bright red cover and the word HAJJ on the cover. The students leaned forward with anticipation, their bright eyes latching on to her every word. Sister Saadia read from the book, prompting the students recite various religious sayings. Each saying, she said. emphasizes the importance of complete submission and loyalty to Allah.

Sister Saadia instructed a student to retrieve a model of a square black structure from the corner of the room. The Ka’bah, the holiest place in Islam, is a large cube-like building inside the Masjid al-Haram, or Sacred Mosque, in Mecca.

The student returned with the replica Ka’bah, a box decorated in several coats of black paint and a thick gold strip of fabric encircling the upper top half.

“The students decorated the box themselves,” said Sister Saadia , as the student placed the box in the center of bright carpet.

“Stand up and form a line beside the Ka’bah,” Sister Saadia said to the children.

The students clamored to be at the front of the line. “Excuse me,” they said to each other. “No, I’m first.”

“One behind the other,” Sister Saadia said. “There is no rush; everyone will get a turn to go around.”

During the Hajj, followers must circle the Ka’bah, considered to be the most sacred site in Islam, several times.

A mother of five herself – with children ranging from three to seventeen – Sister   Saadia stood quietly as the children settled down and formed a line around the model Ka’bah.

Her older children started in Al-Huda school, but later moved to public school high schools. because Al-Huda did not have an established high school at the time. The first two years of high school were challenging for her older daughters

“They endured teasing and ridicule at the hands of their classmates at first,” says Sister Saadia. “But things have since calmed down and they have adjusted nicely.”

Her younger children currently attend Al-Huda and will continue until eleventh grade. She praised the school and proudly shares that at the age of 11, her oldest daughter finished memorizing the Qur’an.

Born and raised in the faith, Sister Saadia has found Islam to be a stabilizing force in her life. She sees herself as as an example of Muslim womanhood to her daughters and students – something that represents position of strength, she said, contrary to negative stereotypes. Sister Saadia dispels the notion that women are oppressed and have no rights in the faith.

“There is no truth to this stereotype,” she says. “Women have all the rights. I like the rules and the lifestyle.”

As the children began to wind down from the Hajj simulation, they turned to Sister Shemsiya for further instructions. Meanwhile, Sister Saadia explained the daily curriculum.

“We follow an English and Arabic curriculum,” she said.

She explained school’s practice of immersing children in both American and Muslim cultures, while emphasizing the importance of Islamic manners and beliefs.  Many of the children will be moving on to kindergarten, and preschool teachers must start preparing them gradually for the transition.

Gazing fondly at the children, she said, “Other classrooms (grade levels) in the school have asked me to teach but I love these children. I give them as much as I can and hope it stays with them forever.”

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Memorizing the Qu’ran Teaches Young Muslims About More Than Words

Qur'an memorization

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By Geena Wardaki

With crossed legs, they rock back and forth to the melodic recitation that fills the air. One boy rests his hands on his head.  His eyes reveal the concentration of grasping for verse after verse.

Mohammad Nahavandi, a guide on a personal journey to tackle a great feat of memory,  paces back and forth with arms crossed and ears listening intently as a student sits by his desk reciting.  Nahvandi’s eyes stray to his Qur’an from time to time, double-checking the words that have become second nature.

His students work towards reciting roughly 600 pages of Arabic text that millions look to for guidance.

In the Hifzh school, students of all different ages, use daily recitation to memorize the Qur’an, the holy book of Islam, from cover to cover.  The program is part of the larger Dar-us-Salaam Muslim community in College Park, Md.  The school is comprised of one class for females and two for males, with about 10 to 12 students per class.

“During the day students are working on different aspects: They are memorizing what they learned that day, they are reviewing what they have learned in the past, they are reviewing what they memorized in the recent days so that they are able to transfer it from their short-term memory to their longer-term memory,” said Haroon Baqai, director of the Hifzh school.

Unlike other religious texts, there are no different versions of the Qu’ran.

“The miraculous thing of the Qur’an is that it is preserved for 1,400 years, letter by letter, diacritic by diacritic, vowel by vowel, so you can’t just … explain it in your own words,” Baqai said. “You can explain a verse, but you have to recite it exactly how it is written, without even a slight difference in how it is written.”

Mohammad Nahavandi, a teacher at the Hifzh for four years, explained why Muslims stress the importance of exact recitation.

“We cannot alter the words of Allah, these are his words these are the rules and laws and everything is explained to us here,” said Nahavandi. “If we change one letter it could change the meaning, if generation after generation starts changing words we could end up with an entirely different book.”

In addition to the Qur’an in its original Arabic form, a copy of an English translation is also studied to provide meaning, Nahavandi said.  The majority of students do not speak Arabic prior to starting the program.

In Islam, the English translation is not seen as an authentic version of the Qur’an, because it is felt that translation out of the rich Arabic vernacular causes loss of important meaning.

Some may ask how students find meaning in a text they cannot understand. Nahavandi said memorization includes a two-part process.  Students first take a class once a week on the implications of certain verses, and secondly begin to go through word-by-word and translate the meaning.  Eventually students start to build a vocabulary and have the ability to piece together some meaning.

Most students said the requirement to put into practice teachings from their studies into daily life is harder than the actual process of memorization.

Shaheed Twyman, 13, a student who recently completed the program, said this challenge often has to do with everyday habits that are hard to break.

“In the book it says do not backbite, like talk about people behind their back,” Twyman said. “So I used to do that, but now I stopped because I understand what the teachings are saying.”

The participation in the Hifzh is not an obligation for every Muslim. Therefore, it often is a large personal decision by either student or a student and their parents to enroll in the program. Musfika Hossain, 17, a third-year student, said she always wanted to be involved in Qur’an memorization, and her parents encouraged it.

“It has been a dream of mine ever since I was young to memorize the Qur’an,” Hossain said.  “I always thought finishing the Qur’an was a big accomplishment and duty in my life.”

Since the normal school day in the Hifzh is spent working on their memorization, students must keep up with traditional academics through homeschooling.

Baqai said the students’ general educational progress should not be slowed, if parents maintain discipline with homeschooling, including using the many school breaks to catch up on schoolwork.

“When you are memorizing 600 pages letter by letter, vowel by vowel, your brain has become so sharp you have made your brain so strong that you are able to go through other subjects very successfully,” said Baqai. “When I was memorizing my grades definitely improved.”

With completion of the program comes the transition back to traditional school. Fatima Khan, 12, has been enrolled in the Hifzh since she was 9. Khan said that once she finishes the program she would be entering a public school, the first time she will be educated in a secular institution.

“I want to go to college and I have to meet people who may not have the same beliefs,” Khan said.  “I shouldn’t go there blind. I have to get used to people who are different so when I go to college I am prepared and not shocked.”

In addition to continuing this education, Hayat Marso, 16, who has been studying the Qur’an for almost two years, said that one of the main reasons he was interested in the program was so that he could share his learning with others.

“Sometimes in the Metro, some people come and ask, ‘Are you Muslim?’ and I say, Yeah,’ and they say, OK, tell me what Islam says,” Marso said.  “So I have to tell them, in memorizing the Qur’an it is my duty to teach and tell what Islam says.”

While completion of the Qur’an is a miraculous feat, most students stressed that its memorization has greater purpose.

“There is a lot more you can do, this is just a small aspect. Some people make it out to be such a big accomplishment but it is really the beginning of a lot more of what is to come,” said Abrar Lohani, 20, a third year student in one of the male classes.

“You should never see it as the biggest thing. You shouldn’t think of it as, OK,  I have washed my hands and now I am done with it, there is always more to learn.”

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