Abdulbaset Abdulla Photo by Rick Fatica

Sharing the Islamic faith

As the country recovers from September's tragedies and searches for answers, Abdulbaset Abdulla is focusing on education. Abdulla, originally from Palestine, is a resident director on East Green.

"It has always been a goal for me to educate people. I feel like right now, that chance has been extended to me," says Abdulla, BSEE '92 and MED '95. Since the attacks, he has conducted five campus programs about Islam and helped organize an open house at the Islamic Center of Athens.

"We wanted to dispel common misconceptions," he says of the motivation for the open house, an idea encouraged by the national Islamic community. "There were more people than we expected, so many we couldn't fit them all inside and had to ask Muslims to leave to make room for non-Muslims."

The exchange was educational, Abdulla says. And audience members, many of whom had called earlier expressing support and seeking information about Islam, were receptive. The discussion covered differences between the Islamic and Christian faiths, the Taliban and the meaning of "jihad." One misconception about Islam, he says, comes from the translation of jihad as "holy war."

"It means struggle," he says. "No Islamic book has 'holy war.' It does not exist in Islam."

What does exist to a greater extent than before is an uneasiness among Athens' Muslims. "People are not as liberal in terms of going shopping and traveling," he says. "Before, they didn't think of it as unusual. Now they go only when they need to."

Traveling, especially flying, also is a concern but not only for safety reasons. Like Muslims around the United States, those in Athens have expressed concerns about what they might encounter.

"They think, 'Will I be treated differently? Will I be searched, questioned, delayed?'" he says. "When leaving for winter break, some people went to the airports five hours early for fear of being searched. Some were and some were not."

A few Middle Eastern students are hoping to finish their studies and research earlier than they had planned in order to return home. Even Abdulla, who holds two Ohio University degrees and has made a home here for his family, has considered leaving.

"I have lived here in the United States for over 10 years," he says.

"To me, this is my country. But then I think, well, maybe I should leave."