Students at the University of Cincinnati attending the ‘Muslim Student Welcome.’ Photo provided
By Autumn Francisco
The Cincinnati Herald
On Aug. 28, the Muslim Student Association (MSA) at the University of Cincinnati held a Muslim Student Welcome. MSA is dedicated to uniting Muslims within the student body through the Islamic faith and other shared cultural practices. With the 16th anniversary of 9/11 approaching, many students decided to share their viewpoint on the terror attacks and express their frustration as a Muslim in present-day America.
Zara Ahmed, a third-year Biological Sciences major, said that although she was very young, she remembers her Islamic school getting closed due to threats. “People are so unwilling to get to know Muslims are and what Islam stands for,’’ she said.
Back in March, President Trump signed an executive order that prohibits immigration from seven prominent Muslim countries, what some call, the “Muslim Ban.” Ahmed said she believes that there is such quick judgement of Muslims, with people forgetting that refugees are trying to get to a safe place. “The Trump ban hit close to home, both of my parents are immigrants and it is sad that other refugees are in a hopeless place,” she explained.
Umaize Savani, a second-year International Business and Finance double major from Cincinnati, said she believes that the ISIS should be banned, but certainly not Muslims. The ISIS has a mission to divide the world between Christians and Muslims, and it is perceived as if the Trump immigration ban correlates with this matter. “The Trump ban is definitely unreasonable, we have to move away from Muslims being forcefully attacked,” said Savani.
Ahmed and Savani have both been stopped and randomly selected by TSA at airports even when nothing has shown on the scanner. “My brother even has to show his passport and birth certificate sometimes when we are traveling as a family, and it is really annoying,” Ahmed said.
With Ahmed and Savani both being executive officers for this campus organization, they said they will continue to create a “safe place” for the Muslim student body, as well as spread their faith in the atmosphere.