More than 120 guests of all ages gathered for food, fun and fellowship, as together they learned about the ways Eid is celebrated, the values of Eid and the different festive foods that are eaten in Muslim communities around the world.

Three multifaith interns from the Truitt Center for Religious and Spiritual Life ā€“ Rachel Curtis ā€™24, Rocco Albano ā€™26, and Alex James ā€™25 – led the educational presentation. The guests also heard words and stories about the holiday from Associate Chaplain for Muslim Life Imam Shane Atkinson, Assistant Professor of Religious Studies Sumeyye Pakdil, President of the ĀŅĀ׏Óʵ Muslim Society (EMS) Hasan Khan ā€™26.

ā€œEach year during our Eid Festival, I am struck by the sincerity of those that attend,ā€ Atkinson said. ā€œThe discussions over food, in the henna tattoo line and in the days following the event are rich and rewarding. It is one of the highlights of the year to celebrate Eid and deepen relationships with members of the ĀŅĀ׏Óʵ community.ā€

At the event, Khan spoke about the values of Eid, and why celebrating Eid al-Fitr on ĀŅĀ׏Óʵā€™s campus is important for many reasons.

ā€œTo me the most important value of Eid is community, and the essence of community during Eid is many-faceted,ā€ he shared. ā€œRegardless of background, ethnicity, or social status, all are welcome to join in the festivities. This inclusivity is a testament to the universality of Islam’s message of peace, compassion, and brotherhood. It’s a time when differences are set aside, and the common humanity that binds us all is celebrated.ā€

The Truitt Center for Religious and Spiritual Life hosts a series of religious festivals throughout the year to celebrate the many religious, spiritual, and ethical identities present on ĀŅĀ׏Óʵā€™s campus, and to educate the community about diverse holiday traditions. These events are planned by the Truitt Center staff with the support of the cohort of multifaith interns.

This year, cross-campus collaborations with the Truitt Center led to a record number of events throughout the month of Ramadan. During Ramadan, Muslims fast from dawn to dusk, and break their fast with a meal called an Iftar. During Ramadan this year, there were numerous events held on campus to educate the community about Muslim traditions, break bread together, and create opportunities for dialogue, community building and connections.

For Multifaith Intern Rocco Albano ā€˜26, who helped plan the event, it was an amazing experience.

ā€œI think what really made this event special was the amount of community engagement we had, with so many people showing up to talk, to learn, to share a meal, and just to come together as a community for a special day,ā€ Albano explained.

More than a dozen guests from the Burlington Masjid joined students, faculty, and staff at the event, and as the attendees shared a meal and discussed the values of the holiday at their tables, children ran and played, filling the room with the sounds of their laughter and games.

Joy is one of the values of Eid, and one that the event organizers wanted all attendees to experience at the festival.

ā€œOn this day I ask you all to be happy,” Khan said. “Eid is a day to be joyous and excited. It is a day that is filled with jokes and laughter. A day full of compliments and bright smilesā€¦ On this day make an effort to forgive those who may have wronged you, and ask for forgiveness to those you may have wronged. And perhaps through this we may all be happier and more peaceful going forward.ā€

On Wednesday, Feb. 28, members of the university community came together in the McBride Gathering Space in the Numen Lumen Pavilion for this yearā€™s wInterfaith event, a midday panel discussion that offered insights from a broad range of perspectives and fostered conversation.

The event began with an introduction of the panelists by the Rev. Kirstin Boswell, university chaplain and dean of multifaith engagement.Ā The panel Included:

• Sheila Otieno, assistant professor of religious studies and Distinguished Emerging Scholar in Religious Studies, who teaches religion and religious ethics, focusing on African and African American religious traditions.
• The Rev. Donna Vanhook ā€™07, Alamance Soil & Water Conservation District Supervisor and associate pastor at Union Chapel UCC. Vanhook is the first Black woman to serve as Soil and Water Conservation District Supervisor.
• Jasper Serenity Myers ā€™24, a scholar of ancient Mediterranean forms of worship and Japanese Buddhist traditions.

• Kayla Swenson ā€™25 holds a position on Hillel Executive Board as the CO Shabbat chair and mentors in the ĀŅĀ׏Óʵ SMART program.
• Fatmata Bah ā€™25 who is vice president of the ĀŅĀ׏Óʵ Muslim Society and is very passionate about fostering interfaith dialogue.

The discussion focused on how a personā€™s religious faith and their background in that faith can be empowering, with each panelist offering perspectives from their own faiths. Much of the discussion centered around the sense of identity and how faith and background contribute to that identity.

To start the discussion, each of the panelists was asked if it was OK to be referred to as a Black woman as one of the identities that they hold in common. ā€œYou step into a room and you’re stepping in this body and in all of those ways and forms, that manifests itself,ā€ Boswell said.

Vanhook noted that the dialogue within her church promotes the ā€œstrong Black womanā€ myth, which can place a burden upon many women. That myth perpetuates the idea that because they are Black women, they should automatically be strong enough to handle anything. ā€œItā€™s mythical and paradoxical, which means that in churches, in my faith tradition, you are taught that you have to be strong,ā€ Vanhook said. ā€œMany times we find ourselves in a position where we’re doing too much and not really doing enough for ourselves.ā€

Otieno explained that one person can have a wide variety of identities that can be molded by a personā€™s background and upbringing along with their various roles. ā€œI am a teacher, I am a scholar, I am a researcher, but I’m also an Auntie, I am also a sister and I am also a daughter,ā€ Otieno said.

Vanhook said that being a Black woman is just one identity among many for her. ā€œAt some point, I have to separate myself,ā€ Vanhook said. ā€œUnderstanding that I am somebody empowers me again to continue my journey into doing something God has called me to do.ā€

Identities can be a big part of someoneā€™s life, and it can be tricky to navigate when you have multiple identities that can either clash with one another or work together, Bah said. ā€œThere are misconceptions about all my identities or at least when I enter a room,ā€ Bah said. ā€œYou may not know that Iā€™m Muslim when you meet me, but you will see that Iā€™m Black.ā€

Identities can also shape a way in how someone looks at a group and not a person, Swenson noted. ā€œNot one person speaks for everybody,ā€ said Swenson.

Another part of learning about identities is being open to listening and taking in information, she said. ā€œJust because you have one conversation with somebody doesn’t mean that you can have a conversation with someone else that holds the same identity and it’s going to look the same,ā€ Swenson said.

Having multiple identities can shape a person and how they look at the world or how they navigate themselves, Bah said. ā€œIf you’re cherry picking that kind of creates another issue,ā€ Bah said. ā€œI think education in general is important to address those misconceptions, interacting with people from different states and people from different religions.ā€

Myers shared that she was raised Roman Catholic, and that her identity has been formed by more than just what she heard in church. What she has learned through her own journey has contributed to how she sees herself. ā€œI had to reshape my own opinion, my own self-conception, my own identity and that was an empowering process in and of itself, because I had a new understanding of myself,ā€ Myers said.

Boswell pulled together many of the observations that the panelists offered by noting that identities can bring with them a weight of expectation. ā€œWhat was reinforced across the board when looking at Black women, of varying faith identities and other types of identities, we’re all carrying this load, this pressure to be perfect, to be the example,ā€ Boswell said.

The Center for the Study of Religion, Culture and Society and Muslim Life at ĀŅĀ׏Óʵ invite the ĀŅĀ׏Óʵ community to attend the Honoring the Legacy Symposium on Thursday, March 10, at 6 p.m. in McBride Gathering Space of Numen Lumen Pavilion.

The event will celebrate the legacy of Imam Warith Deen Mohammed, a distinguished Muslim leader known for reforming the Nation of Islam (NOI) and forging ties with mainstream Muslim communities across the US.

Symposium presenters include Multifaith Scholar JoyceLyn Bentley ā€˜22, , the first Muslim Chaplain of Duke University, and of Raleighā€™s As Salaam Islamic Center.

For more information, please contact Associate Chaplain, Imam Shane Atkinson: satkinson2@elon.edu.

Megan Noor ā€™21, a political science and policy studies major and Middle East studies minor, has spent more than two years conducting research on the portrayal of Muslims. Itā€™s a topic that is especially personal to Noor, who is Muslim and has witnessed countless incidents of Islamophobia and violence toward Muslims throughout her life.

ā€œAny Muslim you talk to has a story,ā€ Noor said. ā€œIf itā€™s not specifically a hate crime, itā€™s a hateful phone call, or a hateful slur shouted from a moving vehicle. Just about everyone has one of these stories, and it affects Muslimsā€™ mental health.ā€

Noor knew she would be required to complete a two-year research project alongside a faculty mentor as part of ĀŅĀ׏Óʵā€™s Honors Fellow program. After coming across research that proved negative messaging about Muslims played a significant role in negative attitudes toward the group, she wanted to find out whether positive messaging could have the opposite effect. Noor selected Kaye Usry, assistant professor of political science and policy studies, as her mentor to help guide her through an in-depth analysis of Islamophobia.

Noor set out to confront the issue by first studying the portrayal of Muslims by news outlets, politicians and Muslim activists and was able to pinpoint messaging trends from a variety of sources. For instance, Noor found that Muslim activist Dalia Mogahed often emphasized that Muslims are friends, neighbors and members of the broader community. Former U.S. President Barrack Obama commonly described Muslims Americans as patriotic citizens who love the United States.

ā€œThere is some degree of political intuition at play here where the sources who are using positive messages about Muslims are to an extent aware of what messages are going to be effective,ā€ Noor said.

Using the findings from her analysis, Noor created an experimental survey, polling ĀŅĀ׏Óʵ students about their feelings toward Muslims. Noor presented participants with excerpts of positive messaging about Muslims and had each person complete a questionnaire that measured their feelings toward the religious group. Noor found that students strongly disagreed with various Islamophobic statements after reading the excerpts. Noor also considered the types of messages that resonated with different identity groups and found that the ā€œMuslims as patriotsā€ framing had a notably positive impact among students who identified as political conservative.

After completing the campus survey, Noor expanded her research to include members of the broader Alamance County community. Instead of written excerpts, county residents were presented with videos that focused on positive messaging about Muslims. That study showed that Alamance County residents generally rejected Islamophobic beliefs and responded most positively to the ā€œMuslims as neighborsā€ framing.

Noor recently completed a successful defense of her Honors thesis and hopes that this research will help citizens, politicians and news outlets avoid feeding into the negative narratives that give life to Islamophobia.

ā€œI think a big part of it is being intentional about what messages we use when we talk about Muslims,ā€ Noor said. ā€œItā€™s not just news outlets or activists, itā€™s everyone. These messages are present in all of our conversations whenever we mention Muslims.ā€

Following graduation, Noor will attend the University of California, Berkeley School of Law where she hopes to study to become an immigration defense attorney. Noor wants to defend people apprehended by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Border Patrol. She is grateful for the opportunities sheā€™s had through the Honors Fellows program and especially in her work with Usry.

ā€œI really grew a lot as a scholar because of the support of the Honors Fellows program and the support of my mentor Kaye Usry,ā€ Noor said. ā€œShe was incredibly helpful to me and so willing to fight for my project and to get me the resources that I needed to do it.ā€

Suā€™ad is a scholar-artist-activist, as well as the founder and Senior Editor of , an award-winning website dedicated to the comprehensive analysis of the black Muslim experience in the U.S. In 2018 CNN recognized Suā€™ad as one of the .

CNN has said about Su’ad that ā€œshe defined ā€˜Muslim Cool.ā€™ Suā€™ad ā€¦ says perceptions of Islam donā€™t always fit reality.ā€

ā€œNow more than ever we need to to build bridges of understanding with the Muslim world,ā€ Associate Chaplain for Muslim Life Shane Atkinson said. ā€œFrom her extensive studies at Abu Nour University in Damascus, to her PhD in cultural anthropology from Princeton, Dr. Suā€™ad draws upon her lived experience to educate us about the modern American muslim experience.ā€

Her performance will take place in LaRose Theater of Koury Business Center at 7 p.m. The event is free and all are encouraged to attend.

Suā€™adā€™s visit is sponsored by the Center for the Study of Religion, Culture, and Society, Muslim Life at ĀŅĀ׏Óʵ, ĀŅĀ׏Óʵ Muslim Society, and The CREDE.

Eid al-Adha, which translates as “The Feast of Sacrifice,” commemorates Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his own son to God. Muslims remember this sacrifice by preparing a huge feast for friends and family, visiting relatives, and sharing with the poor. 

Eid al-Adha also follows the Hajj, or annual pilgrimage to Mecca, on the Islamic calendar. The feast day is a joyous celebration and reflection on friends, family, sacrifice, and commitment to God. 

In the spirit of the holiday, ĀŅĀ׏Óʵ’s Truitt Center for Religious and Spiritual Life hosted an evening of celebration complete with a catered halal meal provided by Taaza, homemade desserts, and a take-away goodie bag table for members to share with their own family and friends after the event. Students also had the opportunity to recieve henna tatoos and test their knowledge of Islam in a speed trivia round. 

Another highlight of the evening was the opportunity to hear from ĀŅĀ׏Óʵ’s own Muslim community. Muslim Coordinator Anna Torres spoke about Islam and prayer, providing an English translation for non-Muslims before the community had an opportunity to observe prayer together in the Sacred Space. Shereen Elgamel, an ĀŅĀ׏Óʵ faculty member who teaches Arabic, spoke about Eid al-Adha and the Hajj, as well as her own experiences as a Muslim in Egypt and the United States.

Interfaith activist Faisal Khan also spoke about the problems facing young Muslims in the United States, and challenged participants to seek out connections across religious and cultural backgrounds to form interfaith relationships that can lead to better understandings. 

More information about Eid al-Adha at ĀŅĀ׏Óʵ can be found in the recent Pendulum article . 

Anna Torres-Zeb has joined the ĀŅĀ׏Óʵ staff as the new Muslim Life coordinator in the Truitt Center for Religious and Spiritual Life.

Torres comes to ĀŅĀ׏Óʵ from San Diego, where she worked as a middle school teacher who developed multifaith programming before moving to North Carolina. Throughout her career, she has paid special attention to the value of interfaith learning and community building.

She received her Masters in Social Sciences and Comparative Education in 2012 from the University of California, Los Angeles, and her education specialist teaching credentials from San Diego State University a year later. She participated in and led multifaith efforts to promote inclusive learning and community building.

Torres also served on the Interfaith Outreach Board of the Islamic Center of San Diego and as a youth leader in the Muslim American Society. At ĀŅĀ׏Óʵ, she was drawn to the chance to contribute to the interfaith and Muslim communities.

“I am passionate about ĀŅĀ׏Óʵ’s vision for multifaith work,” she said. “I feel that ĀŅĀ׏Óʵ students are privileged to have faith-based leaders not only available to them, but working together and demonstrating a model for multifaith harmony.”

Torres will work closely with the Truitt Center’s chaplains and faith leaders to promote dialogue and multifaith harmony. She is on campus two days a week at the Numen Lumen Pavilion and can be reached at atorres7@elon.edu. 

Torres lives in Morrisville, North Carolina, with her husband, Adeel.

Bondurand began by explaining that the phrase “French Islam” is intrinsically different than “Islam in France.” The first suggests an essential link between being French and being Muslim, whereas the second suggests there is something foreign about being Muslim in France. 

Bondurand emphasized that Islam is part of French culture and society, and in France, Islam has taken on characteristics that make it distinctively French.

As in the United States, the French government cannot legally ask citizens about their religion on official documentation.  As a result, it is difficult to accurately determine the number of Muslims in France. Recent surveys, however, suggest that approximately 8 percent of French residents identify themselves as Muslim, in comparison to about 1 percent in the United States. 

These surveys further suggest that there is a distinguishing “French” character to the Islam they embrace.  As Bondurand explained, many French citizens identify themselves as Muslim and say they believe in the truth of the Quran and the Hadith (the sayings and acts of the prophet Muhammad), but they do not generally do the things that Islam asks its followers to do. That is, there is a separation between belief and practice that is characteristic also of French Catholics. 

Even among the most devout, only 6 percent of French Muslims say they have or will perform the pilgrimage to Mecca (Hajj) required by Islam.

Bondurand stated that Islamic radicalism is a problem in France as elsewhere; it is a part of French Islam. Yet statistically we can conclude that only about .075 percent of self-identified Muslims in France declare jihadist beliefs and intentions, whereas they receive 25 percent of media coverage.

In sum, French Islam is a “hybrid reality,” and hybrid identities show us that “1+1=1 and not 2.”  French Muslims are unique; they are distinctly French and definitely Muslim.  They exhibit what we see increasingly around the world: identities that are truly transnational. 

After Bondurand’s talk, Professor Brian Pennington, director of the Center for the Study of Religion, Culture, and Society and professor of religious studies, moderated a lively question & answer session, and the event was followed by a reception. 

The event was supported by the Department of World Languages and Cultures, the Isabella Cannon Global Education Center, the Truitt Center for Religious and Spiritual Life, the Department of Religious Studies, the Center for the Study of Religion, Culture, and Society, the Muslim Student Association, the French Club, the Pi Delta Phi French Honor Society, the Maison Française living-learning community, and the ĀŅĀ׏Óʵ International Society.

French Muslims in Contemporary France
France holds the largest Muslim population in Europe, and yet French Muslims are often labeled as “immigrants” by both local and international observers.  Although these French citizens have been integral to mainstream culture in France for more than four generations, Islam is generally considered “foreign.”  Despite this marginalization, French Muslims play a key role in contemporary culture.  This lecture will not only illuminate Islam’s religious aspects but also, and more importantly, its cultural value via the regeneration of French art, film and literature.

Sponsored by:
Department of World Languages and Cultures ▪ Isabella Cannon Global Education Center Truitt Center for Religious and Spiritual Life ▪ Department of Religious Studies
Center for the Study of Religion, Culture, and Society  ▪ Muslim Student Association
French Club ▪ Pi Delta Phi French Honor Society ▪ Maison Française ▪ ĀŅĀ׏Óʵ International Society

Students, faculty and community members on Oct. 16 celebrated the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha, a festival to commemorate Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son to God, with a program and feast hosted by the Truitt Center for Religious and Spiritual LIfe.

Traditional Middle Eastern food was served, and students were invited to get Henna tattoos and participate in a traditional prayer service.

Members of the Islamic Center of Gibsonville attended the festivities with the students, sharing information about Eid and about their culture and customs. The celebration took place in the McBride Gathering Space of the Numen Lumen Pavilion.

Community member Shylon Smith spoke to the crowd about her experience as a Muslim. Smith grew up in a Christian family and then converted to Islam when she was in college. She said it’s difficult for her, especially as a mother, to see people commit atrocities on television but tries to remember there are many good people in the world.

“It’s hard to look at people doing bad things and hearing them say they are doing it in the name of your religion,” Smith said. “But as Muslims it’s all about love. We care about everyone. We care about you guys and I’m so glad that you all came tonight because it shows that you care about us, too.”

Sophomore Carolyn Rauch attended the event in the hopes of gaining cultural perspective.

“I think it’s important to understand the cultural differences and similarities we share,” Rauch said. “We are all different, but deep down there are more similarities than differences, and it’s important that we remember that.”

After the meal, students were invited to join in a traditional evening prayer, one of five compulsory daily prayers for Muslims. Those who partook in the worship removed their shoes and women covered their heads.

Shahad Haswa, president of the Muslim Student Association, said she was surprised at how many people attended the celebration.

“MSA is really small this year, so it’s nice to see all the students and professors that came tonight,” Haswa said. “It’s educational more than anything and it’s good to see so many people here. I think having the community members coming really helped.

Eid al-Adha began this year on Saturday, Oct. 4, and ended Sunday, Oct. 5. This dinner was a delayed celebration.

Families usually spend Eid together, sharing a feast and enjoying each other’s company. One third of the food is shared between the family members, one third of the food is shared with friends and neighbors, and the remaining third is given to the poor.

Eid Al-Adha is one of two holidays, the other being Eid Al-Fitr, that Muslims celebrate at the end of Ramadan, a month of fasting.