Students from third through twelfth grade took their seats before “Islam 101,” a Morning Ex presentation from third grade teacher Nadia Pardesi and History Department co-chair and seventh grade History teacher Anthony Shaker, began on February 14.

Shaker, who identifies as Arab-American, opened the MX by recognizing the common mistake in conflating Muslims and Arabs. Someone can be an ethnic Arab and belong to any religion, Shaker explained, while one can be Muslim and belong to any ethnic group.

Pardesi, who comes from a conservative Muslim family, described a common misconception of Muslims by Americans. “Often times when you see an image of a Muslim, you will see a woman wearing a burka with her head covered and a man wearing a white gown with a red head covering,” she said. “And that’s not how it is.”

According to Pardesi, Muslims’ appearance differs greatly, especially in the United States. While she wears a headscarf, her mother wears it differently, and her sister doesn’t wear it at all. “There’s a lot of images that are thrown at you,” Pardesi said, “and it makes it seem like there one way to look Muslim and that’s not true.” 

Shaker and Pardesi hoped to educate students about this and other misconceptions surrounding the religion of Islam and Muslims. “Islam is a religion that is commonly misunderstood and misrepresented, a religion that is commonly targeted in this country,” Shaker said.  “We have the opportunity to discuss stereotypes and the impact they have on the Muslim community.”

Shaker and Pardesi believe that such education is extremely important, especially in today’s culture.  “It seems that across the country, Islam is misunderstood, and Muslims are common targets of verbal, physical and ideological abuse,” Shaker said. “We’re trying to educate students to be global citizens and teach competence, and just be aware of this group.”

Pardesi’s family played a part in advocating for Muslims and peace in the aftermath of 9/11. Her father, an Islamic scholar, spoke at the National Cathedral shortly after the attack. He spoke of non-violence and condemned criminal acts of violence done by Muslims both in the United States and outside.

“In 2001 there was the highest number of anti-Muslim hate crimes in America in history for this group,” Shaker said.  “A common myth is that Islam is a religion that condones violence, and statistics show that among Muslims that is just not accurate.”

Shaker explained the race, gender, sexual identity, and religion motivators behind hate crimes. According to Shaker, the second highest year for Muslim hate crimes was 2017, much of which was due to ignorance and fear.

“There’s a myth in the U.S. that Muslims are a violent threat, but the largest terrorist groups are not Muslim groups,” he said.  “They’re white right-wing militia groups by a 3:1 margin.  Media coverage disproportionately  spotlights the rare occasion when a terrorist attack is committed by a Muslim. More often terrorist attacks are committed against Muslims than they are perpetrators.”

As the time inched closer to 11:20, Pardesi and Shaker ended their presentation with an emphasis on reaching out to Muslims and how Parker students can understand the obstacles Muslims around the world face today.

Sophomore Isaac Warshaw agreed with both teachers’ ideas, but he believes that students should treat Muslims similarly to anyone else. “They talked about being an ally and reaching out to them and giving them space,” Warshaw said. “And instead of that, just treat a Muslim person like you would treat any other person.”

Pardesi also shared her personal and positive experience as a Muslim in the United States.

“One of the biggest strengths of Islam is that when I go to a mosque, it is so beautifully diverse, and everyone is your mom, your auntie…it’s very community based, and the love and companionship you feel there is amazing,” Pardesi said. “In the United States I can hang out with people who converted to Islam too, and it’s a gorgeous room full of different people, different cultures, and we need to encourage and celebrate that instead of pushing it away.”