The “ISIS” in “crisis: a discussion about the Middle East

Panel members discuss the Middle East on March 17.

Courtesy of Nur Mood

Panel members discuss the Middle East on March 17.

Meghan O'Brien, Senior Reporter

Members of the Hamline community and the broader community gathered on March 17 to discuss the crisis in the Middle East as ISIL expands throughout the region. When Gaith Hijazin, Area Coordinator in the department of Residential Life, heard the news of the burning alive of a Jordanian soldier by ISIL (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, also known as ISIS), he said it sparked his emotions. He brought his idea to Nur Mood, Coordinator of Religious and Spiritual Life Programs, and Nancy Victorin-Vangerud, Chaplain and Director of the Wesley Center, and the three then began working on planning the panel discussion.

According to CNN, ISIL is the Islamic extremist rebel group that started as an al Qaida splinter group. It currently controls Iraq and Syria and knows no international borders. Its aim is to create an Islamic state across Iraq and Syria and it is known for killing dozens of people at a time through public executions.

Mood said the Hamline community has learned to discuss serious issues such as this one and it would be the perfect opportunity to show Hamline cares about the issue as well as the students being affected by the crises.

“When we share these feelings, we’re healing,” Mood said.

The panel presented a chance for the community to understand what is going on and what everyone can do to be a part of the solution. Hijazin and Mood agreed this is an important discussion to have because the world is connected globally.

Before the panel began, two students shared their experiences and views on the crises. Junior Mariam Demello was first, speaking about her story growing up in Syria and the U.S. and her perspective after seeing and hearing about what is going on now. Demello said she cannot believe the turmoil Syria is enduring and worries about her family over there. Demello also wanted to make it clear that Syria is more than what is depicted on our screens.

“The Syria that I know and love is not what you see on TV, and extremist groups such as ISIL [are] not an accurate representation of the Syrian people,” she said.

Following Demello’s speech, sophomore Nadia Al-Mosawi, the president of the Muslim Student Association, spoke about Iraq.

According to her, Iraq had the resources to flourish as a civilization, and once the country was established, there was always someone who wanted to be in charge. To close her speech, Al-Mosawi said the first step in working towards a solution to the crisis is to raise awareness.

“I felt like it was a topic I needed to learn about myself,” Al-Mosawi said of her reasoning behind speaking at the event. If she wanted to learn more, she had to be involved. “Because they’re my people, it’s my struggle as well.”

As far as Demello’s reasons for speaking, she wrote in an email that it was a coping and healing mechanism as well as a way to inform the Hamline community about the truth of the events in Syria and the greater Middle East.

The panelists were first asked about how the conflict impacts the lives of Minnesotans and the Minnesota community. Everyone agreed the crisis affect Minnesotans in many different ways. According to Hijazin, Minnesota has the highest number of people joining ISIL. There are many components involved with the decision to join ISIL, including confusion, the benefits one may receive, social media, and a general misunderstanding of Islam.

“Warfare has become a business,” Binnur Ozkececi-Taner, Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science, Middle East Studies, said.

There are many benefits that come with joining ISIL, including making thousands of dollars, she said.

Maheen, Zaman Assistant Professor at Augsburg College in World History, South Asia, Middle East, Islamic Intellectual History, Modern Islam, Colonialism and Decolonization, and Global History of Nationalism, said that the vast majority of recruitments are of young people.

“They’re not recruiting at AARP, they’re recruiting at high schools,” he said.

He explained that these are the people that do not have attachments, such as a career or a family to care for, and are drawn in by social media. Zaman used the Hobbit character Bilbo Baggins as an example, saying that they see him go off on adventures and want to do the same.

Hamdy El-Sawaf, the Imam of Islamic Community Center of Minnesota (Masjid Al-Iman), explained that those who do join these groups are confused, that they have been grossly misled about the teaching of Islam.

Jaylani Hussein, the Executive Director of CAIR- Minnesota, elaborated on the topic by explaining how the youth are specifically targeted. According to him, there is a cutting and pasting of the Islam religion, where people take verses from the Quran to use for their own purposes, which contributes to the misleading. He also explained that in the Islamic world, church and state are not separate. One final explanation he gave was the desire for the fame these people hope to gain from their involvement in the group.

One audience member was curious about how Muslims could explain what is going on without being apologizers (i.e; how can they help people understand that this is not something they condone).

Hussein’s answer was simple: they must keep condemning the violent actions of ISIL and other extremist groups that do not accurately represent their religion.

Dr. Ryan LeCount, Assistant Professor Sociology, also said that we can better understand the crises when our society no longer thinks of Middle Eastern people as ‘other.’

All the panelists said one of the most important questions to ask ourselves is what can we do. Dr. Earl Schwartz, Assistant Professor and Director of the Social Justice Program, said it is important as a learning community not to oversimplify the problem.

“We’re under no obligation to reenact the same crashes,” he said.

He said that we have the opportunity to treat each other as the religions teach us.

El-Sawaf agreed that it is not the fault of the religions, that the violent acts are not a reflection of Islam.

As far as holding a similar event, Mood said he definitely wants to hold another one in the near future.

“[It] shows that Hamline is a place for everyone,” he said.