A new generation of American Muslims is changing the way we view their culture. In a talk hosted by the Muslim Student Association at New York University on October 14, 2016, Melanie Elturk, CEO and designer for Haute Hijab, Ismail Sayeed, a photographer, Aliyah Hakim-El, a poet, and Monna Sabouri, an actress comment on mainstream society’s shifting views of Muslim artists. They sat cross legged on the floor of the prayer room overlooking Washington Square Park. The women sit separately from the men yet there was still a sense of community as everyone greeted each other with “As-Salam-u-Alaikum”, or “peace be unto you”. The discussion was broken into two segments, with an intermission as the group prayed while sun set over the George Washington Memorial Arch.
(Transcript)
SETH: (In a prayer hall over looking Washington Square Park.)
A poet, an actress, a photographer, and an fashion designer sat down to talk about defining the role of the American Muslim and reclaiming their faith. This is Seth Cerrate reporting from the Islamic Center at New York University.
MELANIE: Lets face it, we don’t fit in to the mainstream culture because most of it goes against our values of Islam, and thats ok. That just means that we need to create something for ourselves.
ISMAIL: We’re really in a place where we can dictate what Islam is to world and the many beautiful ways it is.
SETH: That was Melanie Elturk, CEO and designer for Haute Hijab. She and photographer Ismail Sayeed aim to prepare young Muslims to take control of their public identity. But how do these artists describe themselves?
ISMAIL: Unapologetically Muslim.
MELANIE: Servant. To God first and foremost, and to my community second.
SETH: For Poet Aliyah Hakim-El, being an artist means owning your values and using them to find your purpose.
ALIYAH: When it comes to spoken word poetry I would have to say to make sure to establish what your purpose and your mission is. like what it the message that you want to put out. make sure you stay true to that and be authentic and passionate about it.
SETH: When asked to describe herself she used a single word, seeker.
ALIYAH: Be cause I’m constantly trying to seek knowledge and seek understanding of things that i don’t understand.
SETH: For Broadway Actress Monna Sabouri there is no defining trait that she identifies with, only a question.
MONNA: I was born a question, I was raised a question, and I constantly question everything.
SETH: She agrees that patience and understanding are key when looking for work in an industry with very few Muslim roles that are not stereotypes.
MONNA: It’s unfortunate that you’re going to have to play the very person that you hate, the person that is making your name tainted; these “terrorists”, and you’re just gunna have to have patience with that.
SETH: Despite this opposition, Ms. Sabouri is not discouraged. She realizes the importance of taking on these roles to normalize the portrayal of Islam in America.
MONNA:Well first as a middle eastern actor you play the terrorist, then you play something that is just the stereotype like the halal guy, or the deli owner, and then you play an actual person, right? It’s these different steps. so, don’t be discouraged.
SETH: So, how are young Muslims armed to fight these stereotypes off-screen and in real life? Photographer Ismail Sayeed weighs in.
ISMAIL: Just being a good person, that in itself is a catalyst for others to see the good in Islam, and then by way you’re just going to realize that you do have a duty to be a voice for Islam.
MELANIE: Today, as this generation of ours enters the workforce and the professional field; we now have the obligation to take the torch from our parents who laid that foundation and now take it one step further.