Unfortunately, Islamophobia is all too real and nowadays, the fear extends beyond just Islam itself but all things associated with it, like Arabic. After reading this article in the New York Times about a college student who was deplaned for merely speaking Arabic, I was really astounded and made me realize how important programs like NSLIY and YES Abroad* are in encouraging understanding between the US and other countries and cultures. The thought that the mere mention of Arabic provokes the assumption of terrorism really disappoints me.
On the other hand, I was really uplifted after reading this article (also in the NYT) which highlights a Muslim high school girl who lives a couple of miles from San Bernardino, wears the hijab and won Prom Queen. It makes me really happy to see that a community who was harshly affected by a tragedy to be able to overcome the temptation of becoming bitter and hateful. These are 2 super thought provoking articles I would highly suggest reading if you have the time! Let me know in the comments below if you see any other interesting articles about Islamophobia or people actively working against Islamophobia, I would love to read them. Bye! Sophia *The Kennedy-Lugar YES Abroad Program is another study abroad program through the State Department that sends students for a year to countries with significant Muslim populations. The focus of the program is not on language but predominantly on cultural understanding.
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We travel not to escape life, but for life not to escape us. !أهلا و ساهلاHi! I'm Sophia, a high schooler from the San Francisco Bay Area. I received a scholarship through the State Dept. to study Arabic in Jordan in the summer of 2016. Categories
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