Items

• Interview
  Yasmeen Atta is a senior at Marquette University studying nursing. In this interview, she discusses a variety of topics including her upbringing and education, family values, Palestinian heritage, and cultural/religious traditions. The interviewee briefly touches on community responses to the COVID-19 pandemic and describes recent adaptations in Muslim religious celebrations. Additionally, the interviewee emphasizes the importance of religious practices and traditions in her community, and how they have influenced her personal values over time.
• Interview
  Sarah is a first-generation American—she was born in the US but moved back to her parents’ homeland of Yemen at age five, and then she returned to the US as a teenager due to the Yemen Civil War. In America, she now attends Marquette University as a Clinical Lab Sciences major and aspires to become a physician’s assistant. She identifies as a moderately practicing Muslim hijabi woman and she enjoys volunteering in her community. She is married to a half-Mexican, half-Yemeni man who she loves, and she discusses her experience growing up with three brothers and her parents. She is extremely grateful for Marquette’s incredible faculty and staff and their help, but sometimes feels as though the Muslim and Arab communities can have a hard time feeling welcome in the university community.
• Interview
  Mohd Abuayyash is a 22-year-old male from the United Arab Emirates – whose family is originally from Palestine. In this interview, Mohd details the story of his immigration to the United States and travels throughout other nations. He also describes the struggles he faced upon his immigration to the United States, including racism and discrimination. Additionally, Mohd comments on gendered differences in Arab culture and Islam.
• Interview
  Hayat (name changed for confidentiality) is a first-generation immigrant from city of Palestine, now living within the Milwaukee, Wisconsin area. She first came to America, initially New York City, in 1980s, as an 18-year-old girl, one year after her father had left Palestine for New York. Hayat was a graduate of a Catholic High School in Jerusalem, Palestine. Her main purpose behind her immigration was for additional education after high school, and her father left to find work and make money in America and send it back to his family back home. Their immigration plan was meant to be temporary, however, this was no longer an option anymore, as Netanyahu, who was the mayor of Jerusalem at the time, had taken away Hayat and her father’s residency. She has lived in Milwaukee with her three children since and she is a high school math teacher in Milwaukee. In this interview, Hayat discusses the political trauma her family endured as Palestinians from Jerusalem and how it affected them financially, giving them no choice, but to leave. She also discusses the struggles of people a Palestinian in exile, but how her close relationship with her father supported her through these hardships. The most recent hardship of her life has been the COVID-19 pandemic, as it’s affected everybody, but especially her family financially.
• Interview
  Lina Al-Nwailati is a 56-year-old Syrian woman living in the Milwaukee area. She is a mother of four, with triplet daughters and a son. In this interview, Lina describes her life and upbringing in Damascus, Syria, and emphasizes the importance of faith. Lina speaks about her family – well-educated and focused on tradition – and how they influenced her values and decision making throughout her life. Lina also describes Muslim religious practices, and briefly touches on adaptations following the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Interview
  Maryam is a 20-year-old Indian American Muslim woman who was born and grew up in the United States. She lived in Hinsdale, IL for a brief time and then moved to Oakbrook, IL where she resides now. Islam has been a part of Maryam for her whole life. She is currently enrolled in an Islamic studies program through her local mosque. Maryam identifies her culture as a huge part of her life. From clothing to food, Maryam is able to incorporate her religious and cultural beliefs into her daily routine while living in the United States. She highlights the importance and anticipation of certain traditions like Eid and the celebration that comes with it. However, she does have to find balance between her culture and American culture. This is seen with her private and public education, cultural food, traditional clothing and other factors. Maryam also believes that there are many misconceptions of Muslims in the United States. Though she tries not to be affected by these misconceptions, she can’t help but feel like her identity and personality has shifted as a result.
• Interview
  Hanan Badawi is a first-generation immigrant from Al-Bireh, Palestine who immigrated to the United States in 1975, when she was fifteen years old. She lives in Hinsdale, IL, as a stay-at-home mom. She is Muslim and is conservative with her religion. She worked through a large number of adversities through her immigration and built a new life when she came to the US. She started a family, received an education, and surrounded herself with an Arab community to make her and her family more at home here in the US. She is very passionate about her family and friends, and although it was not her initial plan or idea to come to the US, she created a new life for herself, while staying true to her Arab heritage and culture, and practicing her Islamic beliefs.
• Interview
  Sarah (changed name for confidentiality purposes) is a 49-year-old Muslim Palestinian-American. She is a mother of five children and currently lives in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She grew up with her parents and grandparents and quickly learned the importance of knowing your roots: the culture, language, and traditions. Alongside her Palestinian culture, she also prioritizes her religion as an important aspect of her daily life. She believes it has and does help her through thick and thin political climates, and she continues to practice and attend her mosque whenever she can.
• Interview
  The following interviewee – whose name is omitted from this transcript for confidentiality purposes – is a nursing student in Milwaukee, WI. She compares growing up and going to school in the United States and Syria, emphasizing differences in technology and cultural norms. The interviewee also describes facing discrimination in America, and how her upbringing has influenced her religious practices and social views. Additionally, the interviewee speaks on her career goals and gender roles in her community, as well as coping strategies in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Interview
  Sariah (name changed for confidentiality) is a 17-year-old college undergraduate student at the Milwaukee Area Technical College who was originally born in Jordan, before her family eventually settled in Wisconsin. She identifies as a second-generation Muslim Palestinian immigrant. Even though she has lived in the United States since 2nd grade she embraces her Jordanian and Palestinian culture more than the American culture but allows them to collide. Through continuing to embrace her culture, her religion and her decision to wear the hijab, Sariah hopes her children will learn to embrace who they are and doesn’t want to let her culture die out because it is an important part of who they are. She has had very welcoming experiences in the United States by her surrounding community but continues to keep a close-knit circle of Arab community members consisting of only her family and her best friend.
• Interview
  In the interview, 25-year-old Albanian-Muslim woman Rreze Ibraimi Discusses her experience growing up in Janesville, Wisconsin. In this small Mid-Western town, Rreze was always viewed differently and reveals that she often felt the need to “white-wash” herself to fit in with her peers. While enjoying her summers in Albania, Rreze would often visit her friends My Space pages and miss her life back in America. Her Muslim identity proved not to be as oppressive as the expectations of her Albanian culture. An Albanian woman routinely marries, becomes a housewife, and has children at a young age. Breaking with tradition, Rreze has chosen not to marry at this time, and pursue a career in Dental Hygiene. Her main priority is to express her personal identity and establish financial independence. Due her largely secular lifestyle, Rreze illuminates the broad spectrum of Muslim identities in the United States. She shares her love of traditional Albanian clothing and recipes, thus revealing obvious love and respect for her culture. Alternatively, Rreze expresses gratitude for the independence and self-sufficiency that her American way of life has given her. She can enjoy Byrek (a traditional Albanian filo pie) as well as a good Cheeseburger. Rreze exemplifies the meaning of having both roots and wings.
• Interview
  Renee (name changed for confidentiality) is a Palestinian American Christian woman who moved to America as a young child in the 1970s. She grew up in the Chicago suburbs of Illinois, and as a kid she faced many challenges adjusting to life and school in America. She also explains how differently her upbringing was compared to how she has raised her two children. Renee is a very educated women and was a computer engineer at one point in her life.
• Interview
  This is an interview is of a first-generation female immigrant from Iran. She chose to remain anonymous and will be referred to as Anna. Anna’s story is one which highlights the relationship between the political and the educational, as she has faced various setbacks and delays to obtaining educational institutional qualifications due the failed cooperation of the Iranian and American immigration, educational, and political systems, due to post-revolutionary relations between the two countries. After obtaining her B.A at an English-speaking university in Iran, Anna emigrated from Iran to America for the sole purpose of coming to study in America. She did not intend to stay in America, but due to the political situation in Iran, obtaining her masters was delayed. Furthermore, the political situation meant that she would not have a teaching position if she returned to Iran. She claimed that her decision to stay originally, and now, is because of the political situation in Iran. Anna’s attempt to obtain her PhD in biology was delayed both because of institutional-political issues, and finally abandoned due to a fire which destroyed all of her research. So, although Anna originally planned to pursue a PhD in biology, following the fire, she felt the desire to give back to the community of Milwaukee through a career in adult and continuing education. Currently, Anna is unemployed, and her citizenship is pending, but she has high hopes for a future where she will be able to use her own difficult experiences to help others, especially adult immigrants, integrate into the community.
• Interview
  The interviewee identifies herself as a Muslim Palestinian American. Sarah (name changed for confidentiality reasons) was born and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Sarah attended a private Islamic school in the greater Milwaukee area throughout her elementary, middle, and high school years and believes her family and community have a big influence in her daily life. The two most important factors that shape her life are religion and culture as well, and she identifies greatly with the two, but emphasizes the importance of religion more in living a successful life. In terms of culture, Sarah sticks to some cultural aspects such as: speaking the Arabic language at home and wearing traditional cultural clothing at cultural events and special occasions, which helps her connect with her homeland and the values instilled in her while growing up as a child. Sarah is a college student, studying biology and would like to further her studies, after she graduates with a bachelors, and continue on the path of medicine. Sarah is currently not married and would like to finish her studies before considering marriage.
• Interview
  The interviewee chose to remain anonymous and will be referred to as “Husam” throughout the interview. Husam identifies himself more with his Arabic culture rather than his American culture, although he addresses his difficulty of finding the right balance between the two contrasting cultures. American born and raised in Jordan as a young boy, Husam experienced many different environments and found a way to adapt to whichever setting he found himself in. He gives the audience a unique point of view of the difficulties he has faced with the English language and explains how he handled the obstacles in order to better himself. Husam explains that cultural clothing could show ones identity but in his opinion, clothing doesn’t define who he is or who he will be but feels he will start wearing cultural clothing more often as he grows up. Husam’s interview provides insight on the opinions and perspectives of a second generation Arab-American man who finds importance in attaching a greater meaning on his religion and culture.
• Interview
  This interview was completed with a young Pakistani born immigrant living in the United States. This interviewee addressed topics including her immigration to the United States, her assimilation into the American culture, racism she has faced and her pursuit of education. This interview is valuable because it informs the reader about the lives of young immigrants, the question of cultural identity and their endeavor to make America their home.
• Interview
  Overall I asked Raman 25 questions in regards to her background. Among the questions and the information included in the transcript include the following. I first thank Raman for her time and explain the purpose of the interview. I also informed her that if she felt uncomfortable, please let me know and I'll move on to the next question. The first question I asked her was her background information. This included questions such as where she was born, where did she grow up, where did she live, where did she go to school, does she have any hobbies. I also asked her about her family background which included questions such as “Why her family come to the United States,” or “describe to me some of your family members.” Much of the interview includes information about her Palestinian cultural background. I do also ask Raman some of her own personal views such as “what her reaction was to 9/11,” “her views on Al-Qaeda and what is going on in Syria, Iraq, and ISIS,” “some of her philosophical views”, and even some of her own views on topics involving Islam.
• Interview
  Hedaya Hassan is a 27 year-old Muslim Palestinian woman who teaches second grade at Salam Elementary, an Islamic school in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Married with one daughter who is 4, Hassan speaks about what it was like to spend the majority in war-torn Palestine with an enormous family of over 100 cousins. She recalls incidents of late night intrusions from Israeli soldiers who would bang on the door in the middle of the night/early morning hours to make sure the residents were legal and if there was any evidence of participation/involvement in the war. She also recalls the severe anxiety attacks she suffered when she would see any police in uniform regardless of the Palestinian/Israeli origin. However, she believes growing up surrounded by this has contributed to strengthening her as person. After moving back to the United States one year after 9/11, she explains how scared her family members were to leave the house following the attacks. Being a second-grade teacher, Hassan shares what it is like to be able to help her students who have come from countries with war and she likes being able support her students that are struggling with the transition to The States or whose families have been separated while coming to the US. Coming from a well-educated family and having two brothers working as doctors, she believes strongly in the importance of education. She says that both she and her husband’s family support discourse and debate challenging different ideas and traditions. She hopes to instill this quality in her daughter by surrounding her with diversity and encouraging her to ask questions so that she will grow up to be a well-rounded and open-minded person. She has hopes that her daughter will grow up to be a good Muslim woman, but she also realizes that a child is like a seed and a parent’s job is to nurture/aid in healthy growth but after that, the rest is out of her control. In light of Donald Trump’s recent election, she worries for her daughter’s future because of the xenophobic rhetoric surrounding his campaign pared with the enormous numbers of supporters.
• Interview
  Ibrahim (name changed for confidential reasons) is a second generation Moroccan American. He was born in Haverhill, Massachusetts, but moved back to Morocco at age three (2002) and spent the next four years of his life there with his brother. In Morocco he attended Quranic school before moving back to the United States where he spent the rest of his education in public schools. After graduating from Whittier Regional Technical Vocational High School, Ibrahim, encouraged by his father went on to study mechanical engineering at the University of Massachusetts (Lowell). Later transferring to Northern Essex Community College to pursue an exclusively self-motivated major in business. As Ibrahim grew older, his early religious influence was challenged by his newly accepted American sense of rebellion, forcing inconsistency within his identity. This internal conflict promoted feelings of confusion and curiosity, pushing the need for research across several religions, finally arriving at the hardworking, determined, and free-spirited identity he holds today. Although this was a tough time in his life, he no longer feels victimized by stereotypes regarding Muslim men and expressed great appreciation for his American heritage as it allows him to chase the “American Dream”.
• Interview
  Ruba identifies herself as American Palestinian and spent a portion of her life living in Beitin, Palestine, where her parents are originally from. She greatly appreciates her parents’ open-mindedness in their upbringing of their children and recognizes that not all second-generation immigrants would have had the same freedoms and independence to choose their careers as she has. Ruba considers herself a moderate Muslim – she follows all dietary and alcohol restrictions but does not pray five times daily or wear the hijab, though she does not feel that should define a “good Muslim.” She strongly empathizes with the conflicts happening in her parents’ homeland and throughout the Middle East and has considered joining the Peace Corps or other volunteer organizations to give her time to help those struggling abroad.
• Interview
  Salma grew up in a Syrian-Christian household and very much appreciates her Arab heritage. She feels her father’s reluctance to share his financial situation held her back in her education, but she is happy with her career and life. She did, however, give her daughters the freedom to choose their colleges. She does not believe her daughters need to limit themselves to an Arab community or Orthodox one, but she raised them in her Orthodox faith and her husband’s Roman Catholic faith. Food is how she expresses her identity the most, and she taught her daughters how to cook Syrian food, as well. She considers herself American Arab because she was born in America. Salma’s religion and her culture play a big role in her identity, but they are not the sole factors she uses to define herself.
• Interview
  As first-generation immigrant from Iran, Sherrie grew up in the populated city of Shiraz. Now, a dedicated mother, wife, and business owner, she spends most of her time on the weekdays working in the restaurant that she owns on Milwaukee’s North side because all but one of her children are out of the house. Since the age of fourteen, she has chosen to wear the hijab even still today. For her, this is a strong connection for her to her religion and is also a statement of her identity and her homeland. She does not feel much discrimination in society despite being the only one out of her friends and family in the United States that wears the hijab. Out of her five children, she only has one daughter who has chosen not to veil herself, and Sherrie supports this decision until her daughter is ready to do it for herself. Sherrie describes the process of having had an arranged marriage to her second cousin.
• Interview
  Rawan, though she identifies herself first and foremost as a Muslim woman, was born and raised in Kolkata, India and is currently an American citizen living in the Brookfield area. Rawan immigrated to the United States in 1976 to live with her new husband, who was a practicing pharmacist in the Chicago area. Rawan wears clothing that identifies with the Pakistani and Indian cultures. She prefers loose and modest shirts and dresses, along with her scarf. This is not only the clothing that she is comfortable in, but also the clothing she believe is religiously important. Throughout the interview, Rawan stresses that the choice to wear modest clothing and a scarf to cover her hair is not because of pressure from her husband or her family, but for Allah. All four of her daughters have made the decision to wear the scarf with more modern clothing as well. The aspect of clothing that is important for Rawan isn’t the exact shirt or pants that are worn, but that her daughters have learned and exercised the principle of modesty in their faith. Rawan is an active and vocal member of her community.
• Interview
  The purpose of this project is to better understand the Muslim identity in the United States. For this project I have interviewed a three-year acquaintance and professor of mine. The interview lasted a total of 52 minutes and was recorded on the morning of October 21st, 2019. In the interview we discussed topics such as marriage, what it means to have a homeland, how perspectives of Muslims in American society have shifted from the Gulf War on through 9/11 to today. One of the most important perspective that the interviewee shared was her comments about arrangement and that when defining terms, it is very important to not define terms broadly. Arrangement, for example, has a lot of different meanings to different people and that despite the stereotype, the interviewee had never met anyone, whether in Jordan or the United States, that had a strict arrangement of their marriage. Another interesting perspective was the question of the Muslim identity after 9/11. Asked about whether life had changed after that date she said that prejudicial attitudes had not changed that dramatically, or at least any more than what she was already accustomed to. It was that last part that is interesting, that people adapt/acclimate to prejudicial actions. The question being what causes acclimatization, what can be done to prevent acclimatization, etc. The goal for the paper on scale is to further investigate these two themes, definitions, and acclimatization.
• Interview
  Rania (name changed for confidentiality) is a second-generation Arab American who grew up as the oldest daughter under very strict parents, with a father known for his old-school mentality. She was born and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and although she attended the local Islamic school, culture took the forefront in her family home over religion. Rania’s parents expected of her not only to marry right after graduating from high school, but she was expected to marry a man who originates from the same village as her family. One of the biggest challenges Rania faced was convincing her parents to pursue further education, instead of getting married after high school. Although in the end they agreed, they still did not like the idea of her becoming a full-time working nurse. Her husband, Mustafa (name changed for confidentiality), and his family were very well known in the community. The two knew each other for quite some time and when it came to asking for her hand Rania’s father did not agree to it because Mustafa was not from their family’s village. However, Mustafa was persistent and asked for her hand in marriage several times before Rania’s father agreed. Rania believes she has paved the way for her younger siblings and their future endeavors because she was able to show her father and convince him to move beyond some ideas that stem from his traditional mentality.