'Cupola Conversations' tackles Muslim stereotyping through panel discussion

Panelists address the audience during a previous "Cupola Conversations" event on campus.

The final Cupola Conversations discussion of the spring semester was dialed from the perspective of ECU’s Muslim community, aiming to educate and dispel any hostility that may arise from our current climate.

Headlined “Intersecting Identities: Are We Stereotyping Muslims?,” this civil discourse event took place in Mendenhall yesterday afternoon and featured a predominantly Muslim panel that consisted of ECU students, faculty, and members of the greater Greenville community.

The starting topic of the event was behind the wearing of the hijab and its significance to the Muslim faith. One by one, both the non-wearing and hijab-wearing panelist shared their personal knowledge on the hijab, the modesty aspect behind it, and how the article of clothing doesn’t and shouldn’t define them as Muslims.

Panelist Abdul Khadi, president of ECU’s Muslim Student Association, also shared the meaning of the hijab from a male’s perspective. He talked about the sanctity behind the hijab shouldn’t be confined to females in the Muslim faith by telling the attendees about the concept of the “internal hijab”.

“As a male, I usually try not to pass judgement and not partake in conversations about the hijab because women today are the ones that have the right to choose whether they want to wear the hijab or not,” said Khadi during the discussion. “I think the popular misconception is that the hijab is an obligation of the females. It’s a sign of modesty for males as well, to lower their gaze and to not pass judgement on females.”

A reigning topic in the discussion was the role of modern-day media when it comes to its portrayal of Muslims. The panelists made sure to correct some of the misconceptions from the current political climate to the misconceptions spread in popular culture by Hollywood personalities such as Bill Maher or Milo Yiannopoulos, in the discussion and shared how crucial it is to educate yourself and others.

Panelist and ECU landscape architect Azad Atashi shared how the events of the 9/11 attack initiated a “negative shift on Muslims in the media”. He said the role of media reporting has perpetuated a fear of the Muslim faith that still rings true today.

“I truly believe 9/11 changed the lives of everyone in this country. From that day on, the media’s approach towards people of Muslim faith has never been the same,” said Atashi during the discussion.

Shifting to a discussion about cultural appropriation, audience members brought up recent trending events such as Kanye West’s inclusion of a hijab-wearing Muslim model in his Yeezy Season 5 fashion show and Nike’s release of a hijab athletic line. Several of the panelists emphasized how those companies are profiting off of the Muslim faith and how the point of these trending events may be masking the purpose behind the hijab in general.

“If you’re going to utilize such things such as a hijab to the Muslim faith or even a dashiki to the African culture, you should do your part in actually combating the misconceptions about the culture behind it instead of making money,” said Khadi during the event.

As the event came to a close and the panelists emphasized the importance to keep dialogue and education about the Muslim faith alive, Associate Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs Chris Stansbury shared his appreciation for the audience attending and the importance of making ECU a better campus where “open dialogue can be welcomed and encouraged.”

“The intention for Cupola Conversations was to create a positive place where even proactively, we can start civil discourse,” said Stansbury, who was the Cupola Conversations moderator. “We can start to have conversations where it may be uncomfortable. It may be something we don’t know anything about or something we are experts on, but it’s all about how to get the conversation going on our campus.”