|
This
was reassuring to Kase, 17, who is Jewish.
"Look, what these terrorists are doing is
against their religion," he said. "Many of
my friends were saying, 'What's the point of going
to the mosque?' Those who believe in Islam have a
different religion but are the same as everyone
else." After the session, the class joined 600
members of the Islamic community in a Friday noon
service led by Imam Ahmad.
"I
didn't know much about Muslims, and many of us held
(all of) them responsible for the attacks on the
World Trade Center," said Gutterman, who is
also Jewish. "Attending the mosque and learning
about Islam made us less fearful, and we saw how
much more we have in common with them."
However, Aiyesha Ghani, a 17-year-old Muslim
student, was far more skeptical about what the visit
had
 accomplished. Several months ago, she recalled a
group of boys in the school taunting a Sikh student
(a follower of a religion that has its roots in the
15th century in an area that is now Pakistan and
Northern India). They called him, "Taliban,
Taliban," a reference to the Islamic militants
who had grabbed power in Afghanistan until recently.
"I was very insulted and took it
personally," said Ghani. "Students here
are supposed to be above openly displaying
prejudice. But it exists. They don't outwardly say
something, but you feel it. It's in the back of
their minds." She continued, "Seeing some
of my Christian and Jewish friends come to the
mosque was a good effort. I don't know if this class
is going to change anything. People will only change
when they want to."
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