Anu Dwarumpudi corresponded with Cedya Kural over email. Cedya is a 20 year old student and Sunni Muslim from Houston, Texas. A full transcript of their conversation can be found here. Can you talk a bit about your relationship to Islam? I went to Islamic school from elementary- middle school and we had Quran classes everyday- we learned how to read it as well as memorize important passages and their meanings. Now in college I read during prayers and primarily in Ramadan.... My parents are stricter in some areas than others, and I'd say compared to them I'm pretty relaxed, but I know other Muslims who think I'm strict too so I believe its all subjective. How does culture influence your religious practices and understanding of Islam?
My dad's Turkish and my mom's Colombian.My mom's family is Catholic, they don't really understand Islam that much but my mom explained as best she could. My dad's mom is very religious, but she doesn't impose her beliefs on anyone. Everybody else on that side is pretty relaxed too, I'd say my dad is the most strict out of his siblings. Growing up in a primarily Muslim community, wearing hijab was the normal, although a lot of my friends chose not to wear it. I think it was more familial, because my mom wears it. I started wearing it pretty early (age 12) so I wasn't aware of all the Islamophobia and anti-hijab sentiments. What are the biggest influencers of your decision to cover? I was 12 when I started to wear it, so I didn't know about or really consider the potential discrimination. I was pretty well guarded at my Islamic School and community, so I was not aware of being potentially being discriminated against. My mom and aunts from my dad's side cover so its familial influence for sure. My community didn't really care if the girls were covered in public or not, as long as we covered at the mosque out of respect? Have you experienced discrimination based on your choice to cover or not? Could you describe such discrimination? Thankfully, I have actually never really experienced discrimination due to my hijab. I have gotten several "random searches" at airports, but it’s only about 50% of the time. I notice some people kind of stare at me, and some look at me a little strangely, but I don't necessarily pay too much attention to it. But outright attacks, verbal or physical or other types of discrimination, no. Most people are actually very polite towards me. Does seeing violent hate crimes against hijabi women have any impact on your decision? How do you adjust your choices based on witnessing hate crimes? Sometimes I feel a little bit scared and I consider taking it off. After the election last year, I told myself that if things get bad, I will take it off. However, I have since decided to be stronger than that. I will not allow bigots to affect my life or scare me into submitting into what they believe is normal or socially acceptable. I totally support any woman who decides not to cover or to stop covering, but I personally don't think I will stop covering, unless under life or death circumstances. Is there anything that would make you change your decision to cover or not cover? Immediate life or death circumstances will probably change my decision at a certain moment, but long term, no. I intend on covering for life. How do you view other Muslim women who cover? How do you view Muslim women who don’t cover? I see both covering and non covering Muslim woman as the same. Whether they choose to cover or not is not indicative of what type of person they are or how much they practice the religion. I have met covering women who don't pray or fast or read quran, and I have met non covering women who follow all the Islamic practices expecting wearing the hijab. Honestly what really matters to me is if they are kind and accepting people. How do you feel when you hear people say that covering is a sign of oppression? What is your perspective of countries or mosques that do require a woman to cover? My first response is an eye roll- but in all seriousness I understand why people may think its oppressive due to the media's portrayal of hijab, especially when portraying the countries where it is required by law. I think the best way to explain to misinformed or uninformed people is that hijab allows women to take control of their own sexuality, which is by far one of the least oppressive things I can think of. I think the enforcing of the hijab is a horrible idea, because the government of these areas (usually men) take control of the women's sexuality and impose their own rules- which is not what hijab is supposed to be about. They're completely missing the point. It also pushes women away from Islam as a whole, I think, because if you are surrounded by an strict and unforgiving "Islamic society", once you leave the country/community, you are going to think that all of Islam is that strict and unforgiving. Its a pity, because Islam can be a beautiful and calm thing in one's life if interpreted correctly and applied to one's own life in which ever way they choose. Do you feel the need to defend Islam when mainstream media attacks it? If so, how? Always, yes. I often have to resist the urge to respond to Islamophobic critics on social media in a snarky or insulting way. I try to avoid responding to or commenting on rude, hateful tweets or instagram posts in general because I don't want to give them the gratification of knowing that they're insulting or hurting me as a Muslim. Many people suggest that Muslim and American identity are incompatible. What do you think of that? Muslims are followers of Islam, just as Americans are people who live in America, and if you want to extend that a bit more than the literal definition, Americans are people who identify as Americans. There are many ways of being a Muslim just as there are many ways of being American. Saying that they are incompatible not only generalizes both identities but so shows that society has construed an inaccurate description of these identities and portrays them as polar opposites. Most if not all Islamic ideals are the same ideals we hold in Western Society. Even if people do suggest this, I don't really care what they think: I am just as Muslim as I am American and I am here, I exist and I am confident and sure of my identity. Everything else is irrelevant.
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