This is the end...

That's it! Three months are over! And, tomorrow I will present the culmination of everything I have worked on thus far.

I'm really learned a lot and it's really awesome that BASIS gives seniors the opportunity to pursue a topic that interests them. Sometimes being left to your own devices can leave you stumped--at least that's how I felt. At first I didn't know what I wanted to devote my next three months to (I just had too many ideas), then, I had an idea that seemed to be a little impracticable to complete in three months time. I finally decided on the topic of Islamophobia with encouragement from my family. Not only did I learn a lot, but I'm hoping that others can take something out of my work as well.

I got a lot of interesting data from my questionnaires-- some more expected than others-- but, I was able to draw some conclusions. Ultimately, I wanted to pursue this topic to raise awareness in a world that is continuously culminating new ideologies with people who accept change and innovation, while others don't.

Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but some truths and misconceptions need to be clarified so that an individual's belief doesn't infringe on another's.

I feel that I have successfully analyzed some common misconceptions regarding Islam and Muslims and here is the answer I came up with regarding how we can "fix" Islamophobia:
Though education does provide a helpful background into understanding what Islam, like all information, the point of view we hold when we view history varies from person to person. A textbook might hold some facts regarding Islam but it does not delve into the stereotypes that causes millions of people to live in fear, hiding their religion. Like many of us have learned in history class, history changes and depends on which side we are on (the conqueror, the conquered; the winners, the losers). So, the best way to raise awareness is for the Muslims in this country (and others) to be open for discussion. Instead of hiding their religion, they should explain why they act or say things differently--explain if it is a religious or cultural concept (remember, even though they can be very closely connected, they are not the same!) Discussion and tolerance allows acceptance. If people only surround themselves in ideas and people that agree with them...well, that's where extremism originates.

And again, I really gained a lot of insight at working for CAIR and engaging in this project. Religion, law, psychology, sociology,public relations...I got a glimpse of it all!

Week 10

Questionnaires completed: check.
Choose a college: check.

Questionnaire answers recorded: check.

Be excited for graduation: check.

Freak out about the AP Spanish exam:check.

Finish SRP presentation: pending...

YAY!!!! I'm almost done! I just have to organize my thoughts into a handy dandy power point presentation and I'll be good to go!

This project has really allowed me to delve into many subjects: religion, politics, psychology and sociology.

I have been studying Islam (the basics) for a long time, and I still have a teacher come every Saturday morning to cover my family's religious curriculum. But, I am in no way an expert. I'd say I know enough to give a stranger a good idea of what I believe in, dispel any misconceptions and make conversation. And one of the biggest things I have learned is that, when you don't know the answer to a religious question, just admit you don't know. Going back and researching the correct answer is way better than just speculating and hoping you're right and no one takes your word as gospel.

There is so much detail in the Islamic belief system. I guess that's why all the scholars are old guys... just kidding! In fact, there is a guy named Nouman Ali Khan, who is only 37 years old, who very expertly conveys Islamic belief and practices in an easy to understand manner.

My point is, even though I have spent my third trimester focused on Islam and how it is portrayed and viewed, there is still so much for me to learn. And, like I said before, religion is not the only topic I worked with. I got a taste of the experience as a journalist, seeking out stories to post on hatehurts.net for my internship. I became a lobbyist for a day on Arizona's Muslim Capitol Day and I have been spending weeks trying to decode the minds of fifth through eleventh graders regarding their perceptions and knowledge of Islam.

There's so much more I can do with more time. More research, more questionnaires targeting different groups, more time trying to recruit my brother into helping me tally data (gosh, that was the worst part)... I'm just glad I got the opportunity and time to engage in this project and now, get to share it with others.

Week 9

This is what I look like while sorting through the questionnaires...

This week I finished up distributing surveys to BASIS Peoria's high school students. Shout out to Mrs. Grant and Mrs. Schiller for allowing me some class time to reach out to the majority of the upper school students!

Just like last week, I am sorting through the surveys and recording all the data while taking pictures of some of the well versed and hilariously interesting answers.

For example...

Here's a serious, well-thought-out answer:

"I think Islamophobia is an increasing problem in the U.S. as more reports of terrorists attacks are spreading a lot of fear. So much so, that presidential candidates are getting asked what they're going to do about [it] and that our electronic devices are being watched for clues of terrorism. Fear is expressed in many ways, one of which is cracking jokes and teasing people. Due to this, any school you enter will have a group of kids teasing someone for being Muslim, and that is not right because you can't stereotype a whole religious group for what a small fraction of it has done."

And here, a more witty one:

"Probably. But there is a cause, like how I imagine there was in the Turkish empire during the crusades, a fair amount of fear of Christians. Really though, the problem is just in snap judgments mankind is programmed to make as a survival instinct, and then people acting disproportionately in response,Like even today, there is a prominent fear of Communists and of Communist-related thoughts, even though socialists aren't evil.
Plus, we all know that the real threat to American peace is China. Give them 30 years with an 80% male population they're going to try and expand."

So, as you can see, it really is eye opening to see what is going on the minds of our youth (all students given surveys on paper were under the age of 18).

Now, all I need to do is complete my data collection and start preparing my presentation!

Week 8

This week has been pretty busy. I have been visiting AEs during third and fourth period to give my surveys to fifth, sixth, seventh and eight graders at BASIS Peoria.

I have collected a lot of data (and still compiling) and the results are pretty interesting.

Some answers fell into my expected category, some didn't and others... let's just say they were different. For example, I have a question that asks "which of the following people do you think is Muslim?" Personally, I did not know that any of my options were Muslim until I verified through multiple sources. And I had never heard of two of the celebrities that were part of my options. So I am really surprised that, so far, Cat Stevens has the most votes for being Muslim.

There are so many papers to go through, but it can be pretty eye opening and entertaining. Some kids really have a mature way of thinking and can express their thoughts eloquently while others, I can't read their handwriting, and can't write proper sentences.

The questionnaires that I really appreciated were the ones that outlined their thought processes when answering some of the questions and leaving little comments for me.

To provide some insight into how I am collecting all the data...

First, I created an excel spreadsheet where I record the basics: gender and age. Then I went through all the multiple choice options and recorded those. I tracked the country ratings, languages and the degree of correctness of the answers to "what do you know about Islam/Muslims" question.


Then, for the free response questions, I read each of the answers and compiled a list with all the answers so that I can go through it and find the most common answers/references later on.

Overall, data collection is going good so far and I will be surveying the upper school this next week.