Mohamed Bakkar came to Hyde this fall as a sophomore.  Recently he wrote a short piece (below) for his World History class discussing his experience as a Muslim.  When asked to share some of his background and why he wrote this, Mohamed wrote the initial paragraph in italics. His original response for class follows.

I was born in Virginia but my parents were born in Sudan, as was my brother and one of my two sisters. Sudan is a widely Arab country with many Muslims. My parents are Muslim and I have a Muslim name so of course I’m seen as Muslim. I have visited Sudan every two years since I was a kid. The Muslims there are very kind and polite and it’s custom to greet everyone even if they’re strangers. While you’re driving in a quiet street, it’s rude not to wave to the other driver.  I have witnessed first-hand how hospitable and kind Muslims are.  This is why I think that everyone’s portrayal of Muslims needs to change.

In the media, a lot of what you see about the Middle East is bombings, killings, and other crimes. The media shows terrorism and the struggle going on between Palestine and Israel. Muslims in the Middle East are seen as terrorists because of some Muslim extremist groups like al-Qaeda. However, this is not true. What you don’t see is the attempts to stop the terrorism.

On February 18, 2003, Saudi Arabia began the first al-Qaeda trials. They revealed that 90 Saudi nationals were to stand trial. They were accused of being members of al-Qaeda. This was the first prosecution in Saudi Arabia pertaining to the al-Qaeda. This shows that there are people in the Middle East trying to stop what is happening with terrorism. The interior minister of Saudi Arabia said that there were more than 250 detainees that were still being investigated on similar charges. Also, the Prince of Saudi Arabia stated that there was evidence that 90 Saudi Arabians had joined al-Qaeda. The same people who were being viewed as terrorists were prosecuting the real terrorists. However, most people have not heard about trials like this, including me, so the overall perception of the Middle East has stayed the same. Hopefully with more attempts to detain and punish terrorists, other countries’ perception of the Middle East will change and the Middle East will become a more peaceful place. This will only happen if the media in these countries decides to show what is really happening.

The Middle East is a violent place filled with conflicts. At least, that’s what you may think after seeing the news. There are some attempts to bring peace. Saudi Arabia is one of the countries trying to stop the conflicts. It claims that it is not related to terrorists, and it has put alleged al-Qaeda members on trial. So maybe it’s true, and Saudi Arabia is looking to stop terrorism. The news can help stop terrorism by showing more attempts countries have made to stop the violence, instead of showing their biased opinions and giving a bad name for the Middle East.