Fueled by the fierce backlash against a proposed Muslim community center in Manhattan, anti-Islam sentiment is on the rise throughout the country.
At Duke, though, Muslims feel they are able to practice and raise awareness of their faith in an environment they describe as generally tolerant and accepting.
Muslims celebrated Eid al-Fitr, commemorating the end of Ramadan’s month-long fast, Friday amidst some anti-Muslim rhetoric linked in part to the ninth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.
“It definitely is troublesome,” Ahmad Jitan, a junior and president of the Muslim Students Association, said of the Islamophobia portrayed in the news. “But,” he added, “Duke’s student population is accepting.”
MSA Vice President Nabil Enayet, a junior, said Duke’s student body is generally curious about Islam and eager to understand what the religion is all about.
Abdullah Antepli, Duke’s Muslim chaplain, dedicated an hour Friday to just that—conducting an online office hours session in which he spoke with Dean of the Chapel Sam Wells about Islam and took questions from audience members via Twitter and Facebook. In the segment, which is available online, Antepli explained Islam’s core values and combated some common misconceptions about the religion.
“Many assumptions [about Islam] are not based on accurate information,” Antepli said during the session. “Nobody uses the Quran like a manual—I don’t wake up every morning and look to see what I’m going to do today... It is the book in which God says, ‘I created you because I want to enter into a relationship with you.’”
Some politicians, though, have spoken negatively about some forms of this relationship. Former U.S. Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich described the people behind the proposed mosque near ground zero in Manhattan as “radical Islamists” during an appearance on Fox News.
Enayet said he was disappointed by the vitriol he has seen on television and somewhat surprised at how frequently Islam has been conflated with violent fundamentalism.
But Muslim sophomore Omar Nazzal said that at Duke, the national discord has actually been productive in some ways.
“It’s brought about good discussion with people in the dorms, in the common room, at the Great Hall,” he said.
Still, sophomore Ruqayya Diwan, also a Muslim, said she thinks the contention over the proposed center is a misunderstanding and wishes the media would devote more time to the floods in Pakistan than arguments about the proposed “Ground Zero mosque.”
“Both sides should negotiate and come to an understanding as opposed to arguing about it,” she said.
Even with all the controversy, Muslims at Duke celebrated Eid al-Fitr by gathering Friday with fellow Muslims from the Triangle at the Exposition Center at the North Carolina State Fairgrounds in Raleigh.
“This is pretty much like Muslim Christmas,” Antepli said of the holiday. “This reflects our joy and happiness at ending Ramadan successfully, working on our spiritual muscles for the last whole month and feeling good about ourselves and our relationship with God Almighty.”
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