THIS IS AMERICA - Muslim Girls in America

THIS IS AMERICA - Muslim Girls in America
By Karen Leggett

Broadcast: Monday, November 01, 2004

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Welcome to THIS IS AMERICA, in VOA Special English. I'm Steve Ember.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Faith Lapidus. Muslims everywhere are in the middle of Ramadan. The holy month is a time for special prayers. It also means no food or drink from sunrise until sunset each day. Today we explore what it is like, especially for girls, to be young and Muslim in America.

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VOICE ONE:

Jesmin Saikh is a student at a public high school in Rockville, Maryland. There are more than two thousand students at Magruder High School. About twenty of them are members of the Muslim Student Association¹.

Most of these young people were born in the United States. But their parents came from other countries, like India, Bangladesh, Egypt, Iraq and Pakistan.

The students say more people began to ask them questions about Islam after the terrorist² attacks on the United States in two thousand one. But the teenagers say they have not been treated badly because of what happened.

For Ramadan, the Muslim students gave candy to all the teachers at the school. Tied to the candy was a piece of paper with facts about the observance.

VOICE TWO:

 
Jesmin Saikh is a Muslim student at Magruder High School in Rockville, Maryland.
It is easy to tell that Jesmin is Muslim. A hijab cloth covers her hair. Jesmin says it is easier to follow Muslim rules about boys and girls when she wears hijab. These rules limit social relationships between girls and boys. Jesmin and another student, Sherine Heshmat, say the scarf lets boys know that they do not go on dates.

In some schools, religious rules about dress can sometimes conflict with administrative³ rules. For example, schools might want students only to wear hats outdoors. Or some kinds of head coverings might be banned because they can represent a sign of membership⁴ in a gang⁵.

VOICE ONE:

An eleven-year-old Muslim girl faced these sorts of rules at her school in the state of Oklahoma. She was told not to wear her scarf because schools in her city ban all head coverings for boys and girls.

Her family brought action in court. They said the school was treating her unfairly because of her religion. The court agreed. Now school officials must permit students to wear religious head coverings.

Atena Asiaii goes to high school in a small town in Pennsylvania. She wants to become a doctor. She, too, wears hijab. Atena wrote about herself for a new American magazine for Muslim women, called Azizah. Azizah is the Arabic word for strong and dear.

Atena says she likes people to ask questions about Islam. She found the students at her school, in her words, "simply uninformed." One girl asked if she had ever seen her own hair. Another girl pulled the cloth off Atena's head. But Atena's friends explained that the girl who did that liked to play tricks on everyone, not just Muslim girls.

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VOICE TWO:

Asma Gull⁶ Hasan is twenty-nine years old and works⁷ as a lawyer in San Francisco, California. Her parents are from Pakistan, but she grew up in the state of Colorado. She has written two books, "American Muslim" and "Why I Am a Muslim." She is also a public speaker.

Asma Hasan wears hijab only when she prays at a mosque⁸. She believes Muslim women and girls should wear clothes that do not show too much skin. But she agrees that it can be difficult to resist popular culture.

Asma Hasan has a Web site where girls can ask questions. Some ask about problems they may be having as Muslims in American society. Others ask about personal relationships, or how to deal with their parents.

The questions are answered by a group of older Muslim women. They often tell young people to try to understand the differences between growing up here and growing up in their parents' country.

The Web site is asmahasan.com.

VOICE ONE:

Another young Muslim woman from California is Munira Lekovic Ezzeldine. Her parents are from Montenegro. She is the author of a book called "Before the Wedding: One-hundred-fifty Questions for Muslims to Ask Before Getting Married."

Munira Ezzeldine says she began to study her religion seriously only after she became a university student. Now she is a mother who wears hijab and works with organizations of young Muslim girls.

She says she tries to help girls understand that their parents want to protect them. She urges them to have parties at their own homes, so their parents will know their friends.

Munira Ezzeldine says teenage girls who wear hijabs like boys just as much as girls who do not cover their hair. So she says it is a good thing there are more places where Muslim girls can talk about these issues.

She lives in Irvine, California. She says there are four high schools just in her city that now have Muslim student associations⁹.

VOICE TWO:

For the first time, the national president of the Muslim Student Association is female¹⁰. Hadia Mubarak is also the first president born in the United States. Her parents are from Syria; she grew up in Florida.

In a story for Azizah magazine, Hadia Mubarak wrote that she sometimes felt she did not belong in America or in Syria. But, as a university student, she met Muslims from many other countries. She wrote that she started to feel good about being an American Muslim.

Now she will lead an organization of Muslim young people that has more members born inside the United States than outside.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Jabbir Khan is a Muslim boy who goes to Magruder High School in Maryland.

Recently, he sat in a circle of boys and girls and talked about being Muslim. Jabbir says boys and girls would not be sitting together in his parents' country, Bangladesh. But he says following his religion helps him do the right thing when he is with other young people.

For example, Muslims are not supposed to drink alcohol¹¹. Usman Khan, another boy in the circle, says he is sometimes offered alcohol at parties. The legal drinking age in the United States is twenty-one. Usman says no one asks questions if you say no because of your religion.

VOICE TWO:

High school proms are a tradition in the United States. A prom is a special dance where boys and girls celebrate the completion of high school. At a school in California last year, Muslim girls organized their own prom, without any boys. They took off their scarves and wore the same long, pretty dresses that other girls wear to proms.

On the other side of the country, in Maryland, Jesmin Saikh says she does not plan to attend her high school prom. She says she would rather go to dinner or a party after the prom with her friends.

Another student, Aisha Jamal, does not think a separate dance for girls is a good idea. She says it would only make the differences seem greater between students who are Muslim and those who are not.

VOICE ONE:

Aisha is a little rebellious¹². Recently she decided¹³ to stop covering her hair. She says one reason is that she found it difficult to play sports. She says the scarf made her very hot when she played basketball.

But Aisha says she also believes it is easier to say what she thinks when she is not wearing hijab. She explains that she was once defending a friend who was arguing with another girl. She says the other girl called Aisha a terrorist because of her hijab.

Jesmin says people have thought similar things about her, because she is Muslim and wears hijab. She agrees that it is often difficult to explain Islam to other people. But when she goes back to India, where her parents were born, Jesmin says she feels defensive¹⁴ about America. She says she does not like to hear insults¹⁵ against Americans.

VOICE TWO:

Young Muslims in America are finding¹⁶ more ways to explain Islam to other Americans. In the town of Herndon, Virginia, children from a Muslim school visited a public school to explain Ramadan. They shared foods that their families eat at night during the month of fasting.

The Muslim Student Association is organizing events called "fast-a-thons." On some days, the association asks Muslim and non-Muslim students to give the money they would spend on food to community groups.

There is also a Muslim Inter-Scholastic Tournament, or MIST¹⁷. This is for Islamic organizations in American high schools, though students of any religion can compete. The areas are knowledge, arts, skills and community service.

This event gives Muslim young people a chance to think about who they are and what they believe. It also gives them a chance to think about their identity¹⁸ in America and how they relate to other Americans.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Our program was written by Karen Leggett. Jill Moss¹⁹ was our producer and Bob Doughty²⁰ was our recording²¹ engineer. This is Steve Ember.

VOICE TWO:

And this is Faith Lapidus. Listen again next week for THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English.

1 association   

n.联盟，协会，社团；交往，联合；联想

参考例句：

• Our long association with your company has brought great benefits.我方和贵公司的长期合作带来了巨大的利益。
• I broke away from the association ten years ago.我10年前就脱离了那个团体。

2 terrorist   

n.恐怖主义者，恐怖分子

参考例句：

• Without the gun,I'm a sitting duck for any terrorist.没有这支枪，我就成了恐怖分子下手的目标了。
• The district was put on red alert during a terrorist's bomb scare.这个地区在得到恐怖分子炸弹恐吓后作了应急准备。

3 administrative   

adj.行政的，管理的

参考例句：

• The administrative burden must be lifted from local government.必须解除地方政府的行政负担。
• He regarded all these administrative details as beneath his notice.他认为行政管理上的这些琐事都不值一顾。

4 membership   

n.成员资格，会员全体，从属关系

参考例句：

• I must renew my membership of the sailing club.我必须延续我的航海俱乐部会员的资格。
• He made up his mind to apply for membership in the Party.他决心申请入党。

5 gang   

n.一伙，一帮；结伴的朋友

参考例句：

• The gang live abroad,beyond reach of the British police.这帮匪徒住在国外，英国警方鞭长莫及。
• Some gang came in and shot the place up.有股匪帮进来对这个地方开枪扫射。

6 gull   

n.鸥；受骗的人；v.欺诈

参考例句：

• The ivory gull often follows polar bears to feed on the remains of seal kills.象牙海鸥经常跟在北极熊的后面吃剩下的海豹尸体。
• You are not supposed to gull your friends.你不应该欺骗你的朋友。

7 works   

n.作品，著作；工厂，活动部件，机件

参考例句：

• We expect writers to produce more and better works.我们期望作家们写出更多更好的作品。
• The novel is regarded as one of the classic works.这篇小说被公认为是最优秀的作品之一。

8 mosque   

n.清真寺

参考例句：

• The mosque is a activity site and culture center of Muslim religion.清真寺为穆斯林宗教活动场所和文化中心。
• Some years ago the clock in the tower of the mosque got out of order.几年前，清真寺钟楼里的大钟失灵了。

9 associations   

n.协会( association的名词复数 )；联合；联系；（思想、感觉、记忆等的）联想

参考例句：

• Do you belong to any professional or trade associations? 你参加了专业学会或行业协会没有？
• Colleges may be accredited by regional associations. 学会是否合格可由地区各协会作出鉴定。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 female   

adj.雌的，女(性)的；n.雌性的动物，女子

参考例句：

• We only employ female workers.我们只雇用女工。
• The animal in the picture was a female elephant.照片上的动物是头母象。

11 alcohol   

n.酒精，乙醇；含酒精的饮料

参考例句：

• The law forbids shops to sell alcohol to minors.法律禁止商店向未成年者出售含酒精的饮料。
• The alcohol is industrial.这些酒精是供工业用的。

12 rebellious   

adj.造反的，反抗的，难控制的

参考例句：

• They will be in danger if they are rebellious.如果他们造反，他们就要发生危险。
• Her reply was mild enough,but her thoughts were rebellious.她的回答虽然很温和，但她的心里十分反感。

13 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

14 defensive   

adj.防御的；防卫的；防守的

参考例句：

• Their questions about the money put her on the defensive.他们问到钱的问题，使她警觉起来。
• The Government hastily organized defensive measures against the raids.政府急忙布置了防卫措施抵御空袭。

15 insults   

侮辱，辱骂，侮辱性的言论( insult的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He shouted insults at the boy who had kicked him. 他大声辱骂那个踢了他的男孩。
• I will by no manner of means put up with such insults. 我绝不会容忍这种侮辱。

16 finding   

n.发现，发现物；调查的结果

参考例句：

• The finding makes some sense.该发现具有一定的意义。
• That's an encouraging finding.这是一个鼓舞人心的发现。

17 mist   

n.雾，迷蒙，朦胧不清；vt.使...模糊，蒙上雾；vi.使...模糊，下雾

参考例句：

• She saw his face through a mist of tears.她泪眼朦胧地望着他的脸。
• There is a film of mist over the land.大地上笼罩着一层薄雾。

18 identity   

n.身份，本体，特征；同一(性)，一致

参考例句：

• He never revealed his identity.他从未暴露过自己的身份。
• He showed his identity card and went in.他把工作证亮了一下就进去了。

19 moss   

n.苔，藓，地衣

参考例句：

• Moss grows on a rock.苔藓生在石头上。
• He was found asleep on a pillow of leaves and moss.有人看见他枕着树叶和苔藓睡着了。

20 doughty   

adj.勇猛的，坚强的

参考例句：

• Most of successful men have the characteristics of contumacy and doughty.绝大多数成功人士都有共同的特质：脾气倔强，性格刚强。
• The doughty old man battled his illness with fierce determination.坚强的老人用巨大毅力与疾病作斗争。

21 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。