05 March 2002

Muslim Students Find Support on U.S. Campuses after 9/11

Washington -- For Adel Saeed Bashatah, life as a foreign Muslim student in the United States has been positive, thanks to overwhelming support from his university following the events of September 11.

"I found every form of support from the university, from the professors, from the instructors, and from my colleagues, the students themselves," said Bashatah, a Saudi graduate student in nursing at George Mason University.

On the day after the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, the dean of Bashatah's school addressed the international students and urged them to stay and continue their studies. "She talked to us and gave us psychological support. And this is the thing we needed, to encourage us so that we could go back to our studies," Bashatah said.

Suboh Suboh, a Palestinian graduate student of computer science at George Washington University, echoed Bashatah's sentiments, saying he was happy he decided to continue studies in the United States. Despite initial fear of reprisal attacks on Muslims after September 11, he said, apprehension has eased and life is back to "normal circumstances."

"It's true that some weeks after September 11, I noticed some colleagues, particularly from the Arab Gulf, packed their bags and went back to their countries. And I am sorry for that, because there was no need to do that," Suboh said. "But most of them have come back, and everything is going normally."

Bashatah and Suboh spoke at a digital video conference (DVC) program entitled "Dialogue" on American Embassy Television March 5, taking questions from audiences in Islamabad, Cairo and Jerusalem. Producer Robyn Monblatt said the program was the first in a series she hopes to continue throughout the Middle East region.

Many of the questions posed to the two students focused on reports of abuse and harassment of Muslims and Arabs in the United States after September 11. A participant from Cairo asked the students to talk about the level of security for Muslim women who wear the hijab and to explain reports of police presence at mosques in the United States.

Suboh answered that women who wear the hijab can feel comfortable in the United States, "especially here in Washington where a lot of people from different cultures and different countries live, [where] people are accustomed to accepting people from other cultures." The police officers, he explained, "were stationed to protect the Muslims who went to the mosques."

"There is a kind of saying that we are badly treated by the American people," Bashatah added. "What happened are isolated incidents that don't represent the American people, and it might happen in any country - that would be a reaction after what happened on September 11."

In a telephone interview with the Washington File after the program, Bashatah said he enjoyed the opportunity to express his opinions and talk of his experiences in a "Muslim-to-Muslim discussion." Until people can speak face-to-face, he said, "people usually listen to the evil part, not the good part" of the situation.

Both students agreed that one positive outcome of September 11 has been the increased level of interest among Americans in learning about Islam. "It gave us the opportunity to speak about Islam, because there are so many people asking us about Islam. It is not only that we go and talk about Islam to different people; they are coming to us after this incident and asking Muslims in general to know the nature of Islam," Suboh said during the program.

"Life inside the university campus has not changed. I might even say that it is now even better than before," Bashatah said. "The American people are working with us and cooperating with us, because we have played no role in the events of September 11."

Suboh and Bashatah say their focus remains fixed on completing their studies in the United States so they can return to their home countries and apply their expertise in computer engineering and nursing, respectively.

"I am learning from the American system in education, and I hope to return to my country and to transfer that system with all its specifics so that we can improve our society and improve education in our society," Bashatah said.