{"id":1169,"date":"2014-02-06T19:32:44","date_gmt":"2014-02-06T19:32:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stories.kera.org\/generationone\/?p=1169"},"modified":"2014-12-30T16:54:42","modified_gmt":"2014-12-30T16:54:42","slug":"a-teen-embraces-her-muslim-roots","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/generationone\/a-teen-embraces-her-muslim-roots\/","title":{"rendered":"A Teen Embraces Her Muslim Roots"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>Growing up in a traditional immigrant family can be rewarding and challenging for kids born in the United States. Meet a Frisco high school student who\u2019s managing to practice her religious faith and be a regular American teenager.<\/em><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong>More Muslims live in Texas than any other state, according to the 2010 U.S. Religion Census. You see that in school hallways across North Texas. <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>At Liberty High School in suburban Frisco, an American-born teenager has decided to wear a hijab.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Irum Ali wrestled with the decision for months.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen I was considering starting, there were not many Muslims at my school,\u201d she says. \u201cI felt like people would judge me. So I went through a lot of internal [thoughts as to] whether I should do it or not.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/msk8Sejlwrk\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Irum was at her mosque one night a little more than a year ago when the idea to wear the traditional head scarf crystalized.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI came home after prayer,\u201d she says. \u201cI was wearing it and I was just like, \u2018You know what? I\u2019m not going to take it off. Like I can take it.\u2019 And so that was the day.\u201d<\/p>\n<h6>A Symbol Of Modesty<\/h6>\n<p>It was Eid al-Fitr, the Muslim holiday marking the end of Ramadan. Irum\u2019s mom, Farida Ali, says she was caught off guard because no one else in the immediate family wears a hijab.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_1180\" style=\"max-width:100%;  width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1180 size-medium\" src=\"http:\/\/stories.kera.org\/generationone\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2014\/02\/classroom-300x168.png\" alt=\"Irum Ali says since she started wearing her hijab at school, people are taking her more seriously and listening to what she has to say. Photo\/Mark Birnbaum \" width=\"300\" height=\"168\" \/><p class=\"wp-caption-text\"style=\"max-width:100%;  width: 300px\" >Irum Ali says since she started wearing her hijab at school, people are taking her more seriously and listening to what she has to say. Photo\/Mark Birnbaum<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\u201cThe thing I was worried about because she was very young when she decided this, and once you start this, you\u2019re not supposed to take off,\u201d Farida Ali says. \u201cSo this is the main thinking in my mind &#8212; that \u2018oh, she\u2019s too young, 16 years old. And I don\u2019t know why she\u2019s doing this.\u2019 I hope she knows about the meaning.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ali and her husband, Mir Hammad Ali, were born in Karachi, Pakistan. Mom covers her hair when she visits the Frisco mosque and prays five times a day. Wearing the hijab, she says, is a personal decision.<\/p>\n<p>For Irum, who\u2019s a 17-year-old senior at Liberty, it\u2019s a symbol of modesty. Something she says is undervalued in today\u2019s culture.<strong><em><br \/>\n<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cI feel like it\u2019s important because my life has completely changed ever since I started covering my hair,\u201d Irum says. \u201cPeople will take me more seriously. People listen to what I have to say.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Still, it can be hard to make a first impression. So she\u2019s found ways to combat that.<strong><em><br \/>\n<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cI carry myself in a much different way,\u201d Irum says. \u201cI wasn\u2019t like &#8230; a sad person or anything, but just walking down the hall, I wouldn\u2019t smile, I would slouch, I would hold my stuff, I would only talk to the people that I was friends with.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_1189\" style=\"max-width:100%;  width: 900px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1189 size-large\" src=\"http:\/\/stories.kera.org\/generationone\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2014\/02\/at-dinner-table-1024x570.png\" alt=\"Irum Ali with her family at home. Photo\/Mark Birnbaum\" width=\"900\" height=\"500\" \/><p class=\"wp-caption-text\"style=\"max-width:100%;  width: 900px\" >Irum Ali with her family at home. Photo\/Mark Birnbaum<\/p><\/div>\n<h6>Just Another Student At School<\/h6>\n<p>She\u2019s just another student at Liberty, says Jay Sommers, her teacher.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe\u2019s another Red Hawk,\u201d Sommers says. \u201cIf anything, it\u2019s an advantage to her because it provides her a more worldly view and there are plenty of other students here that wear the hijab and their traditional cultural attire.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_1186\" style=\"max-width:100%;  width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1186 size-medium\" src=\"http:\/\/stories.kera.org\/generationone\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2014\/02\/cafeteria-300x192.jpg\" alt=\"&quot;I'm really outgoing. I'm really social,&quot; Irum Ali says. Photo\/Mark Birnbaum\" width=\"300\" height=\"192\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/generationone\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2014\/02\/cafeteria-300x192.jpg 300w, https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/generationone\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2014\/02\/cafeteria-450x288.jpg 450w, https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/generationone\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2014\/02\/cafeteria.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><p class=\"wp-caption-text\"style=\"max-width:100%;  width: 300px\" >&#8220;I&#8217;m really outgoing. And I&#8217;m very social,&#8221; Irum Ali says. Photo\/Mark Birnbaum<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Irum has a sense of humor, too. Not to mention school spirit. Last spring, she showed up at a baseball game as Rocky the Red Hawk, the school\u2019s mascot.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA lot of people have \u2013 I don\u2019t want to say judgments \u2013 but ideas that \u2018oh you know, she covers her hair, she can\u2019t be a mascot,\u201d Irum says. \u201c&#8217;She covers her hair, she won\u2019t put herself out there. She\u2019s timid.&#8217; And I\u2019m really not. I\u2019m really outgoing. I\u2019m really social.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sommers asked Irum if being a mascot interfered with her religion.<\/p>\n<p>She told him it didn\u2019t. Irum is used to role playing.<\/p>\n<p>In theater class at Liberty, Irum and her classmates are doing vocal warm-ups for the school production of \u201cLes Miserables.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Irum\u2019s been in theater since sixth grade. She prefers being behind backstage, working on lighting and props. On this day, she stands in as a factory worker.<\/p>\n<p>About 200,000 Muslims live in North Texas. And the change is easy to see in Frisco. Twenty years ago, not even 1 percent of students were Asian; today, it&#8217;s 14 percent. Sommers, Irum\u2019s teacher, says that ethnic mix of students is an advantage in the classroom.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s awesome because I\u2019ve got kids from all over the world in class from China or India,\u00a0Pakistan, lots of Iranian kids, Russians \u2013 they help me teach the content,\u201d Sommers says. \u201cThey help me teach the other kids about their cultures.\u201c<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_1176\" style=\"max-width:100%;  width: 900px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1176 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/stories.kera.org\/generationone\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2014\/02\/hallway-e1419893883485.png\" alt=\"Irum Ali walks the halls of Liberty High in Frisco ISD. Photo\/Mark Birnbaum\" width=\"900\" height=\"505\" \/><p class=\"wp-caption-text\"style=\"max-width:100%;  width: 900px\" >Irum Ali walks the halls of Liberty High in Frisco ISD. Photo\/Mark Birnbaum<\/p><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h6>&#8216;I&#8217;m A Real Muslim&#8217;<\/h6>\n<p>James Caldwell, the student assistance coordinator at Liberty, says today\u2019s kids seem more open-minded about other cultures. Still, there are challenges.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_1175\" style=\"max-width:100%;  width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1175\" src=\"http:\/\/stories.kera.org\/generationone\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2014\/02\/on-stage-standing-300x168.png\" alt=\"Irum Ali has been involved with theater since she was in the sixth grade. Photo\/Mark Birnbaum\" width=\"300\" height=\"168\" \/><p class=\"wp-caption-text\"style=\"max-width:100%;  width: 300px\" >Irum Ali has been involved with theater since she was in the sixth grade. Photo\/Mark Birnbaum<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\u201cWe know that some of our kids who are Muslim are bullied for wearing clothes that are not typical of a lot of the kids at their school,\u201d Caldwell says.<\/p>\n<p>Frisco high schools tackle bullying by setting aside half an hour a month for teachers and students to talk about the climate there. Outside school, Irum says, she\u2019s felt the sting of racism. At Liberty, though, she hasn\u2019t been bullied.<\/p>\n<p>At first, some kids didn\u2019t recognize her in a hijab \u2013 they were used to seeing her big, curly hair. Now, it\u2019s no big deal.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m like what a regular Muslim is,\u201d Irum says. \u201cI\u2019m a real Muslim and it makes me happy that I can show that \u2013 and maybe change some people\u2019s views on Islam.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_1190\" style=\"max-width:100%;  width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1190 size-medium\" src=\"http:\/\/stories.kera.org\/generationone\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2014\/02\/at-computer-300x169.png\" alt=\"Irum Ali, at home on her computer, says she hopes to change some people's views on Islam. Photo\/Mark Birnbaum\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" \/><p class=\"wp-caption-text\"style=\"max-width:100%;  width: 300px\" >Irum Ali says she hopes to change some people&#8217;s views on Islam. Photo\/Mark Birnbaum<\/p><\/div>\n<p>In the meantime, she\u2019s focused on just being a senior.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOh my gosh, student council is so much fun,\u201d she says. \u201cWe do the majority of the planning like homecoming and prom. \u2026 We make posters for different games.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>And five months from now, she\u2019ll be walking across the stage &#8212; wearing a hijab and carrying a diploma.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Growing up in a traditional immigrant family can be rewarding and challenging for kids born in the United States. Meet a Frisco high school student&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1182,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"audio","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1169","post","type-post","status-publish","format-audio","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-generation-one","post_format-post-format-audio","byline-stella-m-chavez"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/generationone\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1169","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/generationone\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/generationone\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/generationone\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/generationone\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1169"}],"version-history":[{"count":35,"href":"https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/generationone\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1169\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1228,"href":"https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/generationone\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1169\/revisions\/1228"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/generationone\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1182"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/generationone\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1169"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/generationone\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1169"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/generationone\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1169"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}