October Event Wrap-Up: Dispelling the Myths and Misconceptions

 

 

    On Tuesday, October 25th, Egyptian-American and police officer, Sarah Shendy, presented her Anti-Islamophobic training to the Peace Scholars, students of the criminal justice and religion departments, and AU community members. She mainly explained and corrected common misconceptions about Islam and shared her experiences as an Muslim woman in America. She also emphasized the necessity of understanding Muslims correctly not only for police officers, but for people of all professions because of the problem posed to Muslim Americans by stigmas and misunderstandings by other Americans. Some of the main points about Islam that Sarah touched on in her talk were the Five Pillars of Islam, the Arabic language, and the rights of Islamic women. She also talked about how the Muslim community is growing in America, especially within Hispanic communities in Texas. This was something I had not known before the talk, as I had not realized how widespread the Muslim community is in America, nor that it is growing so rapidly. This further stresses the importance of being educated on Islam. As a female police officer, Sarah is passionate about her job and thankful she was able to pursue the career that she was interested in and well suited for: “I didn’t choose the profession; the profession chose me.” She said that she cares most about helping victims of abuse, and that she even likes to send notes to those she helps and check in with them to see how they are doing. This talk was very informative about both Islam and the perspective of police officers in America, and it was a pleasure to meet and learn from Sarah.

Anne Casey has Philosophy and Political Science majors, as well as History and Ethics minors. She is an Ashbrook Scholar and Intern, an ACN Peace Scholar, and an Honors Program Scholar. She works as a communication coach at the Writing and Communication Center and as a philosophy tutor. She is Vice President of  the Thomistic Institute and is a ballet teacher and chair of health and safety for the AU Dance Company.