"Do you carry a dagger?"

Ramadan has always been the perfect time for Hadeer Abul-Naga* to correct American misperceptions about Islam

---

It all began when I sent a note to my son's kindergarten teacher informing her that he had resolved to try fasting in Ramadan, and that he should therefore not join his classmates at the cafeteria. She asked Mustafa to explain the reason to his class, and sent me an invitation to speak about Egypt and the month of fasting at the school. I packed the Ramadan lanterns, prayer rugs, a mosque replica, my alarm clock which rings the Adhaan (call for prayer), posters of Egypt and of the holy sites in Saudi Arabia, tossed in a few children's books about Islam, and baked some basbousa (oriental pastry) for the class. This "presentation package" became part of my daily life for the rest of the years I spent in the United States, as other schools soon extended the same invitation, followed by churches, public libraries, universities and local TV stations. This thirst for knowledge about Islam clearly stemmed from the fact that many of those I met knew nothing about it, or had but a hazy, distorted image, at best. This was the driving force behind my accepting their invitations -- imparting a clearer understanding of Islam and providing a meeting point for the two cultures.

Are you allowed to remove your veil at home? Do you wear shoes in your country? Do you worship Mohamed? Who is Allah? What is the Quran? Do you eat meat? How many wives does your husband have? Are you allowed to eat while your husband is not home? Did you see your husband before the wedding? Do you live in a tent? Could you be killed for leaving the house without your husband's permission? Do you carry a dagger? These are but some of the questions I was frequently asked. Despite the naiveté of such inquiries, I saw them as a chance to tell our side of the story.

Ramadan was always a good opportunity for these presentations, as many were confused about its significance.

The Muslim community invited the local TV station to broadcast our iftar, followed by taraweeh (late night prayers where long parts of the Quran are recited) -- a visit that henceforth became a yearly habit. The crew was so deeply impressed with the recitation of the Quran and the general spirituality of the experience that they transferred their feelings to the public through the documentary they broadcast on the nine o'clock news.

One of the focal points discussed during the interviews we gave them was the universality of Islam. We told them that they had just shared their iftar with people from around 40 different nationalities -- all members of the Islamic centre and, most importantly, members of the same faith.

Through my direct and continuous contact with people in the US, American or other, I realised that their antagonistic feelings towards Islam were largely the result of misinformation; and so I attempted to right this wrong -- when I spoke, it was not to defend Islam, but merely to inform those who sought knowledge of it. One of my American Muslim friends, a private school teacher, compiled a handout of all the information schools need to know about their Muslim students. We made copies of these pamphlets and sent them to most of the city's schools, which proved to be of great help in clarifying some of the prevalent misconceptions.

The imam (preacher) of our mosque invited a number of his Inter-Faith Group colleagues from other religions (Christians, Jews, Buddhists, etc) to an open day at the mosque. Once the floor was open to queries, following an instructive presentation by the imam, we were surprised to discover that most of the questions concerned women and their status in Arab society. In fact, this particular issue was evidently mired in the biggest distortions as women were thought to be mere subjects to their men on whom they fully depend. The questions indicated that Muslim women were thought to be deprived of rights, access to education or culture and, accordingly, as invaluable on both the social and political levels. On what was to become one of my most memorable nights in the States, I was meant to speak for just a few minutes and answer some questions, until a far more lengthy, fully-fledged discussion about women in Islam ensued. Among the attendees, one of the ladies ultimately announced that now that she knew of the rights granted to Muslim women by their religion, she wished she could also enjoy the care and support we are due.

* The writer is the author of Keys to Paradise . Other publications include translations of books about Islam, Egyptian and Arab culture, as well as African-American literature.