Zohra Sarwari – No I Am Not A Terrorist!

			Yeah, religion can be a controversial subject especially lately. The Muslim faith and culture has
been front and center in the news between the proposed Qur'an burning and Florida and also the
possible Boston, the Islamic Center being built right near Ground Zero along with the anniversary of
September 11. Tension certainly been running very high. But you are getting the opportunity to learn
a little bit more about what it really means to be Muslim from our next guest. Yeah, Muslim speaker
Zora. So Lowery is here to tell us why she is not a terrorist. And this is a name of a book that you
have written. So thank you so much for being with us this morning. Thank you for having me. Yes, I
		

			wrote the book, because obviously, we have a lot of controversy happening since 911. And everywhere
we go, we'll get the stairs, and we'll always be people be suspicious of us, and especially on the
plane that can't go to the bathroom without five people watching. Is she going to come back? I would
imagine that that would be you know, I mean, absolutely. You know, I was reading some background
information. You talked about polls, where you know, the 50% of the people that were were asked, Did
not know anything about the religion yet they still mistrusted it. So that's really what your goal
is to say, hey, look, this is what we stand for. Right? Absolutely. 48% of Americans don't like
		

			Muslims, because 55% of them have no clue who we are. So unless we're educating, and we're teaching
them who we are, what we truly stand for, we're gonna have mistrust, because they don't know us. And
so, and we look a little different as it is. That's easy. Well, yeah.
		

			The point of this book, then, is to increase the knowledge out there and get people aware of the
different cultures. I guess you've been here for in the United States, since you were six years old,
right? you've traveled all around the United States, how if some of these experiences that you've
had here in the United States, sort of shaped what you've put into this book, well, different
experiences. I mean, I went to volunteer at a nursing home. And I was with an older lady. And, you
know, as soon as I walked in, she's like, oh, what are you wearing, and she just flipped out. And
you know, she was in her 70s. And, like, that experience made me sit down with her and talk to her.
		

			And then from there, we had so many other ones being on the plains, obviously, going to the mall, in
like a suburban town, and they're just staring at you. And you're trying to say, Hi, how are you?
And they're like, you speak English? It's really shaped on how to not only address people who don't
know, but what to do in those situations as Muslims, what do you do? And how do you react without
people feeling? You know, because they're afraid. You're wondering why. And you're trying to combine
those two different places and say, it's okay. Yeah, I was gonna say, how do you tell people to
react from the Muslim faith, when they've come up against that kind of reaction? I say, you know, a
		

			patience and perseverance is everything. And you have to unless you're going to be friendly, like,
you know, when people stare at me, I'm just like, Hi, Do I know you? They're like, No, you know, and
I'll just start walking, but just being very normal, being yourself. And I asked them, you know, if
they have questions, they'll ask me, like, you know, can I ask you a question? And I'm like, yeah,
and they're like, why do you dress this way? And then I'll explain to them. And so it's being open
and not being afraid and nor being shy from them. Because if you're shy, they're afraid that you
might be hiding something. And, you know, well, it's interesting that you mentioned that, you know,
		

			the whole point of awareness. And certainly your book is a step in that direction. But on a mass
level, and especially as, as quickly as we need to see a lot of this awareness happened. What else
would you recommend nationwide, I would be interested to know, to educate our, you know, mass people
all at once, to let them know, I would say definitely having more programs in our schools for the
kids, starting from, you know, having religion classes, even for the little kids and letting them
know, because hatred, animosity, and diversity begins when we're young. And if they don't know
whether we're Muslim, or Jewish, or Christian, or Hindu or Buddhist, if they don't know who they are
		

			and their differences. It's easy for them to make fun of or judge or, you know, make those
decisions. That's a rule of thumb for any religion, any race right there, too, that the children
need to learn at a young age. And your book addresses that fact as well. Absolutely. Tolerance is
key. And if we don't teach our kids tolerance, how can they as adults have it? Exactly. And they're
getting the attitudes of parents obviously, they're reflecting that so the parents need to to get
themselves educated as well, which is why we're having presentations again this evening. We will see
the heart You will be at tonight. We do have the information on our website, but she will be no I'm
		

			not a terrorist. And this is the Center for buying and performing arts that no one's committed to
college, and the presentation begins at 7:30pm. Tickets are $10 and if you'd like more information,
you can go to our [email protected]. Such a pleasure to meet you. Thank you so much.
		

			travel the country. Thank you so much.