Dalia Mogahed: What it's like to be Muslim in America
داليا مجاهد: ماذا تفكر وأنت تنظر إليّ؟
Researcher and pollster Dalia Mogahed is an author, advisor and consultant who studies Muslim communities. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
في طابور التحقق الأمني بالمطار.
I don't really blame you.
فأنا لا ألومكم البتة.
has been portraying
about Islam and Muslims is negative.
عن الإسلام والمسلمين سلبية.
say that most don't know a Muslim.
لا يعرفون مسلمًا بشكل شخصي.
to their Uber drivers.
who have never met a Muslim,
because baby, I wasn't born this way.
لأنه يا صغيري، أنا لم أجد نفسي هكذا.
like some of my friends,
مثل بعض أصدقائي،
the hijab, my head covering.
غطاء رأسي.
a feminist declaration of independence
and unattainable standard of beauty.
the faith of my parents.
and questioned and doubted
it was not love at first sight.
reading of the Quran.
sometimes moves me to tears.
I feel that God knows me.
أشعر أن الله يعرفني.
completely understands you
after getting married,
بعد زواجي،
the Egyptian-American dream.
of September, 2001.
exactly where you were that morning.
أين كان في ذلك الصباح.
finishing breakfast,
and see the words "Breaking News."
"خبر عاجل"
airplanes flying into buildings,
طائرات تخترق البنايات،
had turned me from a citizen
across Middle America
أن نقود عبر وسط أمريكا
to start grad school.
لبدء الدراسة الجامعية.
in the passenger seat
afraid for anyone to know I was a Muslim.
خائفة من أن يعرف أي أحد أنني مسلمة.
that night in a new town
في مدينة جديدة
a completely different world.
and seeing and reading
Muslim organizations
"Be alert," "Be aware,"
"كن حذرًا،" "ترقب،"
"Don't congregate."
"لا تتجمهر."
congregate for worship.
"Don't go that first Friday,
"لا تذهبوا إلى صلاة الجمعة هذه المرة،
wall-to-wall coverage.
جميع التغطيات من أولها لآخرها.
about attacks on Muslims,
to be Muslim, being pulled out
فتم أخذههم
أٌلقِيَت عليها القنابل.
who attacked our country
at the terrorists.
all the time isn't easy.
طوال الوقت، ليس سهلاً.
saying things like,
ناس يقولون أشياء كـ
and it's called Muslims.
تسمى المسلمين.
and close down mosques.
ويغلق المساجد.
kind of like we're a tumor
وكأنه ورم
are we malignant or benign?
هل نحن ورم حميد أم خبيث؟
you extract altogether,
تقوم باستئصاله كاملًا،
you just keep under surveillance.
because it's the wrong question.
لأن السؤال خاطيء.
aren't a tumor in the body of America,
ليسوا ورمًا في الجسد الأمريكي،
going to make America safer?
سيجعل أمريكا أكثر أمانًا؟
الأماكن لركن السيارات،
is actually linked
of people of other faiths
تجاه أصحاب المذاهب الإيمانية الأخرى
in the Washington, DC area
get radicalized at mosques.
or bedroom, in front of a computer.
وهم أمام الحاسوب.
about the radicalization process
from their community,
can brainwash them
the terrorists, are the true Muslims,
their behavior and ideology
going to the mosque.
Islam is a violent religion.
أن الإسلام دين عنف.
bases its brutality on the Quran.
ترتكن في وحشيتها على القرآن كمرجعيتهم.
as a human being,
to stop a group like ISIS.
لإيقاف مجموعة كداعش.
to their narrative
of a faith of 1.6 billion people.
يؤمن به 1.6 مليار من البشر.
with Christianity.
their ideology on their holy book.
أنهما يستمدان فكرهما من كتابهما المقدس.
they're not motivated
لا تجد ما يحفزهما
read these things into the scripture.
يلوون ما في النص ليوافقهم.
told me a story that really took me aback.
بقصة أثرت بي كثيراً.
of going to join ISIS.
with a radical religious leader?
was quite the opposite,
talked to had shut her down
her sense of injustice in the world,
وإحساسها بالظلم في العالم
and make sense of this anger,
back to God and to her community.
هو إعادة صلتها بالله وبمجتمعها.
instead, he gave her constructive ways
بدلاً من ذلك، قام بإعطائها طرقًا بناءة
prevented her from going to join ISIS.
منعها من الانضمام لداعش.
affects me and my family.
(الخوف من الإسلام)
affect the health of our democracy,
على صحة نظامنا الديمقراطي؟
several studies in neuroscience --
عدة دراسات في علم الأعصاب --
at least three things happen.
ثلاثة أشياء تحدث عندما نخاف.
of authoritarianism,
were exposed to news stories
لقصص الأخبار السلبية
of military attacks on Muslim countries
للهجمات العسكرية على البلدان المسلمة
of American Muslims.
من حقوق المسلمين الأمريكيين.
anti-Muslim sentiment spiked
العواطف العدائية تجاه المسلمين
and during two election cycles.
وبين دورتين انتخابيتين.
the natural response to Muslim terrorism
للإرهاب الإسلامي
of public manipulation,
للتلاعب بالجماهير،
of a free society,
and well-informed citizens.
in the coal mine.
is harming us all.
to explain yourself all the time.
were a young married couple
talented, promising ...
موهوب، وواعد ...
that he was the sweetest,
and he showed her his resume,
وأراها سيرته الذاتية،
become such an accomplished young man?"
بكل هذه الإنجازات؟"
to her brother and his new wife,
وزوجته الجديدة بعدة أسابيع،
who was visiting for the afternoon,
والتي كانت تزورهما في الظهيرة،
on his Facebook page.
على صفحته على الفيسبوك.
it can even be lethal.
ولكنه قد يكون مميتًا.
or did we play it safe and stay home?
أم آثرنا السلامة ومكثنا في بيوتنا؟
a small decision, but to us,
ولكن بالنسبة لنا،
we wanted to leave for our kids:
نريد أن نتركها لأبنائنا:
our religion freely.
فيها ديننا بحرية.
intensely, to the mosque.
بتوتر إلى المسجد.
I walked into the prayer hall
ومشيت إلى مكان الصلاة في المسجد
Buddhists, atheists,
وبوذيين وملحدين،
but to stand in solidarity with us.
ولكن ليتضامنوا معنا.
courage and compassion
اختاروا الشجاعة والتعاطف
at this time of fear and bigotry?
من الخوف والتعصب؟
you seem to have struck a chord.
يبدو أنك لمست الوتر.
who might argue
لذلك فأنت لا تمثلين القاعدة.
don't let this stage distract you,
لا تدعوا وقوفي على المنصة يخدعكم،
around the world --
the largest study ever done
هي أكبر دراسة تمت
like an exception to the rule,
كاستثناء للقاعدة،
Dalia Mogahed.
داليـا مـجاهـد.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Dalia Mogahed - Muslim studies scholarResearcher and pollster Dalia Mogahed is an author, advisor and consultant who studies Muslim communities.
Why you should listen
As director of research at the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding, Dalia Mogahed keeps her finger on the pulse of the Muslim world. She served on Obama’s Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships in 2009, advising the president on how faith-based organizations can help government solve persistent social problems.
Mogahed is a former director of the Gallup Center for Muslim Studies, where her surveys of Muslim opinion skewered myths and stereotypes while illuminating the varied attitudes of Muslims toward politics, religion, and gender issues. Her 2008 book with John Esposito, Who Speaks for Islam? What a Billion Muslims Really Think, outlines these surprising findings.
Dalia Mogahed | Speaker | TED.com