- Islam is a religion that believes in peace, tolerance, patience, and respect.
- Cal Poly’s Muslim Student Association has more than doubled in size this year.
- In a college with much less diversity than other schools in California, there are pros and cons to being such a small religious group.
This week, I interviewed Zahra Hudda, Cal Poly senior and treasurer of Cal Poly’s Muslim Student Association to learn more about the Islam religion, and what their club is all about.
Q: Can you give a little background on what the Islam religion is all about?
A: I am from a sect of Islam called the Shia Imami Ismaili sect. We are different in that we follow only one Imam, as opposed to having an Imam per mosque, which is common in the Sunni faith. So we follow one Imam who is actually a direct descendant of the prophet Muhammad, and we can literally trace back his genealogy…Personally, myself and my family, we’ve all been raised to believe in peace, tolerance, patience. We’ve been taught to respect others and our faith. And I really can’t say more because essentially, the way I see it, a lot of our beliefs mirror common and standard moral ethics that are ingrained in most people regardless of religion.
Q: In what ways do you think being Muslim affects your college experience?
A: It’s unique. Let’s look at Cal Poly. If you look at Cal Poly and compare it with any of the other UC’s…All the UC’s have a lot of Muslims…For my sect of Islam, one of the reasons why Cal Poly is not actively sought out by its stellar record as an engineering college, or as a college in general, is because most people view a lack of Tema, which where we go for prayers, is a deterrent. As a whole though, if you look at communities in any of the UC’s and compare it with the MSA here, our MSA is miniscule. As such, it’s unique in that you run into a lot of other faiths. Essentially it’s broadening your perspectives.
Q: What kind of benefits do you see, and what kind of disadvantages, in the fact that you guys are so small here at Cal Poly, where the diversity is pretty low?
A: I’d say the fact that we bring some diversity to Cal Poly is a benefit. [Being small] allows us to get to know each other well; it allows us to create strong ties. At the same time, some people do view it as a deterrent because there’s not that big of a pool, if you know what I mean.
Q: Because you guys are so small, do you guys focus on spreading awareness of your guys’ religion, or are you guys more focused on bonding with whoever in MSA?
A: Up until this year, our MSA consisted of like three to four people who actually show up. So this is the first year we’ve actually got a good number of people. So that alone provides complications because in the past, we’ve talked a lot about exposure, but due to the small number of people, and the fact that even though we’re all friends, we have our own lives, it was just really hard and it didn’t really happen to get people together and actually raise awareness. Now it’s something we’re actively looking into; however, it’s the beginning of the school year so we’ve only had about three meetings.
Q: Do you feel like the discrimination against the Islam religion with all the conflicts with Iraq and Afghanistan is relevant to Cal Poly? Have you ever experienced being discriminated against?
A: It depends. Although I’m religious, I don’t talk about religion that much. Most people associate Islam with Pakistan, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan. I’m actually from India, and most if not all my friends are aware of that. So up until I actually say I’m Muslim they all assume I’m either Hindu or Christian, and even then, when they found out im muslim, most people respond with disbelief that I’m a Muslim from India, and so the question of my ethics or beliefs never come up. Because usually by then they know me well enough to know that I’m a decent person, to know my ethics and my morals, and they know I’m a person they can call regardless of the situation.
Q: What are your thoughts on the situation in Hamburg, Germany, where they’re working on making Islam an official religion?
A: I think that shows just a remarkable openmindedness given the world as a whole with regards to the faith. I view it as a recognition that Islam is being seen from the point of view of a majority that the media ignores. Because if you look at the media, they’re focused on what terrorists have done, and they don’t really look at the fact that the terrorists are a minority in comparison to the number of Muslims in the world.
Q: On another note more relevant to this school, what kinds of activities do you do with MSA that pertains to your religion?
A: That varies. I’m Shia so I don’t go to the mosque. I found out about a year or so ago that when we started going to the Jamat Khana, people stopped to the mosque. So I actually don’t go to the mosque. I know that the guys go regularly on Fridays. Like I said, this is the first year that we’ve had a substantial amount of people and so this past weekend, we had a bonfire. I think everybody was there…what they did for that was they played games, did icebreakers, and it was essentially a bonding activity to bring the Cal Poly Muslim community closer.
Q: How much have you guys grown this year?
A: We’ve either doubled or tripled.
SLO Religion 