伊斯兰教在美国：Madeeha的旅程
The United States is the best place to be a Muslim, according to William and Mary senior Madeeha Hameed (’09). 她说，在这里，人们有选择宗教信仰的自由。
Hameed based her assessment on observations made during her recent tour of the United States as part of the “Journey into America” team that is documenting the Muslim experience. 哈米德在30多个城市帮助进行了采访，他说，对美国穆斯林的刻板印象继续影响着公民之间的日常关系。 However, she said, “So many Muslims told me that there is no country they rather live in than America. … They believe you can be the truest Muslim in this country.”
Hameed found the cities of Detroit and New York to be the most oppressive for Muslims. “The moment you step foot into New York City, you could just feel the tension in that Muslim community to this day due to 9/11.” Even as the team, led by Akbar Ahmed, a celebrated Islamic scholar, entered mosques, they were questioned, “Are you from the CIA,” Hameed said.
As the only Muslim woman on the team, Hameed discovered that “in the field” her participation in discussion often was received through the filter of gender. 对许多人来说，她是他们遇到的第一个穆斯林妇女。 尽管他们的反应各不相同，但Madeeha很高兴自己能成为跨越文化鸿沟的桥梁。
威廉·r·凯南人文学院教授塔玛拉·索恩（Tamara Sonn）认为，这种能力使哈米德站在了一个更宽容的社会的前线。 “Religious intolerance is a major problem,” Sonn said. “Intolerance often comes from fear. 通过了解宗教的他者，恐惧消散了。 It’s replaced by knowledge and understanding.” 索恩说，在寻求宽容的过程中，哈米德树立了一个榜样，表明所有宗教社区都有愿意提供帮助的人。
哈米德的视频片段已经出现在CNN上，帮助人们更好地欣赏他们的伊斯兰邻居。 它也可能被用于即将为BBC和PBS制作的纪录片中。