Meet the creators behind the project
**This project is part of Dr. Hatem Bazian's course on Islamophobia at UC Berkley.
**This project is part of Dr. Hatem Bazian's course on Islamophobia at UC Berkley.
Sonya Maher is a second year student at The University of California, Berkeley studying Interdisciplinary Studies with a focus on Public Health in times of crises. She is taking Dr. Hatem Bazian's course on Islamophobia in order to further understand the perpetuations and marginalization of sentiment towards Muslims in a post 9/11 era. Sonya grew up in central Ohio, which lacks almost all forms of cultural diversity. In her adolescence she experienced many forms of Islamophobic culture from her peers, who for lack of word, were ignorant. This kind of ignorance stemmed from the home as well as negative media portrayal of Muslims. In her free time Sonya enjoys hiking or reading thought provoking books.
Nour Eldifrawy is a first year at the Univeristy of California, Berkeley studying Materials Science and Engineering with an intended minor in Design. Growing up in Boston MA, many people were open to Muslims, and Islam in America. However, when it came to the building and development of a Islamic Culture Center, few select individuals attempted to create a millieu of Islamphobia and fear, sparking Nours intreset in the prevelance of these mentalities and idealogies. Nour is also an active member of the UC Berkeley Solar Car team, and enjoys swimming, squash, and soccer, as well as exploring random nooks and crannies around campus.
Tahmina Achekzai is a sophomore at the University of California, Berkeley with an intended double major in physics and molecular and cellular biology. She grew up in northern Virginia, where she enjoyed being a part of a diverse community with a variety of different religious backgrounds, but still sensed some skepticism from her peers in regards to the Islamic faith. Tahmina became particularly driven to enroll in Islamophobia because of her work with MSA West, in which many of their social justice efforts aim to tackle institutionalized Islamophobia. In her free time, Tahmina enjoys writing, painting and spending time with her family.
Dalia Farra is a second year student at the University of California, Berkeley studying Public Health with an intended minor Global Poverty and Practice. She grew up in the suburbs of Fresno, Ca, where it was a predominately White and Hispanic region. This made it difficult for Muslims to feel comfortable practicing their religion at times and to strengthen their community. Dalia took this class in hopes of understanding the government's perspective of specific Islamophobic actions all over the U.S. In her free time, Dalia enjoys reading the newspaper, autobiographies, or mystery books, visiting art exhibits and museums, and drawing.
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