Seja Haque
This interview is with Seja Haque, a high school senior in Corpus Christi, Texas who speaks about struggling between her Muslim and feminist identities as well as being involved at her local mosque where she was eventually asked to teach. Seja discusses the immigration story of her parents from Pakistan to America and her deep found appreciation of her cultural identity. She plans on attending the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin and eventually becoming a lawyer.
Sarah Elsunni
This interview is with Sarah Elsunni, a Sudanese-American digital marketer living in San Antonio. Sarah was born and raised in Louisiana, where she attended Islamic School, fleeing to Texas after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. She speaks to the importance of diversity and inclusivity in the public school system as one of the few Black identifying and the only hijabi students. In college, Sarah had the opportunity to experience several study abroad trips that further solidified her appreciation for multicultural understanding and led to a passion for digital marketing in grassroots organizations. Sarah currently works for Malikah, a gender justice organization.
Sarah Pearose
This interview is with Sarah Pearose, an Afghan-American medical student living in San Antonio, where she grew up. Sarah comes from a family of medical professionals and attends University of Incarnate Word School of Osteopathic Medicine in pursuit of her Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine degree. She speaks about growing up as the daughter of immigrants, her interest in medicine, and the lessons she values from Shia Islam. Sarah also shares her experience of deciding to wear the hijab and how that decision impacted her relationships with God, other people, and her own sense of self.
Shadia Igram
This interview is with Shadia Igram, founding member and executive director of Muslim Space in Austin, TX. Shadia speaks about the challenges and blessings of leadership and community engagement during the pandemic. She relates the unique opportunities that online worship has raised for Muslim Space to connect with people around the world and push the boundaries of Muslim women’s religious leadership.
Shadia Igram
This interview is with Shadia Igram, founder and executive director of Muslim Space in Austin, TX. Shadia speaks about how her experience growing up in a close and vibrant American Muslim community inspired her to create Muslim Space. She talks about her desire to build such a welcoming community in Austin and to improve continuously on its diversity and inclusivity. Shadia also discusses her goal of dispelling the notion of American Muslims as others and outsiders within broader American culture.
Meili Criezis
This interview is with Meili Criezis, a former member of the Institute for Diversity and Civic Life team. Meili talks about growing up as a minority in majority White spaces, and the negative impacts of racial dynamics on her high school experience and opinion of Texas. She then discusses how her positive college experiences, as well as her involvement with IDCL, tempered that negativity with more respectful treatments of diversity. Meili also speaks about how she found Islam through exploration of her heritage, and what her current relationship with her faith looks like.
Omar El-Halwagi
This interview is with Omar El-Halwagi, an employment discrimination lawyer in Houston, TX. Omar talks about growing up as a Muslim in the American south and discrimination he faced at a young age. He tells his story of being represented by the American Civil Liberties Union in order to secure the time and place to pray during high school. Omar also describes co-founding the organization Grassroot Islam, a virtual space for a diverse and inclusive Muslim community created to combat pandemic isolation. He discusses coming into his relationship with God on his own terms and learning from the spiritual journeys of others.