By Jan Aguilos—
A Pulitizer Prize-winning New York Times journalist, Andrea Elliott, spoke at New Jersey City University on November 21 about American Muslims. The speaking engagement was part of NJCU’s University Lecture Series and took place in the Gothic Lounge in Hepburn Hall Room 202.
Elliott won her Pulitzer Prize, the most prestigious award for both journalism and literature, in 2007 for Feature Writing on a series of articles focused on Sheik Reda Shata, an Egyptian-born Imam from Brooklyn.
The Interim Vice President of University Advancement, William Fellenberg, started off introducing the program, and then Alina Gharabegian made a few remarks on some of the achievements that Andrea Elliott has accomplished and introduced her.
Elliot began speaking about a decade bookended by both the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the continued fight over the Park 51 Islamic Center.
“I think that integration is the defining issue,” said Andrea Elliott in an exclusive interview with the Gothic Times during a reception after she spoke in the Gothic Lounge.
Americans, not just American Muslims, Elliott said during her speaking engagement, were in “new territory.” Suspicion had arisen after 9/11 and many Americans were threatened by images of “rows of men in knitted caps bowing their heads” as well as veiled Muslim women being boxed in as “looking fragile” and oppressed.
During the years after 9/11, Elliot surmised there was an undertow of suspicion that lead to headlines like “Behind the Evil” and “Voices Torn Behind the Veil” from news organizations which focused on the “far edges of Islam and its adherents.”
There were Mohammads who now wanted to be referred to as “Mo” and Osamas who now wanted to be referred to as “Sam” in the post-9/11 years.
Sheik Reda Shata, the subject of the Pulitzer-winning articles and Omar Hammami represent two diametrically opposed sides of the need for Muslim Americans to integrate in America.
Sheik Reda was a young, 30-something (at the time Elliott first covered him) immigrant imam from Egypt who had to adapt to the needs of the mostly immigrant Muslims of his Brooklyn neighborhood. He was trusted and closely tied to many in his community, and Elliott knew that as a reporter she needed his contacts if she wanted to write about how American Muslims were trying to integrate in a post-9/11 world.
“I was struggling to get access to the Muslim community and I finally hit a wall,” admitted Elliott to the Gothic Times. “The only way I was going to get a deeper story was by spending a lot of time in one place.”
According to the Office of Communications and Marketing, around 80 students, staff, and faculty attended the event, and the audience members were open to asking Elliott questions after she spoke.
“I liked [the event] because Andrea Elliott gave a positive opinion of Muslims,” said Ayyad, a Political Science major from North Bergen. “I’m used to hearing negative opinions of Muslims from non-Muslims.”
Hugo Morales, Interim Director of the Office of Communications and Marketing, set up the event with the help of students and recent alumni and was positive about his assessment of the event.
“I didn’t have the opportunity to enjoy events,” said Morales when he brought up the fact that he attended NJCU years ago. “[Current students] really have the opportunity to enjoy student activities.”
Note: The days for the University Lecture Series will change to Tuesdays starting the 2012-2013 Academic Year.
