Intolerance still troubles young Utah Muslim

0 Comments | Deseret News (Salt Lake City), Jan 20, 2004 | by Adela Zecevic

I came to Utah with my family as a 9-year-old Bosnian refugee. I left Bosnia when I was 6 and moved many times, until I came here to Utah.

Bosnia is still being rebuilt after our war with Serbia. Our way of life was forever changed after the attack on our people and specifically our religion. Bosnia's situation is an example of what happens when someone's prejudices are taken to an extreme.

I am a Muslim, and the people who took my father away from me for four years, and my home away from me forever, are Orthodox Serbs. The struggles that I have experienced in my life will always be with me, but I understand that I cannot hate every Orthodox Serb I meet. Every event in my life has been a lesson, and what intolerance does is a lesson I will never forget, nor ignore.

There have been people who object to the co-existence of Muslim- Americans and the non-Muslim-Americans. Religious leaders like Franklin Graham, the Rev. Jerry Vines, Jerry Falwell, Benny Hinn, Pat Robertson and Jimmy Swaggart are some to name. Their horrendous comments about Islam could cause much disarray in America, if they have not already.

Words that hold power are just the beginning. Soon, words are not enough and violence ensues. I have seen it happen before, and these men's words truly make me nervous. I came here and felt I was safe; I do not want that to change.

Syndicated columnist Ann Coulter suggested that America "should invade their (Muslim) countries, kill their leaders and convert them to Christianity." She also suggested a "mass deportation" of Muslims from America. To many Muslim-Bosnians, that sounds all too familiar. Many Muslims are victims who fled to America for protection, only to succumb to hurtful comments and hate crimes once again.

Graham told MSNBC, "It wasn't Methodists flying into those buildings, it wasn't Lutherans. It was an attack on this country by people of Islamic faith." Mr. Graham seems to have forgotten the Oklahoma bombing and the Ku Klux Klan. Every faith has extremists, and if we destroyed every religion that had radicals, we wouldn't have beliefs.

Islam does not represent destruction and violence. The religion I believe in has been my motivation to do good and to be accepting of customs that may be alien to me. It saddens me to hear disrespectful comments about Islam, because it has been my inspiration in everything that is good.

I just hope that acceptance is a lesson everyone learns, no matter what their religion or beliefs are.

Adela Zecevic is a senior at Highland High School. If you are a Utah high school student and you have a topic you would like to see addressed in Pulse, please send an e-mail to pulse@desnews.com or write to Susan Whitney, c/o the Deseret Morning News.