Interview
On being Muslim in a post-September 11 College

Second-year Afaf Qayyum is secretary and a spokesperson for the Muslim Students Association, a group of approximately 150, about half of whom are undergraduates.

How did September 11 affect MSA's activities on campus?
Rockefeller Chapel has held interfaith solidarity events, and we moved our normal juma [Friday] prayer from Bond Chapel out to the quads to increase visibility. Islamic Awareness Week [Nov. 9-16] was an opportunity to respond to the overwhelming student interest [in Islam].

What topics has MSA addressed?
There has been a lot of interest in the Koran and how verses can be interpreted in various ways. The Feminist Majority asked us to do a teach-in about the hijab, the scarf many women wear over their hair.

What was the reception on campus for Muslim students?
MSA had an overwhelming amount of supportive e-mail immediately after the attacks-and not just from campus. When you search online for "Muslim" and "Chicago," apparently we're the first group that comes up. People just wanted to reach out to someone who's Muslim. Many expressed their condolences.