When you ask many Americans what they think of when they hear the word Muslim or Islam, many would probably say something about Terrorism, Isis or maybe the September 11^th attack on the World Trade Center, but that is not what it is.

About six months ago I would given a similar response. I remember when I was in middle school my mom and I were walking in our neighborhood and I saw a man wearing a turban and I quickly wanted to go home. There I was, a 12-year-old American who grew up almost entirely in a Catholic Christian country, who was 3 when the attack on the world trade center happened and yet I still had this fear of Muslims. Why would I possibly have this fear of Muslims when I had very little, if any, actual experience with Islam? This fear was because of our society and specifically the media. It is interesting how many movies indicate the period in which it was made simply by the ethnicity of the villain. For example, I remember the movie Snow Dogs, as one of my favorites, where the evil character was Russian, following the American conflict with Russia. Nowadays, Muslims are the Villains in all the movies. The T.V. shows and movies I watched as a 12-year-old painted Muslims as the enemy and whether I realized it or not, I let what I saw and heard shape my entire view of a religion, like many of us do.

In January, I had the opportunity the to go to North Africa and it changed my life. I spent almost three weeks surrounded by Muslims and I learned that they are some of the nicest people you will ever meet. I went to a country where to be a part of that country is to be Muslim. Very rarely will you meet someone from this country that is not Muslim, and they are some of the most hospitable people I’ve ever met. I grew up in the Philippines and I used to think Filipinos were hospitable because many of them are believers, and while this is part of it, I realized that unbelievers can be kind and amazing people even though they are lost. I was talking to one girl and she explained how sad it makes her that everyone thinks that she and her family are all terrorists and want to attack America just because she is Muslim. While in North Africa I had some interesting questions about America, because just like for Americans our idea of Islam is terrorism, their idea of Americans is what they see in an American movie. It makes me sad that people from other countries think all Americans, especially college aged students, sleep around, party all the time and have no morals. While there are many college aged American students who do live this way, it is not everyone. It is these generalizations where we use one small percentage of a group to represent an entire religion or culture, that we run into problems. If I had gone to Africa completely worried and fearful of these people, I would not have made the friendships that I did being open and seeing these people as people, not as the stereotypes and judgements unfairly placed on them. One of the biggest compliments I received in Africa was when one of the men we met mentioned to my male teammates that he was so surprised by the American girls he had met (me and my teammate), because he thought all American women were lousy and immoral. If I, through my actions and morals, can break down these stereotypes than I’m all for it and that happens by interacting with actual people.

Instead of being fearful of Muslims and assuming things about them, we should try and get to know them for who they are. I know some of you might be wondering how you meet Muslims, I live in the middle of nowhere Oklahoma and there are Muslims here and ultimately God will put people in your life for a reason. So, next time you are afraid to talk to someone of because of stereotypes remember they are just a person, who like you, is loved by God and probably needs a friend. You’ll never know who God will use to change your life, like he changed mine.