Within the facial area of exhaustive stereotypes portrayed in the media about Muslims, Rodaina Tarek Mousa, an English literature graduate pupil from Alexandria, Egypt, encourages Other folks to appear over and above her visual appeal and advocates for social justice.

“Considering that I’ve gotten below, I’ve had lots of discussions with all distinct types of people — from bus motorists to random people today on campus,” Mousa reported. “It’s been a great deal of of an eye fixed opener, how Many individuals that don't know what Egypt is. They see Egypt and think of camels, pyramids and deserts, but they don’t see outside of that.”

Proving Egypt consists of in excess of its stereotypes, Mousa encourages Some others to take hijabs online into consideration the skills of Egyptians.

“I am an indicator that there are people that Feel, Possess a intellect of their own individual and are effective at accomplishing major factors,” Mousa stated. “I’m hoping I’m a window to these persons [who misunderstand Muslims].”

Mousa been given a grant in the Fulbright U.S. Student Application, which led her to enroll at SIUE and go after a graduate degree in English literature, while concurrently completing instructing assistantships for that Arabic language and English literature.

“I’m the Arabic a hundred and one teacher on campus, [and] I’m also executing my graduate courses and taking over Women of all ages’s experiments — that’s form of my target,” Mousa said. “Back again home, I’m a teaching assistant at Alexandria University. I instruct English literature with a spotlight in 16th and seventeenth century literature.”

As outlined by Mousa, her range as a Fulbright Grant receiver permits her to bridge the linguistic and cultural dissimilarities between the U.S. and Egypt.

“I hold the Fulbright Grant, And that i’ve been preferred coupled with 23 people today from my region out of a hundred million men and women, literally, being right here and do these reports,” Mousa said. “This grant will allow persons from all around the earth to return for the U.S. and instruct their mother tongue to College students and American scholars to go abroad and train English to College learners in return.”

Mousa explained people today generally make assumptions about her and her beliefs right before even having a conversation with her.