keeping up with fm ns~FOC US The Michigan Daily - Friday, April 7, 1995 - 3 El A 4i" I I. on uS BY TALI KRAVITZ lily Staff Reporter The desks are pushed aside, the calculus prob- lems on the chalkboard are ignored, and the woman dressed in the teal jilbab and white hijab transforms the Mason Hall classroom into a place of holiness. As Muna Jondy prostrates herself toward Mecca and glorifies Allah, she makes no "differentiation Aween religion and everyday life." T he house at 1214 Packard is not your average residence. Located behind the surrounding high wall, it is a rare oasis of tranquility in a busy city. Shoes must be left at the door as one enters the 19th century- style house. Inside, 25 people chant and bow toward the nze, jewel-laden Buddha, asking for inner strength. it's Saturday and YaelEbenstein attends her Safehouse training session - in a dress down to her ankles. She was not able to carry her binder there or take notes during the day. She must leave in the middle to eat a kosher lunch that is available only at Hillel. The experiences of these observant college students are diverse in detail, yet similar in nature. Within the fast-paced, secular environment of Ann Arbor, many students find ways to observe avid beliefs. To keep kosher, to pray as many as five times a day, or to strive to become a Bud- dha can require a University student to be an extremely devout, yet tolerant, indi- vidual. University, she hadto pay hail dues, only to find out that all the money was spent on pizza, which she could not eat. She is shomer negiah, which means that she cannot have physical contact with someone of the opposite sex, yet there are no women-only hours at the Central Cam- pus Recreation Building swimming pool. "In other environments, I can live more religiously and here, I justhave to maintain it," Ebenstein said. "Here, it's just a matter of keeping the status quo because there isn't as much room to become more reli- gious if Iwanted to, orbecome more obser- vant, or take it more seriously." K halid Kadir, a first-year En- gineering student, is in his five-hour Chemistry 210 lab when he realizesthat he must leave to meet his "brother" in another room for prayer-the third time that day. "As far as Islam goes, it's all or noth- ing," he said. Kadir explains with confidence, "It's something that you have the decision, 'Do you believe, or do you not?' and if you do, you have to put everything into it." With Muslim and Jewish students in particular, the simple act of eating be- comes a battle. To consume pork, alcohol, or beef from an animal that was not slaugh- tered under religious law, or even to mix dairy products with meat products are for- bidden acts. For some, the dishes must be purely kosher or halal as well. Kadir does not eat meals in restaurants that do not serve halal food and he is even wary of eating cake in the dorm because it might have been made with rum. "It's a matter of principle," he said. "It's not going to hurt me to eat it, I'm not going to die, but I don't bother taking the risk." LSA sophomore Talal A-Azem, also a Muslim, said, "You have to stand back and look at what is important. There are a lot of temptations, especially in a society where a lot of stuff thatis forbidden to us is open." Many observant students experience added pressures to portray their religion in certain ways. LSA junior Muna Jondy said she feels at odds with the community around her, yet she takes on a responsibility to represent the religion of Islam in the proper light. "I have to realize that most people with whom I am in contact, it might be the only encounter with a Muslim they ever have," Jondy said. "I have to realize that whatever the people see of me, they're going to think that's my religion and that's what all Mus- lims are like. I have to be on guard." Jondy, whose long robe and scarf visu- ally define her as a Muslim, often receives undesired attention in a country where such clothing is unusual. However, Jondy said she wears the Muslim garb to empha- size attributes other than her physical ap- pearance - such as intelligence and be- havior. Suzan Asbahi (left) and Muna Jondy kneel for supplication In a Mason Hall classroom. JOE WESTRATE/Daily A Ink Im" A v M any students find thattheirreligious beliefs provide a back- bone for life. "I feel that religion gives me so much," said LSA junior Ebenstein, an Orthodox Jew. "It JUDI TH PEHINS/Daily Ari Caroline, an RC junior, sits among friends at a cultural event sponsored by Hillel, one of two Jewish student centers on campus. gives me guidelines for my lifestyle. It gives meaning to everything I do." Within the strict observances, some students are forced to find a balance be- tween their religious and secular lives. Ari Caroline, an RC junior and an Orthodox Jew, said, "If I want to be at a secular university and still be observant, there's extra work involved." The temptations to stray from the strict religious laws can be overwhelming, yet not altogether defeating. "I may be very tempted to do certain things, but I won't and that doesn't mean that I pass every single test that is given to me," Caroline said. "I tell myself, 'All right, I lost that battle,' and move on to the next." It is not as easy for everyone, however. Over the past three years, Ebenstein has developed a deep frustration about her college life. Forexample, she has afinal exam sched- uled on Passover, and because it falls dur- ing the few days of the eight-day obser- vance when an observant Jew cannot read or write, she must take a makeup exam. At the beginning of her first year at the "If the religion is truly within you, it's going to show and people are going to want to know about it just because of you andnot because of a book that's in front of them," Jondy said. Nevertheless, not every contact is posi- tive. Jondy's "sister," Suzan Asbahi, an LSA sophomore, is fed up with the harass- ment she receives. Asbahi and Jondy share a dress familiar to many Americans from media images about some oppressed Muslim women or Muslims who are involved in terrorist'acts. Many Muslims would like to dispel these myths about their religion. "We don't do anything to endanger society," Asbahi explained. "Yet, people take their aggression out about terrorism on us." Asbahi and Jondy also attribute some of their anger to the opposite sex, as both say they hear many stereotypical com- ments from males. "I think that they have a problem seeing somebody take a stance and claim an identity different than what their ideologies are of what a woman should be like," Jondy said. Aside from the problems these women encounter, they appreciate what this soci- ety has given them. According to Jondy, "The freedoms of religions we have here, we could never have in any Muslim coun- try." Many find the University community hospitable to their lifestyle. Starting next term, Jews will be able to choose a Kosher meal plan, which will be provided by Hillel. The University recently provided Muslims an open place in the Law Quad to pray. Buddhist students can find solitude to medi- tate at the temple on Packard. Moreover, there are many organiza-, tions on campus that facilitate religious students' lives. Between the Muslim Students Asso- ciation, his extremely diverse hall in Bursley Religion on Campus Nationwide The percentage of first-year students indentifying with sel 0 5 10 15 20 25 r T T T lT T 7 lected religions: 30-35 Roman Catholic none othe Pr .oth( Jewish r Christian esbyterian er religion Methodist Baptist Episcopal Lutheran W Buddhist 341.3% Islamic 1.1% ted Church 1.0% of Christ n Orthodox 1.0% Mormon 0.6% eventh Day Adventist 0.3% Quaker 0.3% I Uni Easter Se JONATHAN BERNDT and KEVIN WINER/Daily stances are a part of the life of some college students, many religions forbid drinking alcohol and using drugs. "I think Buddhism is all about being in the present moment and being clear," Chandonnet said. "It is a personal belief that I don't like how my body feels (with alcohol and drugs), but it is something that is reaffirmed by the Buddhist thought that plains his philosophy. The white top of the Espresso Royale mug that sits on the table is not really "white," he said. "Everything is emptiness and empti- ness is everything," Choi said. "We per- ceive things by our own way of doing things. Buddha is teaching us that there is maybe another way of perceiving it that we cannot see." la i