Michigan in Color
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Lesson from Dr. Omar Suleiman

Wednesday, February 8, 2023 — 5

As-Salaam-Alaikum
Wa-Alaikum-Salaam
The 
auditorium—recently 
buzzing with greetings and 
jovial conversations—fell pin-
drop silent, intent on hanging 
on Dr. Omar Suleiman’s words. 
Imam Suleiman’s résumé is 
more than impressive: Muslim 
scholar, 
civil 
rights 
leader, 
writer and public speaker. He 
currently works as a professor at 
Southern Methodist University 
and founder of the Yaqeen 
Institute for Islamic Research. 
At a luncheon prior to his 
speech, Suleiman moved from 
table to table, taking the time 
to engage with each attendee 
in thoughtful conversation. He 
was taking so much time talking 
to each individual that I began 
sweating through my shirt in 
anticipation of our interview—
the interview he graciously 
remained behind for, even when 
his schedule required him to be 
elsewhere. Suleiman’s powerful 
calmness 
was 
unmistakable 
during the interview as he 
talked so passionately while 
maintaining 
an 
even-keeled 
demeanor. 
During 
the 
interview 
and the subsequent speaker 
event, 
Suleiman 
emphasized 
Islamic theology as a source 
for liberation, using the Quran 
as the basis for his social 
justice values. He pointed to 
many 
liberation 
movements 
and 
leaders’ 
attraction 
to 
Islam because of the Prophet 
Mouhammad’s (Peace Be Upon 
Him) explicit anti-racist and 
anti-oppression rhetoric. From 
Malcolm X to Angela Davis 
to Muhammad Ali, countless 
Muslim activists have led the 
fight for civil rights in our 
country. 
Suleiman 
expressed 
the 
importance 
for 
justice 
movements 
to 
support 
all 
oppressed groups. He drew 
upon the Honorable Malcolm 
X’s philosophy of recognizing 
the Black Americans’ plight 
within the context of all forms 
of oppression worldwide, not 
being afraid that incorporating 
other movements would dilute 
their own. A self-described 
student of Malcolm X, Suleiman 
quoted him when exploring 
Islam’s focus on justice.
“The Quran compelled the 
Muslim to take a stand on the 
side of those whose human 

rights are violated no matter 
the religious persuasion of the 
victims,” Suleiman said. “Islam 
is a religion which concerns 
itself with the human rights of 
all mankind despite race, color 
or creed. It recognizes all as 
part of one human family.” 
A universal struggle against 
oppression 
is 
embodied 
in 
Martin Luther King’s words, 
“oppression 
anywhere 
is 
a 
threat to freedom anywhere.” 
This philosophy has played a 
role in many effective social 
rights 
movements, 
from 
Fred 
Hampton’s 
“Rainbow 
Coalition” 
to 
the 
Black 
Feminist Movement. However, 
Suleiman 
highlights 
this 
notion has been surprisingly 
rare 
in 
justice 
movements 
throughout the ages. From the 
women’s suffrage movement’s 
exclusion of Black Americans 
to the Mynmmar’s freedom 
movement’s 
oppression 
of 
Muslim minorities, many such 
movements ignore the plights of 
other marginalized groups and 
even support their oppression. 
Even today, many oppressed 

groups argue over whose plight 
is the most important instead 
of viewing their oppression as a 
singular issue. 
Coming from a Palestinian 
household and as a child of 
refugees, Suleiman grew up 
with a responsibility to fight 
against Palestinian oppression 
as well as a connection to other 
oppressed groups. His family 
housed 
refugees 
displaced 
by the Bosnian genocide and 
was active in local civil rights 
issues, building the foundation 
for Suleiman’s global mindset.
Working towards a universal 
struggle for liberation, Suleiman 
strives to build coalitions across 
religious divides. During our 
interview, 
he 
talked 
about 
how 
“polarization 
is 
one 
of the greatest threats to a 
civilization,” causing people to 
isolate and “work in their own 
corners.” Suleiman emphasized 
that 
there 
are 
issues 
that 
cut 
across 
all 
identities, 
especially around exploitation 
and poverty. He approaches 
coalition-building by bringing 
different groups to the table and 

working together to champion 
commonly-held issues. He says 
these groups can form strong 
bonds by working together on 
these challenges.
Like Malcolm X, Suleiman 
emphasizes viewing oppression 
through a global lens. One issue 
he focused on during his speech 
was 
the 
intersectionality 
between climate change and 
oppression. Inside the United 
States’s 
privileged 
bubble, 
the connection may not be 
apparent, 
but 
Dr. 
Suleiman 
highlighted that climate change 
will continue to displace an 
increasing number of people 
around the world and create 
competition over increasingly 
scarce resources. He predicts 
these 
conditions 
will 
lead 
to 
increased 
oppression 
worldwide. 
His 
prediction 
aligns with the Institute for 
Economics & Peace’s prediction 
of 1.2 billion refugees by 2050 due 
to climate change and natural 
disasters. Michelle Bachelet, 
U.N. 
High 
Commissioner 
for 
Human 
Rights, 
wrote: 
“As 
environmental 
threats 

intensify, they will constitute 
the biggest challenge to human 
rights in our era.” Suleiman 
contextualized his claim with 
his personal experience during 
Hurricane Katrina. The New 
Orleans native led a group to 
assist with the city’s recovery 
and 
saw 
how 
the 
natural 
disaster had disproportionately 
affected oppressed groups in 
the area.
Global 
oppression 
cannot 
be fully encapsulated without 
including Palestine. Suleiman 
described Palestine as “a filter 
to test a person’s commitment 
to human dignity” that “many 
people 
who 
pontificate 
on 
every human rights issue will 
suddenly go silent or worse.” 
His speech further laid out 
the grim reality of the ongoing 
oppression. 
“Ninety-seven 
percent 
of 
water in Gaza is undrinkable,” 
Suleiman 
said. 
“Seventy-five 
percent of its people are food 
insecure. An estimated 91% 
of its children suffer from 
PTSD.” These statistics don’t 
account 
for 
the 
consistent 

acts of violence and systemic 
oppression 
Palestinians 
face 
today. 
Suleiman 
laid 
out 
advice 
for students in the fight for 
equality. Most importantly, he 
emphasized the importance of 
courage and implored students 
to not be intimidated. He called 
on students to not only be 
charitable but to also challenge 
the underlying policies and stay 
steadfast when people turn 
against them for doing so. 
While 
Suleiman 
focused 
mainly on how one should 
conduct 
oneself 
to 
advance 
justice and human rights, he 
did address the mindset of 
oppressors. I will leave you 
with another Malcolm X quote 
Suleiman shared. I think it’s 
incredibly 
pertinent 
to 
the 
structural 
and 
systematic 
inequality we see in our country, 
to 
the 
countless 
migrants 
displaced from their homes, as 
well as to countries ravaged by 
colonialism and imperialism. 
“You clip the bird’s wing and 
then blame it for not flying as 
high as you.”

KUVIN SATYADEV
MiC Columnist

Samin Hassan/MiC

Facing the Unfamiliar

It is interesting to think 
about humans existing almost 
robotically 
alongside 
one 
another, with their own stories 
to tell and rabbit holes to climb 
out of. There is something 
fulfilling 
about 
having 
an 
exchange 
with 
a 
stranger 
— a chance encounter that 
unexpectedly sparks joy in a 
way that takes me by surprise. 
Last weekend, after leaving 
a friend’s house, I stepped into 
my Uber, ready to go home and 
melt into my pillow. As per 
normal, I immediately scanned 
my surroundings for anything 
out of the ordinary. To be on 
the safe side, my friend swiftly 
received a ‘track your ride’ 
notification. I always have my 
wits about me — it’s a feminine 
instinct, I guess. 
It was approximately 12:30 
a.m. on a Friday and I was 
already dozing off. Unwilling 
to engage in conversation and 
hoping for a silent car journey, 
I was met with an eager 
conversationalist.
“Where are you from?” The 
driver asked. Half-heartedly, I 
answered “London.” To which 
he said “Oh wow! How do you 
like living in Ann Arbor?” To 
which I said, “It’s great.” And 
so on. 
Usually, I am wary of speaking 
to Uber drivers. Having lived in 
Pakistan, I am all too familiar 
with the unfortunate reality 
of 
unrelenting 
stares 
and 
fixations from men, a constant 
feeling of being watched. In 
Western countries, men are 

more cognizant of this, and 
yet, existing in public spaces 
as a woman is frightening and 
I always feel the need to be one 
step ahead. For better or worse, 
I have carried this sentiment 
with me since I was a child. 
This man, to my surprise, 
was lovely. I told him I was 
originally from Pakistan, and 
coincidentally, he had spent 
four years studying in Karachi 
during his twenties. Driving 
down State Street in the middle 

of Ann Arbor, I found myself 
discussing my hometown in 
great depth with someone who 
could actually relate. I felt a 
sense of warmth in being able 
to speak with someone who 
understands 
where 
I 
come 
from. From reminiscing over 
hours spent in Karachi traffic, 
with aggressive drivers and 
street vendors drowning out 
all other noises, to laughing 
about Sattar Buksh (Karachi’s 
own rendition of Starbucks), 

we 
found 
unexpected 
commonalities in our unique 
experiences. 
I left the car with a smile on 
my face and began wondering 
how old he was, where his 
accent was from and what 
he 
looked 
like. 
I 
realized 
how absorbed I was in the 
conversation because I had 
not once seen his face — just 
a dark but friendly silhouette. 
Turning on my phone, ready 
to stalk his Uber profile, I 

stopped myself. It actually felt 
refreshing to speak to someone 
without being able to see them. 
Whenever 
I 
return 
to 
school at the start of every 
semester, I find myself having 
to 
alternate 
between 
two 
very distinct mindsets: the 
unparalleled comforts of home 
versus unrestricted freedoms 
at college. Leaving home and 
coming to Michigan feels like I 
am stepping out of one reality 
and entering another. Large 

gatherings overflowing with 
countless 
family 
members 
turn into lecture halls filled 
with 
unknown 
faces. 
So, 
rare instances such as these 
— where I am able to bridge 
the gap between these two 
identities — strangely reassure 
me. 
I was a shy child, but as 
an adult, I like to think that 
I 
confidently 
push 
myself 
outside 
my 
comfort 
zone. 
Interacting with this man, how 
ever silly it may sound, was an 
example of this. I’ve discovered 
that engaging with strangers is 
invigorating. Each individual 
comes with their own distinct 
set of experiences, which in 
turn inform my own. Though 
my conversation with this Uber 
driver led me to no profound 
realizations, I was able to 
appreciate 
the 
encounter 
for what it was — a brief 
moment of connectivity. We 
are conditioned — sometimes, 
rightfully so — to disengage 
from strangers, but if we choose 
to share more of ourselves, I 
find that others are willing to 
do the same. 
Sometimes it is easier to be 
honest with strangers because, 
to them, I am a blank slate. 
In our modern world, the 
one caveat that holds us back 
from such experiences is our 
inability to disengage from 
technology and social media. 
Not knowing the age, ethnicity 
or background of a person 
eliminates many of these self-
imposed barriers and makes 
room for the simple pleasures 
that still exist around us, how 
ever caught up we may be in 
our own little world.

Rino Fujimoto/MiC

NURAIYA MALIK
MiC Columnist