Running head: CULTURAL IMMERSION #4

Cultural Immersion #4
Jordan Abernathy-Cornelius
Georgia State University

SW 3000 Communication/Cultural Diversity

Dr. Karen Watkins
November 30, 2014

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Prior to the activity

My perception of this group is that they are terribly misrepresented. This group faces a
lot of discrimination and prejudice, especially in public places such as airports. Theyre
sometimes labeled as terrorist and very extreme in their religion. Sometimes, Islamic women are
viewed as subservient, with no rights, and being forced to wear the hijab. I was relatively
ignorant about this group and there wasnt a strong Muslim culture in Corning, New York (or
one that I was aware of). My view of this group came about in third grade after 9/11. However, I
never believed that they this group was truly evil just the extremists that hijacked the planes.
After moving to Georgia, Ayesha was the first Muslim friend I had in seventh grade.
Befriending Ayesha further reinforced my thoughts that peoples fear had led them to generalize
this population. I had no other exposure to this group, prior to middle school. The media portray
this group as Islamic-extremists who are terrorist that have America. Also, the Islamic women
are portrayed as women who are oppressed by their husbands. The media does not currently
impact my viewpoint of this group, because of my experiences in the past. Furthermore, the
medias portrayal is very negative and extremely biased of this group. I feel sympathetic towards
this group, because the media has influenced a lot of peoples opinions. Moreover, people dont
try to expand their knowledge about this group, and they accept what is told to them no matter
how strong the bias from the viewpoint is. My current views allow me to work with this group
without bias and seek out the best services for my client.
Why I chose to study this group/Cultural immersion experience
I chose this group, because it has been so misrepresented, and not a lot of people have
incorrect misconceptions. Instead of getting my information from the media about this group, I
wanted to learn something positive from someone who practiced Islam. Maleeha shared her
experiences with me on October 12 and what she told me made me stop and think. For example,
she was on her way to school one day riding MARTA when an African-American male shouted
to her Dont blow us up! However, Maleeha was able to laugh it off and not let it bother her.
Another incident was once again when she was in Marta and someone had asked her how how
do you say f*** you in Arabic? Maleeha didnt say anything, but she doesnt speak Arabic,
she speaks Urdu, because shes from Pakistan.
Research and brief summary of an area of interest about this group
While conducting my interview with Maleeha, she told me that she goes to a mosque in
Roswell off of Holcomb Bridge Road. After doing more research, I found that the Mosque holds
daily prayers five times a day as well as youth and family programs. They even offer social
services as well as hosting activities for Ramadan and Eid (Roswell Community Masjid, 2014).
After the activity
This experience allowed me to see things from Maleehas perspective, and while
sometimes her stories seemed comical it was also unfortunate. This experience reinforced my

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previous viewpoint that this group is misrepresented and stereotyped, especially in the media,
and because people dont bother to form their unbiased option, these stereotypes are further
perpetrated. While this diverse group, something that jumped out at me was that, in October
2001, 47% of Americans had a favorable view of Islam; however now, that number has
plummeted to 27% (Obeidallah, 2014). This experience does not impact my future career
objectives as a social worker; however it has made me more conscious of some of the issues I
may face while working with this diverse group.
Continued Cultural Work
Attending service at a Mosque would allow me to increase my cultural competency and
recognize previous misconceptions about this group. 50% of the public say that Islam encourages
violence more than any other religion (up 43% since July) (PewResearch Center for the People
& the Press, 2014)

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References
(M. Shakur, personal communication, October 12, 2014).
Obeidallah, D. (2014, September 11). 13 Years After 9/11, Anti-Muslim Bigotry Is Worse Than
Ever. Retrieved from http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/09/11/13-years-after-911-anti-muslim-bigotry-is-worse-than-ever.html
PewResearch Center for the People & the Press/ (2014. September 10). Growing Concern about
Rise of Islamic Extremism at Home and Abroad. Retrieved from http://www.peoplepress.org/2014/09/10/growing-concern-about-rise-of-islamic-extremism-at-home-andabroad/
Roswell Community Masjid. (2014). Programs. Retrieved from http://www.roswellmasjid.org/