Libertyville Muslim students making a change

Two Libertyville High School students are making a difference in the community by promoting acceptance and educating others with regards to Islam.

Libertyville High School’s Muslim Student Association

Earlier this year, Vernon Hills High School’s Muslim Student Association (MSA) sponsored “Walk a Mile in her Hijab,” an event that gained an amplitude of attention both locally and on a broader scale.

Last year, Libertyville High School junior (then sophomore) Areebah Waseem started her own MSA club at LHS.

“The purpose of MSA is for LHS students to come together in a supportive environment to raise awareness and educate the community about Islam,” stated Waseem, the club’s president.

The club hopes to also take part in “Walk a Mile in her Hijab,” according to Waseem. The event allowed for Muslim and non-Muslim students to wear a hijab for the day to create a better sense of understanding at the school.

In addition to “Walk a Mile in her Hijab,” Libertyville’s MSA has many other events in the works. The club is currently deciding whether or not to take part in a regional tournament called Muslim Inter-Scholastic Tournament (MIST).

MIST, according to the tournament’s website, getmistified.squarespace.com, has a main objective “to bring high school students together to develop leadership, promote communication, and inspire creativity while gaining a deeper understanding of Islam and Muslims.” MIST takes place in 15 regions throughout the United States.

In addition to formal events, the MSA has been doing many community service projects including volunteering for PADS, Feed My Starving Children and hosting an Interfaith bowling event with a local church in Libertyville. They plan to continue with more service programs throughout this year.

MSA is always looking for new members.

“We welcome people from all different faiths,” stated Waseem. “We acknowledge the fact that students are at varied levels in their own faith and we are welcoming to all regardless of one’s religious knowledge or determination.”

“Make Eid a school holiday recognized by D128” Petition

On Sept. 16, 2015, Libertyville High School sophomore Mariam Tolba began a petition on change.org requesting District 128 Superintendent Dr. Prentiss Lea to recognize the Islamic holidays of Eid.

“I felt that every Eid, I would have to choose between my religion and my education,” stated Tolba. “Should I study for that really big test tomorrow or celebrate my holiday with family? I felt that no student at LHS should have to choose between those two aspects of a student’s life.”

Although District 128 recognizes many major holidays of Christianity and Judaism, the district has yet to formally recognize the holidays of Islam.

According to the petition’s description on change.org, there are around 50 Muslim students at Libertyville and Vernon Hills High School combined.

“Every year, Muslim students have to choose between celebrating their religious holidays and attending school… it only seems logical to allow Muslim students to have a day off,” the petition stated.

With 271 supporters, the petition has yet to meet its goal of 500, still needing another 229 pledges. Despite the fact that the petition hasn’t met its initial goal of 500 supporters, it did get a response on Sept. 29, 2015, from the school’s Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction, Dr. Rita Fischer. The response stated that Dr. Fischer would bring this to the attention of the committee in October for their meeting regarding the 2016-2017 calendar.

Tolba attended this meeting to present her petition. “The main concerns of the board,” according to Tolba, “were if Muslims got this holiday off, all other religions and cultures would want to get their holidays off too, and Muslim holidays move year to year so a set date would be hard to find.”

Although her initial goal hasn’t been met, Tolba still remains hopeful. “I’m working on forming a coalition for Lake County with the mayors, Lake County Board of Education, mosques, churches, temples … This way, the groups can find a way to incorporate Eid into our school calendar and show more support to the cause.”