Librarian Combats Muslim Stereotypes

Did you know that Muslims account for nearly 20 percent of the world’s population and that Islam is the world’s largest single religion? There is a librarian and a Muslim who is changing people’s stereotypes just by talking to them.

“I don’t wear a head scarf, so people don’t see me and say, ‘She’s a Muslim,’” said a librarian at Itasca (IL) Community Library. “With the media, people out there kind of assume all Muslims look a certain way. And seeing me, questions were borne in their minds just looking at me and talking to me. I think I posed a lot of alternatives in their minds about Muslims.”

Her conversations with curious patrons at the library eventually led to the idea to take her knowledge to the broader public by giving informational presentations on Muslim life and religion. So, in spring 2005, she took the presentations on the road to libraries across the Chicago area. On Saturday, Jan. 24, she will present “Muslims 101” at the Westchester (IL) Public Library. My Suburban Life.