By Tyler Perkins

Originally published on December 9, 2014

As tensions between different religious groups escalate in the Middle East, America too is experiencing signs of religious tensions. Two clubs at Lowell are working together to counter this.

Peace in the Middle East co-president junior Subha Shawasheh is a Muslim and has noticed instances of Islamophobia in the media. “Seeing stuff in the media definitely has an effect on how people look at American Muslims,” she said. “They come up with these stereotypes and these assumptions. You hear people talking about them all the time, about ISIS and how all Muslims are bad and connected to these types of things.”

Recently there was a controversy when anti-Islamic advertisements sponsored by American Freedom Defense Initiative appeared on San Francisco MUNI buses. These ads said “Today’s moderate is tomorrow’s headline” and showed two pictures, one of an ‘everyday’ Muslim and one of a militarized terrorist.

“Seeing stuff in the media definitely has an effect on how people look at American Muslims.”

Religious tensions were also visible in Lowell’s neighborhood when anti-Islamic graffiti appeared on a wall and fence near the ‘M’ MUNI stop on 19th Avenue and Eucalyptus Drive. The wall was covered with several hateful messages such as “Islam is evil” and “Muslims hate you.”

Two clubs at Lowell — Peace in the Middle East and Jew Crew — teamed up to paint over this graffiti on Oct. 3, according to Jew Crew sponsor and math teacher David Zeeman. The clubs walked from Lowell to the bus stop where they used green paint to cover it. It took about an hour and a half during which time the club members had to dodge trains, according to Jew Crew president junior Josh Horwitz..

Horwitz believes firmly in religious freedom and was bothered by the graffiti. “I think one of the most important things about America is the fact that everyone deserves their basic rights, which includes the right to free speech, but more importantly, the right to practice religion freely,” he said. “I think when anyone is trying to insult someone for their religion, or belittle them because of it, that’s an issue regardless of what religion they are.”

Zeeman came up with the idea to paint over the graffiti after students alerted him of it. “A number of my students are Muslim and they take that bus, and it hurt my heart to know that they would be sitting at the bus stop with those awful words right there at eye level,” he said.

Zeeman believes that painting over the graffiti helped create a safer environment for practicing Muslims. “I teach some of the most amazing students who are Muslim and I never, ever want them to feel bad about their faith and about who they are — especially at their school or in their school community,” he said. “This should be a safe place where they feel welcome and loved and not like they are in a community that hates them.”

“I think when anyone is trying to insult someone for their religion, or belittle them because of it, that’s an issue regardless of what religion they are.”

Though the clubs represent two groups that are sometimes at odds in the Middle East, they came together to make the community a nicer place. “It was an excellent opportunity to find two clubs with similar ideals to partner on a very socially important event, and I think what I’ve taken out of it is a perfect bond — that we can always have that club to count on,” Horwitz said. “I hope that’s what they took from it as well.”

Shawasheh also took a lot from the experience. “It was a good experience for us to come together and work together,” she said. “I feel that it helped break the barrier between us and we are doing something good for us and the community.”

The two clubs later shared a table at the Fall Festival on Nov. 21, according Shawasheh. In exchange for a spot at the table, Jew Crew agreed to give Peace in the Middle East 25 percent of its profits to donate to Gaza.

Though the graffiti was unfortunate, it brought the two club closer together. “Right now in the world there is a lot of tension between Jews and Muslims and what’s nice is that at Lowell, the two clubs are coming together to fight that kind of hatred,” Zeeman said. “It’s nice that at this school, we are really working towards peace and getting people to understand one another.”