Tamara Kirdar spoke to Class I, II & III students on October 27 about the Islam religion, misconceptions surrounding Muslim beliefs, and what it is like living in America as an Arab Muslim.

Kirdar, born in Iraq, began the discussion talking about the events of September 11, 2001 and the shock, anger and shame she felt as an Arab Muslim American. She stated her disgust with the “criminals” who where killing in the name of Islam and using the religion to justify their actions.

Kirdar stated, “I was not going to allow these terrorist to hijack my religion. These (terrorists) are not Muslims.” She argued that the actions of these terrorists directly contradict the teachings of Islam. Specifically, she noted that Islam teaches to fight only in self-defense and preaches against aggression of any kind. She further argued that the religion teaches that if provoked into war, hurting any civilian is against Allah and prisoners of war are to be treated humanely. Islam teaches, “If you kill one person, it is as if you killed a nation.” Kirdar highlighted the terrorists’ use of suicide bombers as a method of fighting for their cause. She asked, “How can suicide bombers be acting in the name of Islam when the greatest sin you can commit, according to Islam, is suicide?”