The university may draw them here but Middle Eastern students are forging connections - and creating a special community - throughout Madison
By Jennifer Page, for Madison Magazine
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The growing crowd gathers in the sparse room devoid of any decoration save for two plaques on the wall quoting the Koran. Mimicking the neat lines of shoes by the door, nearly 150 Muslims are drawn together for the Jumma, or Friday prayer. As the second of five daily prayers starts, Sarrah AbuLughod, head wrapped in a bright blue scarf to hide her hair, joins in the rising drone of the crowd giving thanks to Allah.
It’s a scene AbuLughod, a recent UW–Madison graduate and former vice president of the Muslim Student Association, has been a part of her entire life and as long as she’s lived in Madison. But the Islamic faith is but one component of Madison’s growing and active Middle Eastern community. Just like the geographical region of the Middle East, the community has distinct parts, coming from both Persian and Arab backgrounds with no one country overly represented in the city.
The progressive attitude of the city, along with the presence of the University of Wisconsin, may be one of the reasons people of Middle Eastern decent are choosing to settle in Madison. The region’s cultural landscape, originally known for its hardy German and Scandinavian pioneers, is evolving into a melting pot of Middle Eastern cultures and customs that can be seen through myriad restaurants and stores throughout the city. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by International Studies
