The Paly library welcomed local author Sumbul Ali-Karamali to speak to students and staff about modern Islam and her latest book, The Muslim Next Door: the Qur’an, the Media, and that Veil Thing on Friday during lunch in the English Resource Center.

After a brief introduction from Paly librarian Rachel Kellerman, Ali- Karamali began her talk by noting and expressing appreciation for the diversity and cultural awareness of her audience, a sharp contrast to her experiences growing up in Long Beach, Calif.

“Where I grew up, it was pretty homogeneous,” Ali-Karamali said. “It was pretty much white and middle-class.”

Ali-Karamali went on to provide a brief, anecdote-rich account of her life, incorporating student questions into her presentation and working with humor to convey the sense of cultural isolation she felt as a young Indian Muslim living in America.

One of the stories she shared described the complications that once arose from her religious tradition of not eating pork. According to Ali-Karamali, her seventh grade class had been studying China when one of the class parents brought in wontons for the students. The author laughed as she recalled that only until she had begun to eat was she informed that the food contained the forbidden pork.

“So there I was with my mouth full of wonton — pork wonton,” Ali-Karamali said, “and I thought, ‘What am I going to do?'”

Later on in life, as an undergraduate at Stanford University, Ali-Karamali frequently found herself in parallel predicaments. She described the discomfort she felt at bringing her religious customs into the college community.

“I wasn’t allowed to date,” Ali-Karamali said. “I also thought, ‘How am I going to pray? How can I do that inconspicuously?'”

All of these small day-to-day mishaps instilled in her a desire to increase understanding of her faith, according to Ali-Karamali, and after the wave of negative media that followed the 9/11 tragedy, widespread myths about Islam led her to write a book.

“I’m trying to build some multicultural bridges with this book [The Muslim Next Door],” Ali-Karamali said. “A lot of the images we get are media-based. When you see a report or a media piece, think about where it’s coming from.”

Another determining factor in Ali-Karamali’s decision to take on her book-writing project was the lack of relevant, current, and reader-friendly sources on Islam at the time.

“Books on religion are, let’s face it, pretty boring.” Ali-Karamali said. “So I thought, ‘Let’s just write it myself.'”

According to Ali-Karamali, her book addresses modern-day stereotypes and focuses on breaking down the typical characterization of Muslims as middle-Eastern and un-American.

“Islam accepts Judaism and Christianity as part of the same belief,” Ali-Karamali said. “Muslims have pretty much the same world view as everybody else.”

Ali-Karamali followed with a short summary of the historical origins of Islam and its five pillars of faith. She outlined similarities between Islam and other American religions, illustrating her message that while images of Muslims are often one-sided, Muslims like herself are simply typical Americans with unique traditions.

“What do Muslims really look like?” Ali-Karamali asked. “If you saw me walking on the street, would you think I was a Muslim?”

Ali-Karamali left this question up for consideration as she concluded her talk. Afterwards, Kellerman encouraged students to visit the library to find out more about books like The Muslim Next Door.

“This really is a ‘knowledge is power’ idea,” Kellerman said of Ali-Karamali’s presentation.