Being a Muslim woman in Greeley is generally not a big deal, except for a few trips to Walmart, said Qumaima and Raghma El last week.
“Sometimes we get a lot of dirty looks,” Qumaima said. “One woman told us to ‘Go home, you terrorist.’ I wanted to tell her we are home.”
Qumaima and Raghma were born and raised in Greeley after their father left Libya more than 30 years ago.
But the sisters are still answering questions about how they dress — which includes a hair covering and a long, flowing robe — in their hometown.
Which is why both were part of a panel discussion last week on what it is like to be a female Muslim college student.
The presentation was sponsored by the Aims Human2Human Project, the Aims Center for Professional Development, the Aims Diversity Council and the Associated Students of Aims Community College.
The two sisters are heavily involved in the student government after having been at Aims for barely two semesters. Both said they like the Aims campus because it is diverse.
“I love it here. The people are so fantastic,” Qumaima said.
But when she was younger, Qumaima said, she heard taunts from strangers, and it made her angry.
“But why spend time fighting someone when you can spend more valuable time talking to someone?” she said.
Such as one of those times at Walmart, when a woman stomped up to the sisters and blamed them for her son having to serve in the military in the Middle East.
“She was very angry, but we began talking to her and I told her, ‘I’m also sorry your son has to fight, but let me explain to you who we are,’ ” Qumaima said. “Finally, I think we parted ways with a better understanding of who we both were.”