The Teen Panel: Jenna
The Teen Panel: Jenna Silverstein, 17; Athraa Hannawa, 18; Harminder “Harry” Bhogal, 16; Brandon Grodman, 17; Anam Khan 14; Sydney Glanz, 17; and Christian Ayar, 17. building on success Religiously diverse teens ‘build community’ By Harry Kirbsaum Misconceptions of, and tolerance and acceptance for, religious and cultural beliefs were the key ingredients in a teen forum held for 150 high school students at the Walled Lake Consolidated School District on February 9. The forum was part of Building Community, a joint Jewish/Chaldean initiative organized by Jewish News Publisher Arthur Horwitz and Chaldean News Co-Publisher Martin Manna, and moderated by morning radio personality Mojo of Channel 95.5-FM. Panel members included Fr. Anthony Kathawa of Mother of God; Rabbi Michael Moskowitz of Temple Shir Shalom; Imam Mohammed Almasmari of the Muslim Unity Center, and seven students from Walled Lake-area high schools. Mojo prompted the student panelists to talk about misconceptions. Chaldean student Athraa Hannawa of Walled Lake Central said that the perception that, “You guys all own liquor stores, you’re not going to go to college, you’re just going to get married and pregnant and be a housewife, just like your parents are right now,” is wrong. She said her parents work hard so she can go to college. Brandon Grodman of Walled Lake Northern said he gets tired of people thinking, “you’re Jewish, so you must be filthy rich.” He said that his parents studied hard and worked hard to achieve their level of success, which isn’t filthy rich. Anam Khan of Walled Lake North said she started wearing a hijab at 13, and although she hears Teens who attended the forum said that the forum made them more accepting of other cultures. Photos by Brett Mountain some people talking about faith behind her back, her friends are more accepting, but never ask her about her religion. The crowd also found out that Chaldean, Jewish and Muslim parents would prefer their children to marry within the faith. According to Rabbi Moskowitz, whose temple’s families are about 40 percent intermarried, “The majority of Jewish kids that you know are learning openness and acceptance. Even with that openness, your parents often say, ‘Yeah, marry someone Jewish.’” They also learned that it is easier being gay in a Reform synagogue. Being gay “would be hard, because it goes against the Bible,” said Christian Ayar, a Chaldean from Walled Lake Central. “Especially from the older generation who follows the religion so strictly.” “In our religion it is considered a sin, but that doesn’t change the person,” said Imam Almasmari. “It’s a sin like any other sin.” Rabbi Moskowitz said the traditional Orthodox community would be less accepting, “but within the liberal Jewish community, we’re a very open community. I’ve done commitment ceremonies for two men and two women.” He also mentioned that in 1991 the reform movement began to ordain openly gay and lesbian rabbis. “The reality is that the three of us [clergy] come from a liberal perspective as far as our openness,” said the rabbi. “We all have people within our faiths — Jewish, Catholic and Muslim communities — that are much more extreme and are much less tolerant of people within our own faith and outside of our faith, too.” Imam Almasmari said, “The best place to practice our religion is in America. I was in Yemen for school for 10 years and we don’t have the freedom of religion in an Islamic country in the same way that we have in the United States.” Through a show of hands, an overwhelming majority of the teens attending thought that the forum changed their perceptions of other cultures and made them more accepting, but it wasn’t enough. Some said they thought the forum should have been held in a larger forum, and some agreed that comparative religion/culture classes should be offered in their schools. Mojo also said that next year, African-American students would have seats on the panel. 46 CHALDEAN NEWS MARCH 2012
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