By JASMIN PERSCH Special to the Daily Press
In 1990, Omar Haroon’s Muslim Club at Santa Monica High School received hate mail and death threats. His mother, Nasreen Haroon, although scared for her son’s welfare, encouraged him to keep the club going.
When she was asked to speak at one of the club’s meetings, she agreed to do it. Soon after that, a teacher at the high school asked her to give a lecture on Islam to his class. Before long, 53-year-old Haroon had slipped into the role of a Muslim ambassador, speaking at schools, churches, synagogues and city conventions across LA County.
In 1992, she became the Islam representative on the Santa Monica Bay Interfaith Council, which is comprised of members from multiple religions who work together to produce interfaith and social service events. Her role on the council took on new meaning after two planes slammed into the World Trade Center four years ago.
“There was a lot of anti-Muslim sentiment, and people were scared about my safety,” Haroon says. After Sept. 11, 2001, Haroon spoke on Islamic issues almost every day to audiences in Southern California.
Haroon grew up in the large Pakistani city of Karachi. She attended an English-speaking all-girls private Catholic school from first grade through college. In college, she triple-majored in psychology, philosophy and history.
At age 19, she agreed to allow her parents arrange her marriage. And although her parents were open-minded, her inlaws were traditional and discouraged her from pursuing a career.
“I wanted to do a lot of things, but I thought I wouldn’t be allowed to,” Haroon said.
One passion she never gave up, however, was painting, a hobby she picked up as a young teen. She continued painting throughout her travels in Europe and Southern California. Over the years, she has received local and national recognition for her work. Last year, she was invited to the White House by Laura Bush as part of the Art in Embassies program, which is sponsored by the U.S. State Department. Through the program, some of her paintings — impressionistic Santa Monica landscapes and Islamic art that includes secular architecture common in Islamic countries — are displayed at various U.S. embassies around the world.
The Daily Press recently spoke to Haroon about Islam and Santa Monica over biscuits and English tea.
Who was your toughest audience during your talks on Islam?
“I spoke at a lot of schools, and it was at Franklin School of all places. I spoke there soon after Sept. 11. The thing was they made up their minds before that I was the enemy.
“A parent had asked me to come. It was very hard. There was one Muslim kid in the class that was being discriminated against. The parent who called me wasn’t Muslim, though. The students were asking questions in a hostile manner. It was like I was the enemy, like I personally bombed the World Trade Center.
“This was the only one time I felt I did-n’t make a difference. I was really shaken up and sad. I learned from that, though. Initially (during my talks), I would give a basic thing about the religion and then have them ask me questions. With this, they wanted to ask me questions right away. Once they know what the religion is about, they know it doesn’t fit with those (violent) actions. After that, no matter where I went, I would give the background first.”
What are the greatest misconceptions about Islam?
“The women thing. Actually, Islam is liberal about women. Some people think women are oppressed, that covering their heads is a sign of oppression. The Koran doesn’t say women have to cover their heads. If they want to cover their heads, it is their choice. As long as you are kind and good to people.
“It’s a matter of culture versus religion. Women who cover their heads have it in their culture. In Pakistan, women never covered their heads unless in formal prayer. It was a bigger deal to show their legs, so women always had their legs covered. You aren’t really required to do it. In the U.S., I realized the difference between culture and religion. In Iran, women cover their heads and not their legs. I was so confused when an Iranian lady in America didn’t have her legs covered but had her head covered. People in the religion also get confused.”
What should everybody know about Islam?
“It’s important to know it’s a religion of moderation and balance. It respects all religions. It mentions three times in the Koran that anybody who believes in God has nothing to fear. We know there are many ways to heaven. The important thing is we aren’t supposed to judge anybody. Only God is the one to make judgments.
“In Sunni Islam, there are no clergy. And the majority of Muslims in the world are Sunnis. There’s a direct connection between you and God. It’s your own. We’re not supposed to have a religion police or anything like that. Traditional Islam is more liberal than modern.
“A passage in the Koran says, ‘I worship not what the people who do not believe, I worship not what you worship, you worship not what I worship.’ To you your way, to me mine. To live and let live.
“If (Muslims) better humanity, it is better for them spiritually. It’s supposed to be a duty of the Muslim to educate themselves. By inventing and so forth, you are benefiting spiritually.
“The main difference to Christianity is that human beings are made in the image of God. We believe that God is very different from us that we cannot imagine what God is. The closest way to imagine him is light. We remember Jesus as a prophet. We also believe his mother was a virgin. But, that he was mortal, not the son of God.”
What do you like about Santa Monica? “What’s not to like? The climate, the people, the palm trees, the beach. It’s close enough to the main city. It’s close to Beverly Hills. I feel like I am the luckiest person in the world to be able to live here. It’s paradise on earth.”
Do you dislike anything about Santa Monica?
“No. I don’t think so, let me think. Although the traffic bothers me in LA. I like to stay within Santa Monica.”
Where do you hang out? “The Promenade is really fun. The beach is wonderful. Even right here, walking on Montana Avenue. I have the best of both worlds. You have the city world and suburbia. You can’t ask for anything better.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on December 12, 2005. Read the original PDF.