Forever 21: Remembering Yusor Mohammed Abu-Salha and her voice full of hope

Ibtihaj Muhammad /
Muslim American
Olympic fencer. 

American Muslims make extraordinary contributions to our country every day. One needs only to look at Wednesday's New York Times to learn the story of Ibtihaj Muhammad, a 30-year-old female fencer, who will represent the U.S. at the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro and is believed to be the first American Olympian in any sport to compete while wearing a hijab. She was among a select group of prominent American Muslims invited to a round-table discussion with President Obama last week before his speech at an American mosque in Baltimore. It was the Mr. Obama's first visit as president to an American mosque. 

Meanwhile, it's been a year since three young students, who were American Muslims, were shot to death in Chapel Hill, N.C., in a brutal crime. Despite the barriers broken by Mr. Obama and Ms. Muhammad, by and large, American Muslims across my country remain worried and afraid. Their concerns include Islamophobia, mass incarceration and anti-Muslim rhetoric.

Last year, one of the slain students, Yusor Mohammed Abu-Salha, participated in an NPR StoryCorps oral history project with her third-grade elementary school teacher. The interview resurfaced in the days following Yusor's tragic death and showed a kind and caring individual with a beautiful voice so full of hope. I'm not ashamed to say that listening to the interview brought me to tears then as it does now.

http://storycorps.org/listen/yusor-abu-salha-and-mussarut-jabeen/ 

Read on as I share a repost of my Feb. 24, 2015 "A Tuesday Night Memo" blog post.

Deah Shaddy Barakat (23), Yusor Mohammed Abu-Salha (21), and
Razan Mohammed Abu-Salha (19) /
They were Americans just like you and me.

American Muslims make extraordinary contributions to our country every day and, yet, we are left asking ourselves why three young university students, who were American Muslims, were shot to death in Chapel Hill, N.C., earlier this month.

It has left many American Muslims across my country worried and afraid.

This brutal crime that took the lives of these kind, young and exemplary citizens -- a husband, his newlywed wife and her sister -- came just weeks after other recent anti-Muslim attacks in Europe that were carried out in an apparent response to the January murders (committed by Muslim extremists) of Charlie Hebdo journalists in Paris.

Teacher and student /
Mussarut Jabeen (L) and Yusor Mohammed
Abu-Salha together in happier times.

"Growing up in America has been such a blessing," said one of the slain students, Yusor Mohammed Abu-Salha, during a 2014 NPR StoryCorps oral history project interview that resurfaced days after her death. Accompanied to the StoryCorps booth in Raleigh, N.C. along with her third-grade elementary school teacher, Mussarut Jabeen, Abu-Salha explained: "Although in some ways, I stand out because of the hijab, there's still so many ways that I feel so embedded in the fabric that is our culture. Here, we're all one ... Open, compassionate ... That's the beautiful thing here ... It doesn't matter where you come from. There're so many different people from so many different places of different backgrounds and religions. But here we're all one -- one culture."

Among my many Muslim friends from the North Africa countries of Tunisia, Morocco and Algeria, whom I've become acquainted with over the past several years via Facebook, they are united by their faith and share in mourning the lives of their American Muslim sisters and brother half a world and many time zones away, too. They insist -- and I agree -- that no one should ever be targeted because of who they are, what they look like, or how they worship. 

Yet, I'm left wondering and I'm sure others are thinking: How do you convey a message of tolerance throughout a large country like mine that's comprised of so many different religious faiths and political attitudes, especially when certain cross-sections of the American public -- including certain American media organizations -- are not showing tolerance themselves and, worse, come across as Islamophobic? 

My Muslim friends are human and compassionate -- and they share many of the same hopes and feelings just like you and me. None of them are religious fanatics. However, they are very worried about the escalation of deadly violence shown by Muslim extremists, who seem to have taken their Islamic faith hostage through acts of terrorism across the world.

Through dozens of conversations covering countless hours, thanks to my open-mindedness and being a good listener, many of my Muslim friends have shared in confidence with me things they might not ordinarily be comfortable in sharing with their friends or family. So, I can attest to their honesty, their compassion, their sense of wanting to have a better life than their parents and to pass along a better life to their children. Sound familiar? First and foremost, together, we've worked hard to build a sense of trust and, also, to share the love of our friendship. 

Yusor Mohammed Abu-Salha /
On the occasion of her 2014 graduation
 from her beloved North Carolina State
University in Raleigh, N.C.

I invite each of you to try reaching out to connect with a Muslim or somebody of a different religious faith than your own -- and truly get to know them and to learn about their faith. Take off your blinders and try to establish a dialogue and build trust. You'll feel better for making the effort.

During their StoryCorps interview, Jabeen recalled: "I remember Yusor as a little girl when she was in third grade. She had this sense of giving that really makes her different from other children."

In December 2014, Yusor graduated from North Carolina State University in Raleigh, N.C. 

In closing, Jabeen said: "I would like people to know and remember (Yusor) as a practicing Muslim, as a daughter and, above all, as a good human being. You know, when we write our comments on report cards, we say they exceeded our expectations. She exceeded our expectations."

Now, I hope you will take a few moments of your time to pause and listen to the voice of Yusor Mohammed Abu-Salha from her entire StoryCorps interview: 

http://storycorps.org/listen/yusor-abu-salha-and-mussarut-jabeen/ 

I'm not ashamed to say that listening to Yusor's beautiful and loving voice -- so full of life and hope less than a year ago -- brought me to tears.

Photos: Courtesy of Facebook, StoryCorps.org, Google Images. 

Girl with a Pearl Earring: Who's that girl?

Girl with a Pearl Earring 

If life is best shared through story, as it's been said, then, art is the medium through which we illustrate these stories.

One such story that has been wonderfully illustrated is Vermeer's Girl with a Pearl Earring. This renowned and beloved masterpiece, labeled the Dutch Mona Lisa, is one of the most beautiful and artistically important paintings in the world.

Currently, the de Young Fine Arts Museum in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park is hosting Girl with a Pearl Earring: Dutch Paintings from the Mauritshuis. The show, which opened on January 26 to much fanfare, continues its residency in The City through June 2. It is drawing tremendous crowds and much attention, too.

Last Friday, I visited the exhibition, which is on loan from the Royal Picture Gallery Mauritshuis in The Hague, and came away impressed by the many outstanding paintings from the 17th-century Dutch Golden Age. Both portraits and still lifes, which give Dutch art a visually and intellectually appealing resonance, were well represented among the 35 paintings. Among them were: A Hunting Party near the Hofvijver in The Hague, Seen from the Plaats (ca. 1690) by Gerrit Berckheyde and The Goldfinch (1654) by Carel Fabritius. Other masterstroke artists represented included: Salomon van Ruysdael, Abraham van Beyeren and Rachel Ruysch.

And, of course, the special exhibition wouldn't be complete without giving due props to the most famous Dutch master of them all, Rembrandt. In fact, a separate exhibition gallery featuring 60 etchings by Rembrandt van Rijn, entitled Rembrandt's Century, is also on display and included in the admission price for Girl.

However, the centerpiece of the Dutch Golden Age exhibition remained the iconic Girl with a Pearl Earring. It was the one spectacular painting that garnered everyone's attention, the one everyone wanted to see. And I must say this: The showstopper, which had its very own gallery room, was quite the jewel.

Johannes Vermeer painted the timeless portrait of Girl with a Pearl Earring using oils on canvas, circa 1665. While it's been a popular painting for several centuries, its celebrity and superstar status was enhanced only recently, in both literature and on film. In 1999, Tracy Chevallier's best-selling, historical novel fictionalized the circumstances of the creation of the painting. In turn, the novel inspired a 2003 dramatic movie starring Colin Firth as Vermeer and Scarlett Johansson as the wide-eyed girl, Griet. Hired by Vermeer as an assistant, she sits for him as a painting model while wearing one of his wife's pearl earrings dangling from her left earlobe. The book and the film brought the radiant painting to life and helped introduce it to a wide-reaching audience.

On this particular morning, I took my time in absorbing the atmosphere of the spacious gallery room as I approached Girl with a Pearl Earring. I wanted to take full advantage of this rare opportunity to see the most famous of Vermeer's 36 paintings and, arguably, the second most famous painting in the world.

First, I stood to the right of the hauntingly beautiful, softly-lit masterpiece. Then, I stood in front of it. Finally, I shifted to the painting's left side. I wanted to see this lovely portrait set against a dark, neutral background from a variety of angles. In each instance, there were different aspects of the painting, which was restored in 1994, that I focused upon: the girl's beautiful wide eyes, her parted lips, her blue turban-like headscarf with its yellow veil, her yellowish-brown jacket with the shining white collar, the intimacy of her gaze towards me. And, of course, the focal point: the most famous pearl earring ever painted.

Soon, I left the exhibition and headed out into a lovely, sunlit San Francisco afternoon impressed by Girl with a Pearl Earring. Yet, after seeing this magical face full of much drama and conflict, I couldn't help but think that there were many questions about this masterpiece in search of answers. I pondered some of them while walking across the park on my way to eat lunch.

• What is the girl thinking as she stares at us? 
• Do her eyes and half-smile convey a sense of innocence or are they meant to be seductive? 
• And, centrally, why is the girl wearing a pearl earring?

I'm sure others are asking the same questions as me.

Indeed, who's that girl?

De Lapjesboom ~ Thoughts on urban knitting

Urban knitting / De Lapjesboom at Floriade 2012.

Urban knitting can take on many forms and be seen in many spaces, too. More and more, it's becoming common to spot this kind of knitted graffiti in public places all over the world.

At Floriade 2012, a world horticultural event that is held once every 10 years in the Netherlands, we came upon De Lapjesboom ~ Dutch for The Patchwork Tree ~ while walking the festival grounds during our recent visit in the Dutch city of Venlo. Mind you, this yarn-storming work of fiber art was planned ~ not impromptu. Still, it was a beautiful and artistic sight to behold and it truly added to the enjoyment of our day.

Observing reactions to De Lapjesboom.

De Lapjesboom was not only very colorful to admire. It became very interesting to observe people's reactions, too. 

A sign in Dutch near the tree described De Lapjesboom:

Een statige oude eik omhuld door gebreide lappen, die kleur en vrolijkheid brengen in de harten van de mens. 

Translation: 

A stately old oak tree wrapped in knitted cloth, the color and joy into the hearts of man.

The color and joy into the hearts of man.

According to Wikipedia, these urban yarn installations ~ also known as yarn bombs ~ were recorded as early as May 2004 in Den Helder, Netherlands. Personally, I don't like the term yarn bombs and much prefer yarn storms. Besides trees, yarn storms have shown up on many unimaginable-but-common things such as telephone poles, bicycle racks, fences, door knobs ~ even the omnipresent red phone boxes in the U.K.

Reflect or be reflective /
Hugging De Lapjesboom.

At Floriade 2012, the De Lapjesboom became ontmoetingsplek, a meeting place for everyone to pause and take notice. Whether to reflect or be reflective, the De Lapjesboom became a conversation topic among many who stopped to take photographs or be photographed standing ~ even hugging ~ the tall oak tree.

All photographs by Michael Dickens, copyright 2012. All rights reserved.