Deepa Kumar's Enlightening Lecture

I thoroughly enjoyed the presentation by Deepa and would have liked it to go on even longer. I found the analogies and stories she provided to the group to be interesting and engaging for the diverse audience that was there. What initially grabbed my attention was Deepa correcting this misconception about the “Muslim Enemy.” She mentioned that of all of the thousands of murders committed in the U.S. last year – I believe the amount committed by Muslims were in the single digits. To expand this- she went on to say that outside of the war in Afghanistan & Iraq, worldwide 15 people were killed by individuals that identify as Muslim. This number is miniscule- especially when you compare this number to the amount of people being killed during this very hot summer we just had in Chicago. At one point throughout the summer, more people were being killed in Chicago than servicemen and women in Iraq & Afghanistan!

                Overall, Deepa really brought compelling evidence that “Muslim extremists” aren’t America’s number one enemy to fear. Rather we should be more concerned about the 45,000 people who die each year in America because of the lack of proper medical care & insurance. This idea of the Muslim enemy is something, as Deepa explained, that has been politically created as propaganda as a means to justify certain political and military actions. Although she wasn’t able to dive into as much detail (due to time constraints) as I would have liked – I know am really interested and excited about learning more in her book. I only hope that we continue to have speakers like this, and perhaps Deepa herself again, at North Central to present on such relevant and important issues in our society.