Her faith has been vilified and misunderstood - but what's controversial about "Do for your brothers and sisters as you wish to be done for you"?
Elham Malik '23 vividly remembers the kitchen - it was loud and overcrowded. The image is one of her earliest recollections from childhood, so the memories are more like hazy snapshots. Malik's mother was rushing in and out of the kitchen. She carried Malik's brother on her back, and she held Malik's hand firmly in her own. It was Christmas morning. Dozens of Muslim women from their local mosque were preparing an interfaith dinner for the homeless. Malik was still too young to understand the potential for religion to divide people. She only remembers how good it felt helping her mom in the kitchen. In that moment, a person's religion didn't matter. It still doesn't matter.
Malik's parents are both Pakistani Muslim immigrants. They grew up in societies that actively rejected their identities on the premise of misinformation and rampant islamophobia. Those experiences, and there were many, could have hardened them against people of other religions. But their own unshakable faith prevented that from happening.
The Christmas dinner Malik remembers so fondly repeated itself, at different venues and for different people, throughout Malik's childhood. Her parents actively worked with the churches, synagogues, and temples hosting interfaith dinners, community projects, and open dialogue. They believed the loving values of Islam would triumph over hate. Their attitude, and faith, deeply inspired their daughter.
Three years ago, while volunteering over the holidays at a shelter for domestic abuse survivors, Malik learned that necessary supplies become sparse after the Christmas season. Wanting to help, she pitched an idea to her mother - selfcare boxes for women made by women on Valentine's Day. Temple Sinai, Baitun-Nur Mosque, and Saratoga churches signed on. Women of all faith united for an evening of service and conversation. They stuffed over one hundred packages distributed to women all over the Capital Region One year later, they made 200 boxes.
Malik is now president of Siena's Muslim Student Association, which has more than 50 members. Her passion to serve and to love on common ground can be traced back to her earliest memory. It was instilled by her parents, but most importantly - it is core to her most sacred beliefs.
"I was taught continuously to seek out the truth as mandated by the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) 'Do for your brothers and sisters as you wish to be done for you.' Coming to Siena and learning about the Franciscan tradition and how it so closely resembles my own values has allowed me to find comfort and value in interfaith dialogue. When working with the Muslim Student Association, I often find comfort in the words of the late Br. Ed Coughlin, O.F.M., Ph.D, 'We have vision, it is always welcoming, including, respecting and caring for others. We are always making the choice to serve.'"