Garret Rohan

Dr. Dev Bose

ENGL
DRAFT

A common theme in the media today is a false representation of Muslims and the use of
them as a scape goat to other problems. Additionally the hatred and fighting in Syria is splashed
across our newspapers. I have had the pleasure of meeting someone who is a Syrian born
Muslim in America whose success, kindness, and social engagement refute these negative
misconceptions. Dr. Ayman Akil is an Assistant Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences at Mercer
University, College of Pharmacy in Atlanta, Georgia. I first met Dr. Akil when he was a graduate
student at the University of Pittsburgh. He spent several holidays with my family and through
these interactions he would briefly share insight on his Muslim religion and Syrian past. These
discussions always captivated me and helped develop my personal feelings and views on
Muslims. Recalling these discussions led me to question what it might be like to migrate to the
US from Syria, what opportunities exist here for Muslims and given the prejudice that seems
rampant in our society today, what it is like for those who have chosen to build their lives here.
Dr. Akil was born in Aleppo, Syria. Aleppo is the largest city in Syria located in the north
close to the Turkish border. Similar to other Arab families he grew up in a large family of eleven
aunts and uncles and many cousins. Being of Italian heritage I can relate to the benefits of
growing up surrounded by family. Different from me as I only have one sibling, Ayman was one
of six children. He has three sisters and two brothers and is the oldest son. Except for his

youngest brother who is in high school, all of his siblings went to college. His oldest sister has a
degree in education and his younger two sisters have degrees in Pharmacy and Communication
engineering. His younger brother is about to finish his college degree in Information Technology.
Clearly the success of Ayman and his siblings shows this familys important contribution to
society.
Aymans parents did not come from a well-off family. His father was a physician and had
to work hard to provide for his family. His father worked many hours and his mother stayed at
home handling the day to day concerns and needs of him and his siblings. While this may sound
like a typical American scenario of growing up, Dr. Akil grew up in a country ruled by a dictator.
He grew up in a society where many things were prohibited and there were many red lines when
it came to political or government engagement. He shared with me that when growing up in
Syria he felt constrained but like all Syrians, learned how to cope with the situation and go on
with his life.
Ayman spent his middle school years in Saudi Arabia where his father worked for some
time. While he was there he learned about being away from home. He returned to Syria for
high school and his interest in science was sparked by watching his father as a physician and
medical school professor solve medical mysteries and answer scientific questions related to
cancer. He became involved in his fathers work and during summer breaks in high school he
would go to his fathers clinic where he would discuss cases with his father and look at tissue
specimens under the microscope. He told me about how he remembers the first book his father
gave him to read about cancer. The book was in English and he was barely able to read it but his
motivation for learning science helped him knock down this barrier. After high school Ayman

went to pharmacy school and realized he had an interest in drug discovery and development.
This made him pursue a PhD in Pharmaceutical Science.
Ayman decided to travel to America to pursue his dreams. To him, America was the land
that gave him the opportunity for a better life. He made this decision with mixed feelings. He
was excited to pursue his dreams in America but scared because it was far from home with many
unknowns. Before he came to America, he tried to educate himself as much as possible on what
life in America would be like. Despite his efforts, when he arrived in the United States he felt
amazed, excited and hopeful on one hand but anxious and overwhelmed on the other. He
attributes his ability to adjust culturally to the helpful people he met when he arrived. He also
stated that, America is a mixture of people from every corner of the planet which made him feel
like he belonged without difficulty.
Although culturally Ayman felt like he fit in, he did experience some difficulty coming
from Syria. Specifically coming from a small country like Syria where there was not much
scientific research occurring he felt he lacked self-confidence. He was not confident in his
abilities and skills and was intimidated at times questioning whether he would be able to
successfully complete a doctoral program in the best country on earth for research, America.
Building of confidence happened over time and with much effort not only by him but also his
mentors.
Another challenge which he encountered was that during his doctoral training in America
the violence in Syria intensified and spread to his hometown, Aleppo. He started to get worried
about the safety of his family. His father was reluctant to leave Syria but his siblings wanted to.
He kept trying to convince his parents to flee the country and one day he succeeded when they
realized how dangerous living in Aleppo had become and decided to leave. Given its proximity,

his family decided to take refuge in Turkey. Ayman tried to assist his family in fleeing Syria in
any way he could. His family had to pack only the important stuff and with the help of a person
who they paid serving as a navigator car they made their way to the Turkish border. On the day
that his family left, because of the war, the two hour trip to the Turkish border became an eight to
ten hour drive. It was a gut wrenching day for Ayman as he had no way to communicate with his
family before they entered Turkey and he knew the trip would be extremely dangerous. They had
to drive into small towns and away from major roads to avoid hot battle fronts or aerial bombing.
After almost 8 hours he was able to call them as they arrived to the Turkish borders. More than
4.7 million Syrians have taken refuge in neighboring countries due to Syrias civil war. The
Syrian crisis has been going on since March of 2011 when the first anti-government
demonstrations began. This is one of the largest humanitarian crises in our history with more
than half of the pre-war population (23 million) needing assistance. Some of these are still in
Syria and some have sought refuge in other countries. (reference www)
When I asked Dr. Akil what it meant to him to be Syrian he replied that he did not like
to associate himself with geographical boundaries but rather with human qualities. Throughout
history, the people of Syria have faced many challenges. Throughout these challenges they have
shown resilience, courage and hope for a better future. So to Ayman being Syrian is more about
being resilient and remaining hopeful in the face of hardship. This is an admirable attribute for
any individual.
Another admirable quality of Dr. Akils is his passion for his religion. When asked what
it meant to him to be Muslim he stated that Islam is not a religion only, it is a way of life. The
holy book, the Quran, and the teaching of the prophet Muhammed cover everything about all
aspects of Muslim life. To Dr. Akil, being a Muslim is about being a force for good in this

world. As a Muslim it is his belief that he is responsible for all of Gods creation. To him being
a Muslim is not only about praying and worshiping, but is also about helping others, caring for
others, standing up for the truth, spreading peace and mercy and seeking the betterment of self
and all of humanity. Ayman believes that the core of being a Muslim is to have the best morals
as a human being.
This beautiful description of the Muslim religion provided by Dr. Akil contradicts some
Americans extreme and uneducated stance on Muslims. Ayman shared that he is angered by the
idea of stereotyping but he also blames Muslims here in the US. He feels that Muslims need to
reach out and get to know people which would give people the opportunity to experience who
Muslims really are. Generally misinformed people are those who fall into the trap of
stereotyping. As an advocate Dr. Akil presents talks within his community encouraging US
Muslims to reach out and express their views on issues that concern all the people of America.
He believes that if people listen to their ideas and opinions about things like the economy,
education, human rights, and terrorism they will realize that the aspirations and hopes of
Muslims are the same as everyone elses. Establishment of this sameness is the first step toward
eliminating stereotyping.
However as we know there does exist prejudices in this country regarding Muslims.
Even facing this negative attitude toward Muslims Dr. Akils motivation, intelligence and
religion have helped him achieve his dream in America. He is very passionate about his job as a
college professor and researcher. He has a passion for teaching and enjoys interacting with
students, and being able to advance their knowledge to help them achieve their goals. Through
his research program he is able to pursue his scientific ideas and his work is advancing medical

science. His work is contributing to the discovery of therapies for diseases that are not curable at
the moment.
Dr. Akil is married and has two children. His wife was born in the US to Syrian parents
so he was able to obtain a green card and finally US citizenship. He felt that the paper work was
extensive but fairly straight forward. In his opinion the naturalization process was much more
interesting than the green card process. To him the process was very humbling and empowering
at the same time. When asked about his experience he stated that, the pledge of allegiance,
receiving his first flag, and witnessing history for many people in the room unfold was fantastic.
However as a new US citizen one of the most exciting things to him was when he was able to
register to vote. This was extremely important to him as he had never voted in any election in
his entire life. He is particularly engaged in the upcoming presidential election.
To me this topic brought a very interesting thought to light, what was it like to be a
Muslim-American from Syria who now has the opportunity to vote in an election where one of
the candidates, Donald Trump, is vocally anti-Muslim? When presented this question Dr. Akil
stated that his concern was how Mr. Trump was running his campaign and his use of peoples
anger and fears to his advantage in a dangerous way. He felt that Trumps rhetoric has caused
damage in society and in the fabric of America. Specifically he feels that Mr. Trumps rhetoric
tears into the values of liberty and justice for all by singling out groups and basically demonizing
anyone who disagrees with him. I myself am curious to see the end result of Trumps campaign.
In Americas current society Muslims are often a target of hatred and fear. Through my
interviews with Dr. Akil he provided great insight as to what it was like to be a part of this
minority in America that is unreasonably targeted. After my interview I feel as if I learned more

than I expected and in the end have developed great respect for the challenges and adversities
which Dr. Akil faced and overcame to achieve his goals in America.

Works cited
https://www.mercycorps.org/articles/iraq-jordan-lebanon-syria-turkey/quick-facts-whatyou-need-know-about-syria-crisis