Garret Rohan

Dr. Dev Bose

ENGL101
3-23-16
Ayman Akils American Journey

A common theme in the media today is the false representation of Muslims and the use of
them as a scapegoat to other problems. A specific example would be the hatred and fighting in
Syria that is splashed across our newspapers, and shown on numerous media channels. 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
occasionally share his insight on his religion and Syrian past. These discussions always
captivated me and helped mold 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. Whereas 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 Ayman 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 with his interest in science 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 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 would give 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 me feel
like I 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 where there was not much scientific
research, he lacked self-confidence. He was not self- assured in his abilities and skills and was
intimidated at times and questioned whether he would be able to successfully complete a
doctoral program in the best country on earth for research, America. His confidence built over
time and with much effort not only by him but also by his mentors.
Another challenge he encountered was 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. 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 the bare essentials 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 bombings. After
almost 8 hours he was able to call them as they arrived to the Turkish border. 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 people are still in Syria and
some have sought refuge in other countries.
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 Muhammad 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 creations. To him being

a Muslim is not only about praying and worshiping, but it also is about helping others, caring for
others, standing up for the truth, spreading peace and mercy, 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 so many prejudices exist 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 my 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.

References
"Quick Facts: What You Need to Know about the Syria Crisis." Mercy Corps. N.p., 05
Feb. 2016. Web. 23 Mar. 2016.
"What You Need to Know: Crisis in Syria, Refugees, and the Impact on Children."
World Vision. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Mar. 2016.
"What Is Islam, and What Do Muslims Believe?" GotQuestions.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 23
Mar. 2016.
Thomson, Grahm. "Syrian Refugee Crisis." Edmonton Journal. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Mar.
2016.