By Jason Cunningham

There was a smaller than desired turnout at Torp Theatre for the Muslim Student Association’s “Inspirational Memoirs of a Muslim Poet” lecture.

Still, the first few rows were packed with people from the area’s Muslim community. The presenting poet, Boonaa Mohammed, had no trouble winning over the mostly Muslim audience.

“That’s my disclaimer, there’s nothing outwardly amazing about me,” Mohammed started.

Mohammed started writing poetry in 2006 to combat the stresses he’s felt growing up and living in Toronto, Canada. A child of refugees from Oromia, an oppressed part of Ethiopia, Mohammed balanced two cultures as he grew up.

“My parents grew with an insight of speaking out,” Mohammed said.

Mohammed’s parents left their country fearing the fatal repercussions to their opposition of the government. Mohammed criticizes oppression he sees in society as well, using his background and strong religious convictions as themes to propel his messages.

“Small crowds make me nervous,” Mohammed said with laughter instantly following. Though he claimed to speak to all faiths and all people, the audience heard less about his experiences as a Muslim and more about his religious convictions.

The MSA called the event outreach orientated before the poet took stage, saying that the main goal of the lecture was to eliminate stereotypes and to bridge the gap of cultural misunderstanding Muslims face in the West. Mohammed, however, mostly talked to everyone as if he was leading sermon, not delivering poetry that represented his struggles.

In his poem “How to be a Slave” Mohammed preached complete servitude to Allah.

“Some people worship money, only to see it go away… Some people are like pennies, two faced and almost worthless… Yes everyone will die, but not everyone truly lives…Why be a slave to this world when you can be Al-‘Ubudiyyah,” Mohammed rhymed.

“Al-‘Ubudiyyah” translates into being God’s slave. During the poem’s recital Mohammed jokingly sang a verse from the Britney Spears’ song “I’m A Slave 4 You.” As he did with most of his work, elements of humor popped their way into the entirety of the night.

“I’m black and Muslim, so everywhere I go someone hates me,” Mohammed said before the men in the audience took a break onstage for a group prayer.

Mohammed also preached caution to Muslims, bewaring them not to let people assume that they hate North America. Saying that since the United States and Canada are comprised mostly of immigrants, we all have an equal right to be here and thus can’t hate where we choose to live. Mohammed believes that rather than hatred, love is actually proven for a place through criticism, which will hopefully inspire improvement. Mohammed said that through his poetry he documents the injustice he sees all around.

“I’m like a journalist, you know those guys on Fox News, I’m like one of those idiots,” Mohammed said.

Though the goal of the event was unclear, feeling more like a performance by a completely commercial artist, the MSA still found it to be successful. It may not be Mohammed’s priority, but the MSA were very clear about their ultimate goal to reach out and to help people understand Muslims in this country better.

“This is the biggest event we’ve done in a while. This was our final event for the year, but our future goals are to get a prayer space on campus and to continue to work hard to erase the misconceptions people have about Muslims,” said Ala’a Alsaqri, the president of the Muslim Student Association.

“We want to reach out and show people we are more than what is shown in the media.”