Eyes pierce the back of her head as she glares down at the floor. The TSA officers pull the entire family away for special screening. One man mutters racial slurs while another woman looks horrifyingly at: THE SCARF.

There are many students at Palatine High School who face this type of racial profiling. Including Rawan Bassiouni, a PHS student. Bassiouni has practiced Islam her whole life, however, tensions in the Middle East have recently began to rise. This tension has increased Islamophobia, or dislike of or prejudice against Islam or Muslims, in western culture.

Islam is a monotheistic religion that believes in the same God as Christianity and Judaism. The main difference between Islam and Christianity is that Muslims believe Jesus was a prophet of God, while Christians believe Jesus was the son of God. One aspect of Islam is modesty.

“I chose to wear hijab because it is a symbol of modesty,” Bassiouni said. “When you wear a hijab you’re letting the whole world know you’re Muslim.”

Many people are uniformed and have the belief set that wearing a hijab is not a choice, when in reality it is. It is a profession of faith, which can be daunting when living in a culture that fears your religion.

“At airports I have to go through a more extensive screening,” Bassiouni said. “They think I’m more of a risk, because of my religion.”

Islamophobia can take place anywhere, including in schools.

“PHS is a really great place to be Muslim,” Bassiouni said. “Our student body is very accepting.”

Although Palatine is a fairly accepting school, there is still ignorance that exist when it comes to Islam.

“A lot of people are uneducated,” Bassiouni said. “They say things without trying to be Islamophobic.”

Misinformation can occur, such as in instances where “Allahu Akbar” is used in correlation with explosive devices. This belief has been provoked by western media and is thoroughly fallacious.

“It directly translates to ‘God is greater,'” Bassiouni said. “It’s a word that doesn’t have any harm to it, but because people are scared of that word, you can’t use it.”

Although Islamophobia is a valid and a prominent issue, there are many ways in which to combat it. These include: reporting anything that is deemed prejudice, voting for officials who are anti-Islamophobia and educating fellow students and adults.