Chelsey LeMelle is a twenty one year old, African American, Islamic student at Missouri
State University. She is passionate about her education, as well as her religion. She is pursuing a major in psychology and hopes to eventually become a high school guidance counselor.
Throughout the interview, Chelsey emphasized the importance of using her experience and her religion to put her in a better place to understand the children she will eventually help.
Growing up Muslim was something Chelsey embraced wholeheartedly. Her family was originally of a Christian background until her mother converted to Islam when Chelsey was five.
During the interview Chelsey said she did not remember much of Christian worship except that every Sunday her mother would wear one of her “church hats” and they would go to the service.
Although he and his wife are divorced, Chelsey’s father remains a part of her life and has been completely accepting of her religious affiliation.
As stated previously, Chelsey took to Islam at a young age. When she was nine, she chose to fully accept Islam and began wearing her hijab. She laughed fondly when she retold the tale of her discussion with her mother about wanting to wear the hijab earlier than usual. Her determination paid off and she was fully prepared for the trials that would follow. At that time, she was the only Muslim wearing a hijab at her school but she did not let it bother her and continues to faithfully wear her hijab to this day.
When asked what the hijab meant to her, she emphasized the importance of modesty; modesty of the body and modesty of the mind. She also thought it was freeing in a way because people would have to get to know the person beneath the hijab rather than base everything on looks. A distinction was also made between what was actually written in the Qu’ran and what some cultural traditions stated about covering up and women in Islam.
Missouri State University Fall 2012 Religious Lives of Ozarks Women

2
Chelsey remained adamant about the difference between Islam and culture in the Middle
East throughout the entire interview. She claimed the media did not shine any inspiring light onto the situation either. A woman who had to walk so many yards behind a man was not a rule written in the Qu’ran. This was one misconception about Islam that she wanted people to understand.
Chelsey also made sure to distinguish which branch of Islam she was associated with, the
Sunni branch. This branch reads and follows the Qu’ran, but not the other texts such as the hadiths. After making this distinction, she was also unafraid to say there were times when she read the Qu’ran and was unsure how it should be interpreted. Rather than take everything at face value, Chelsey is not afraid to ask questions or dispute over the interpretations of others. One example of this is how the Qu’ran addresses homosexuality. Chelsey stated that she understood homosexuality was wrong in the Islamic faith, but she was unsure of how the Qu’ran addressed being friends with them and hanging out with them.
Two important figures in Chelsey’s life are her mother and her brother. She often goes to her brother for advice and guidance. When she feels herself tempted to stray or just has no motivation to do a prayer, her brother coaches her and shares some of his own enthusiasm with her. Although her mother is strict in some aspects, she is also relatively liberal in other aspects and that has had a huge influence on Chelsey. When Chelsey is struggling about what to do about a particular experience, her mother explains that she is of an age where Chelsey will not learn or understand unless she experiences new things for herself. They both agree that whatever
Chelsey learns from these experiences will help in her chosen future career.
When asked about the significance of her role as a woman in Islam, Chelsey laughed and said for her, there was not much at this time. She went on to clarify this by saying because she
Missouri State University Fall 2012 Religious Lives of Ozarks Women

3 was not completely engulfed in Islam at the moment; she had not experienced much that had to do with her being a woman. However, as stated previously, some aspects of Islam are portrayed wrongly by the media and those portrayals make Islamic women seem weak and pitiable. The trick is to distinguish between culture and Islam.
Chelsey admitted that she was lucky because she was born and raised in America where many of those cultural customs do not affect her. Her family in particular is also closer than some Muslim families and this closeness had led to more freedom of choice for Chelsey. In the case of some Muslim families, a woman does not have any say in who she marries, but Chelsey is an active participant in her potential husband candidates.
Chelsey has fully embraced Islam from a young age. She understands the important role it plays in her life and strives to stay on the right path. Her future plans are also built around her
Islamic faith and she continues her education in the hopes of joining her ideal career. With her mother and her older brother as confidants and motivators, Chelsey continues to face the world head on by taking it one day at a time.
Missouri State University Fall 2012 Religious Lives of Ozarks Women