{"id":11575,"date":"2015-10-22T12:25:19","date_gmt":"2015-10-22T17:25:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/college.unc.edu\/?p=11575"},"modified":"2024-07-02T16:08:15","modified_gmt":"2024-07-02T16:08:15","slug":"layla-quran","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/collegearchive.unc.edu\/?p=11575","title":{"rendered":"Layla Quran \u201915 explores geopolitical and social borders in the Middle East, U.S."},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"Layla<\/a>
Layla Quran<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Borders, both geopolitical and social, have always fascinated Layla Quran \u201915. Originally from the West Bank, Quran herself has crossed many borders in her personal and academic life.<\/p>\n

Quran moved to Greenville, North Carolina, from East Jerusalem with her family when she was four years old. She said that both her personal experience and time at UNC fostered and facilitated her interest in the experiences of dislocated peoples and minorities across the globe.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was brought up to question things. I was brought up to be very accepting of other people, to learn about other people,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Currently pursuing a master\u2019s degree in journalism and Near Eastern studies at New York University, Quran graduated from UNC with a bachelor\u2019s degree in global studies from the College of Arts and Sciences.. While at Carolina, she focused her work on minority populations in the Middle East.<\/p>\n

Quran conducted her first undergraduate research project her freshman year at UNC \u2014 with Duke University\u2019s BorderWork(s) Lab<\/a>. She interviewed Iraqi refugees in order to investigate the effects of the war on borders between Sunni and Shi\u2019ite Muslims. Her interest in physical and psychological borders was inspired by her own experience of encountering obstacles traveling to Jerusalem as a Palestinian.<\/p>\n

That same summer, she visited Palestine for another research project on how Palestinian artists react to and interpret the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Movement. Quran later traveled to Turkey to research the relationship between the state and its Kurdish minority.<\/p>\n

Quran explains that of all of the places she\u2019s visited and lived, she would most like to introduce UNC students to Palestine.<\/p>\n

\u201cPalestine is so different because on Western world maps, it doesn\u2019t even exist \u2014 it\u2019s not even labeled. It\u2019s something that exists in the hearts and minds of the people that are from the country,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Since 1948, the borders of modern Israel in the former British Mandate of Palestine have been under dispute. Approximately half of Palestinians live in historic Palestine, most in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The other half are dispersed across the Middle East and the globe. The ambiguous legal status of Palestinian statehood is reflected in the decisions of map makers \u2014 in some maps Palestine displaces Israel, in others Palestine is comprised of the occupied territories. Often, as Quran notes, Palestine disappears entirely.<\/p>\n

Quran is interested in how minority groups express their identity and interact with the majority. Personal narratives are central to Quran\u2019s work, allowing her to showcase the voices of underrepresented groups.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor other minorities in the U.S., other minorities abroad, it\u2019s really important to own our own narratives and share our own narratives \u2014 to demand the opportunity to do so, especially in the mainstream,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

During her last semester, Quran began organizing her second multimedia exhibition for the Carolina Union \u2014 the continuation of an earlier exhibition that focused on Muslim scholars and students in the Triangle. The same day she began her work, she learned of the tragic death of three Muslim students, UNC\u2019s Deah Barakat and Yusor Abu-Salha, and Razan Abu-Salha, a student at North Carolina State University.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce we found out what happened, we knew that we had to honor Deah, Yusor and Razan in some way,\u201d Quran said.<\/p>\n

The final exhibition included a wall dedicated to the slain students, with quotes and artwork honoring their lives.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was very bittersweet, but it also made me see, made me understand more the power of art and the power of good journalism,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

In addition to her research and multimedia projects, Quran was actively involved with the Campus Y, the Southern Oral History Program at the Center for the Study of the American South and Students for Justice in Palestine during her time at Carolina.<\/p>\n

This past summer, Quran embarked on her latest research project. She visited Jordan on a Davis Project for Peace<\/a> grant to study the country\u2019s diverse migrant worker population and the social and economic issues they face.<\/p>\n

Quran notes that she benefitted from UNC\u2019s status as an academic research university and the funding made available to support her scholarly interests. She also credits the Office of Undergraduate Research and her professors and advisors at UNC for helping her pursue her interests.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo idea is too big,\u201d Quran said. \u201cI think that if you have a simple idea, find your advisor, find someone who really believes in that idea. There are all these people who want to help you go wherever you want to go and study whatever you want to study \u2014 and it\u2019s a matter of understanding those resources.\u201d<\/p>\n

Follow Layla Quran on Twitter at <\/em>@theLaylz<\/em><\/a>. <\/em><\/p>\n

Read work by Layla Quran on<\/em> ISLAMiCommentary:<\/p>\n