Effingham Daily News

A visiting Muslim from Afghanistan received an unwelcome greeting as an agitated teenager rushed on to stage, interrupted his speech and called him a terrorist.

Just as Yusuf Taraki was beginning to talk about his country, the teen began his verbal assault.

“That guy shouldn’t even be here. He’s probably a terrorist! He hates us and I hate him! Muslims killed Americans on 9/11. He’s a Muslim! We should kill him!” the boy shouted as another student wrestled him to behind the curtains and an Effingham Sheriff’s deputy rushed to the scene.

This was just one scene from the MWAH! (Messages Which Are Hopeful) Performing Arts Troupe who performed at St. Anthony High School Monday as a part of Catholic Schools Week.

Solaiman Rashid, who played Taraki, is not from Afghanistan. He is a Muslim who lives in Illinois.

“I personally believe strongly that hatred and bigotry has no place here at St. Anthony High School, in our state of Illinois or anywhere in our country in 2009. Any hatred because of race or religion or sexual orientation or for other differences must no longer be tolerated by anyone,” said Michael Todd, another performer.

The MWAH! performers used theater clips, contemporary music and dance performances to get their message of hope and tolerance across to the audiences of the St. Anthony Grade School and High School, Sigel St. Michael School and Sacred Heart School.

“Most kids in Effingham County have never seen anything like this before,” said Sandy Meinhart, a counselor at St. Anthony Grade School who said the Student Council booked the group precisely for that reason.

The students found the 90-minute presentation to be quite unusual. The event often had the feel of a rock concert, with students making catcalls, singers running around the audience and even teachers shaking their booties during songs.

Several of the high school students got a taste of the performance Monday afternoon. The school chose four “heroes” to be honored during the presentation: librarian Marianne Buenerkemper (Mrs. B), the Rev. Daren Zehnle and seniors Heather Esker and Craig Brummer.

The singers sang “Hero” and danced with the school’s chosen heroes, much to the heroes’ surprise and embarrassment.

“It was a big surprise and it caught me off-guard. It was a little awkward, but not too bad,” Esker said.

Effingham County Sheriff’s Department school resource officer Eric Higgs spoke to the students about the dangers of drunk driving.

He said Effingham has been lucky not to have lost a teen in an alcohol-related crash in recent years.

“You know people who go out and drink every weekend and they make it home every weekend, but the numbers will catch up with you,” he said.

Higgs warned students it’s better for them to be caught by the police than to risk getting hurt by driving drunk or riding with someone who has been drinking.

“If I catch you, you guys are going to have to pay the consequences, but those are easy compared to what they could be,” Higgs said.

The performance ended with a dance-off between the boy and girl performers. The unexpected winner, however, was declared to be Alex Brown, a student who decided to show off his moves on stage and was enthusiastically cheered on by his classmates.

“I was in P.E. and I saw them dancing. I was thinking it’d be pretty fun if I danced with them. Mrs. B shoved me up there on stage. It was kind of fun. I’m glad I did it,” Brown said.

The MWAH! performers are a group of students ages 9 to 18 from the Chicago area who travel around the state several times a month to deliver these performances. The performers find their ages help them relate to other students.

“Because we’re all teens, it’s not another boring presentation from adults,” said Christian Rodriguez, 17, of Plainfield. “I think it’s a great thing to do. All of us follow what we preach. It’s a great thing to be a part of.”

Angie Faller can be reached at 217-347-7151 ext. 131 or angie.faller@effinghamdailynews.com.

On the Net: http://www.mwah.net/

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