The Muslim on the airplane | Amal Kassir | TEDxMileHighWomen

Summary

Amal Kassir argues that the way people are named—and who gets to name whom—shapes whether others see Muslims and other marginalized groups as full human beings or as threats.

She begins with a personal travel anecdote: carrying mints to break the awkwardness of an early flight, she makes it easier to start a conversation by allowing the question, “what’s your name?” She contrasts her own many identities—Syrian-American, hijabi activist, poet, student, writer/teacher—with how Muslims are commonly reduced to stereotypes (e.g., “terrorist,” “ISIS,” “jihadi,” etc.) by strangers, media, and the fears of others.

Kassir develops a central theme: stories should be self-determined by the people living them—not assigned by anchormen, megaphones, or assumptions based on clothing, skin color, or religion. She criticizes how mass media and misinformation promote “broad brush” labeling, such as equating hijabs with “raghead” or terrorism with a particular appearance. This framing can also turn circumstance into supposed choice—for example, calling refugees “migrants” after deportations to make removals seem more reasonable.

Examples from public discourse

Using examples from recent public conversation, Kassir argues that misnaming distorts reality and hides individual differences. She cites:

• Shifts in terminology around asylum and deportation
  • Refugees are reframed as “migrants.”
• Terrorism coverage that relies on appearance
  • Reporting often implies the attacker “must have pledged allegiance” based on what they looked like.
  • The label “terrorism” can be molded to match preferred narratives.
• Danger/deficit labels that replace human detail
  • Labels like “thug,” “alien,” and “lazy” substitute for specific lives and circumstances.
  • She illustrates this with references to Trayvon Martin, “alien”/immigration, Ahmed Mohamed, and other cases.
• A case where victims are reduced to a category rather than individuals
  • Craig Hicks killing three Muslim Americans: the victims’ lives are reduced to the label “hate crime,” rather than recognized through personal identities (names, relationships, roles in their community).
• Research on breaking-news behavior
  • Early incorrect stories tend to “stick,” such as rumors from the Paris attacks claiming refugees were dangerous based on passport claims that later proved false.

Personal grounding

Kassir then ties the argument to her own experience after 9/11, including bomb threats at her Islamic school and being treated as “suspects.” Later, she describes an encounter with an elderly white man who, although he never asked her name directly, expressed solidarity—something she suggests became possible because of her visible identity.

She describes a “courageously curious” process: when people cross the fear threshold to ask uncomfortable questions—about her headscarf, whether Muslims are violent, what ISIS has to do with Islam—she experiences humanization and a more accurate understanding.

Conclusion

Kassir concludes that “What’s your name?” is a short but meaningful distance to cross: it opens dialogue instead of assigning threat. Her “elephant offers mints” metaphor becomes a call for two-sided courage—one person invites connection, the other accepts and learns—because otherwise fear lets institutions or violence “do all the talking.”

Presenters or contributors

• Amal Kassir (speaker)
• Rhonda Jacobs (translator)
• Peter van de Ven (reviewer)