Evangelene

“I wanted people to see that Muslim women do have professional roles and responsibilities in society. We are not silent and unapproachable. I teach adult students from all different cultural, religious, and ethnic backgrounds. My religion does not isolate me.“

Evangelene is a 33 year old Canadian, she has five older sisters who make her laugh a lot, she is an ESL teacher and she loves doing henna arts in her pastime. Her own favourite quality is her honesty with herself and her constant strive to change damaging behaviour. Her favourite quality in another person is, “I like forgiving people. They are most humble.” When I asked Evangelene how she wishes to be perceived she responded, “I want people to appreciate the good and forgive my mistakes. My religion requires me to follow a certain standard of morality. It makes some people uncomfortable when I don’t want to laugh at a dirty joke or at the misfortune of others. I want people to know that I don’t judge them. I just can’t follow them.”

Q&A Feature:

Where is your favourite place to find yourself?

Coffee shops

What is most important to you?

A good relationship with God is most important. It takes care of everything else.

How do you think you are perceived?

People think that I don’t speak English, come from another country, and am of Arab descent. It doesn’t help that I have learned a lot about Middle Eastern culture and the Arabic language. I also have a lot of Canadian habits and personality traits that make me different from others in the faith community. People usually just need time to get to know me and then they relax.

What is one thing you know for sure?

That the future is not in my control.