Senior Iqra Zaman’s Pakistani heritage and Muslim faith and traditions mean the world to her and her family.

Her traditions bring her family together several times a year to celebrate. Twice a year, they celebrate Eid and each year they observe the month of Ramadan.

“My family fasts from sunrise to sunset, and when we break fast we all have a big meal together,” said Zaman. “We have the best food at this time, including special desserts and special dishes. My favorite is samosas, which is a triangle pastry filled with potatoes, peas, and a bunch of seasonings.”

Zaman’s parents emigrated from Pakistan to the United States, so she is a first-generation American in her family. Her Pakistani culture means a lot to her.

“It’s important to me to celebrate our traditions because it’s my family and my culture,” said Zaman. “It’s especially important to me because my parents and grandparents immigrated here when my mom was in high school, so it wasn’t that long ago. It’s important to know where they came from and not forget.

Along with her culture comes the knowledge of several languages.

“I speak Urdu, Hindi, and Punjabi,” she said. “I can also read and write in Arabic, but I can’t really have conversations with people who speak Arabic. At home, we mostly speak Urdu. I speak Urdu and English when speaking to my mom, and Hindi and Punjabi with my dad. I can speak to my grandparents in any of those languages.”

Her fluency in these languages has even come in handy at her jobs. One time, she was offered a job on the spot.

“I have been able to use Hindi at my job at Chick-Fil-A and Whataburger to help translate, and I was offered a translating job when I was 14 before he realized how young I was,” said Zaman.

Her Muslim faith is very important to her, and she says Pakistan is a deeply religious country.

“In Islam, we are all brothers and sisters,” she said. “We are all like one big family. It’s all about being united.”

With the conflict occurring right now between Israel and Palestine, her heart is with her Palestinian loved ones.

“I have many Palestinian friends,” said Zaman. “Palestine is composed primarily of Muslims, so I see them as my brothers and sisters. There are important Islamic landmarks there, like Al-Asqa and the Dome of the Rock, which are two holy mosques. ‘From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free’ is a quote that represents my thinking about this situation.”