Faces of Midland: Raheef Alturkmani
Faces of Midland is a collaborative storytelling project celebrating the vibrant lives of those who live, work, and thrive in Midland.
Challenging Bias and Inspiring Change
Raheef Alturkmani’s Vision for Belonging
By Trisha Fenby
Photo by Renee’ Deckrow, Captured Studio
After reviving the Middle East and North African (MENA) Employee Resource Group (ERG) at Dow, Raheef Alturkmani saw the impact of his work. One of his colleagues, who is of MENA descent, tried to hide her heritage because she feared a negative reaction. Upon joining MENA, she heard Raheef share his story, and it gave her hope and courage to talk about her own country of origin and experiences as a Lebanese American. His participation in the ERGs not only built his own knowledge about inclusion, but inspired others to do the same. The recognition, acknowledgement, and conversations he experienced through these ERGs empowered Raheef. “I wanted to be part of this movement. I wanted to help make Midland, the U.S. and even the world more inclusive,” Raheef shared.
Born and raised in Syria, under decades of former dictatorship, Raheef had little exposure to diversity. Conversations about ethnicities, socio-economic status, gender, disabilities, or religions were unfamiliar. His move to the United States, in 2011, marked the beginning of his journey into inclusion, identity, and community.
He carries this passion for inclusion into his community through participating in several committees such as the Midland Business Alliance’s RAD Talent initiative. Raheef, and members of local businesses work to make Midland “home” for everyone and anyone.
During “We All Belong” nights at local elementary schools, Raheef and his family share their cultural experience. One of the fun things that Raheef enjoys about this event is showing the students and their parents the Arabic language. Their faces lit up when they watched him write their names in Arabic, which reads from right to left. It opened the conversation about how “different” doesn’t mean right or wrong.
Faith is another part of Raheef’s diversity. As a member of the Islamic Center of Midland, he explains that Islam is both a religion and a belief system. Misconceptions about Muslims often stem from media portrayals. When Raheef tells others he is Muslim, some assume he holds oppressive views toward women. In reality, he was raised in a family that deeply respects and uplifts women. His mother was an inspiration for him and his siblings to get a distinguished education and move to the United States. Raheef was raised to treat his mother with the utmost respect. He also carries that over into how he raises his children. “I treat my wife and daughter with respect, love, and appreciation.” Raheef would like people to ask more questions, this gives others the opportunity to get correct information.
Raheef shares “There are about 2 billion Muslims worldwide, that is roughly a quarter of the global population. Most, in fact, are much like me, with a desire to be happy. They want to be productive members of the community. They want to be good to their families’ communities, and friends.”
Raheef and his wife Nour live in Midland and have two children; Omar is seven and Maria is five. He appreciates that our community affords him the opportunity to put his family first. He is close enough to be home at the end of the workday to spend with family. There aren’t congested highways or long commutes or long waiting lines.
Raheef values integrity. He recalls the Dow values and adds honesty, respect, and love for family. He strives to help make Midland to be more inclusive for his kids, so they can grow up proud of their Syrian identity, American identity, and Muslim identity. He believes his kids can benefit from the best of these three value systems, to be proud of their heritage, be proud of their background, and share that openly and freely without fear of rejection. Just as his story gave a colleague the courage to tell her truth, he hopes his children will grow up empowered to embrace and share every part of who they are.