Muslim students offer information
on Islam
By Kelsey VanArsdall
Staff
Writer
He stepped up to podium, and with passion, he began
to read from the Koran, the Muslim holy book.
Like most Muslims, Fazrul Ismail, president of
the Muslim Student Association and a junior in the Schools of Engineering,
prides himself on following the ways of the Koran.
Wednesday night the Muslim Student Association
attempted to increase the campus' awareness and understanding of Islam
by hosting an informational discussion with several guest speakers.
Several stations with information about Islam were
set up outside of Room1105 in the Lily Hall of Life Sciences. People
were free to visit each station and gather pamphlets and booklets on
the Koran, women in Islam and Muslim countries.
Handouts summarized Islam into a formula of meaning,
beliefs and deeds.
The word Islam has three meanings — submission,
purity and peace. Muslims follow the five pillars of Islam, which state
that there is no God but Allah, believers must pray five times a day,
they must give alms to the poor, they must fast during the month Ramadan
and they must pilgrimage to Mecca once in their life.
"One of our main goals is to promote a positive
value of Islam in hopes to make use of this campus' rich diversity,"
said Ashraf Zaman, a graduate student and the coordinator of the program.
To Muslims, Islam is not only a religion but a
way of life.
Three speakers presented information on topics
pertaining to Islamic culture. President Martin Jischke presented his
views of the importance of diversity and awareness.
"It is very hard to learn if we don't first listen,"
said Jischke. "And we must listen with an open mind."
There are approximately 1.2 billion Muslims worldwide
and seven million of them live in the United States. Members of the
Muslim Student Association want people to understand that the recent
acts of terrorism do not represent Islam.
"Recent events have promoted a need for understanding
and information," said Zaman.
The association believes that awareness leads to
understanding, understanding leads to tolerance and tolerance is the
key to ending hate and terrorism.
Jischke said the recent world events have presented
society with two concepts — living in a time of danger and living
in a time of opportunity.
"We need to stop waiting and start making things
happen," said Jischke.
Members of the Muslim Student Association were
excited to be able to present the beliefs of their religion in hopes
to educate those in attendance Wednesday night.
"We want to keep people well informed and up to
date to get people the correct ideas and block stereotypes," said Yosef
Hafiz, the resident advisor for the association and a senior in the
Schools of Engineering.
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