MSO emphasizes education for Islam Awareness Week
The events are intended to counter negative stereotypes.
Published March 19, 2010
The Muslim Student Organization will present Islam's culture, history and religious beliefs for Islam Awareness Week, which runs today through Thursday.
Events include a movie screening, presentations about social justice and history in Islam, a discussion about women in Islam and a day for non-Muslim women to wear the Islamic headscarf as an expression of solidarity.
"Our activities are set up so that if someone knows nothing about Islam, they can get a basic understanding that will help them in their future lives, careers, anything," MSO Education Officer Arwa Mohammad said.
The keynote event, "The Islamic Perspective on Social Justice," will feature a speech by Rami Nashashibi, executive director of the Inner-City Muslim Action Network, on Wednesday. IMAN is a Chicago-based nonprofit, which encourages the growth of art in urban communities and provides needed services, such as a free health clinic.
Mohammad said IMAN shows Islam's positive impact on communities.
"Sometimes that part of the story gets missed," Mohammad said. "I just want people to see there's a strong tradition of social justice in Islam, from the Prophet Muhammad to how it's continued today."
To start off the week, MSO will hold a movie screening of "Prince Among Slaves" on Friday night. The documentary is about an African Muslim prince sold into American slavery.
"It's the story of a man who loses everything he has and has to experience this in a foreign land," Islam Awareness Week committee member Shafi Lodhi said.
Islam Awareness Week committee member Hafsa Lodhi said the prince's Islamic faith was all he had left to hang on to.
"That was his life preserver," Hafsa Lodhi said. "You know when you're thrown over and you grab onto something? That's what he grabs onto."
After the movie, students will discuss their opinions of "Prince Among Slaves" and the portrayal of Islam, Hafsa Lodhi said.
On Tuesday, non-Muslim women will wear the hijab, or Islamic headscarf, for Scarves for Solidarity. MSO members will table from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. today outside Memorial Union to recruit participants, Islam Awareness Week committee member Arwa Abdelhadi said.
Hafsa Lodhi said non-Muslim women would get a better understanding of the hijab through Scarves for Solidarity. She said the hijab is not oppressive, as stereotyped in the media, but rather an expression of modesty.
"We put it on proudly every morning," Hafsa Lodhi said. "We're happy to be Muslim and wear the headscarf."
She said seeing non-Muslim women wear the hijab encourages her.
"I just feel like these girls I've never met before, we have this connection," Hafsa Lodhi said. "They're seeing through my eyes. I like that."
Participants will meet Tuesday night for "Women in Islam," a discussion about wearing the hijab. A panel of local Muslim women will answer questions, Mohammad said. She also said MSO will collect donations for The Shelter, a Columbia-based charity for women affected by domestic violence or sexual assault.
Department of religious studies Chairman Robert Baum will present the origin of Islam on Monday afternoon, Mohammad said.
For Thursday afternoon's "Taste of Islam," MSO members will give out free food and fact sheets about Islam outside Lowry Mall. Students will prepare a variety of dishes to represent the diverse places Muslims come from, including North Africa, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and America, Abdelhadi said.
"There are many different countries that follow the religion of Islam, and they have separate cultures," Hafsa Lodhi said. "When people think of Islam, they might think of different countries. There's not a specific area or region. There are many different people from Islam all over the world."