Iowa State Daily, The Muslim Student Association hopes to shatter misconceptions about Islam this week when it hosts Islam Awareness Week.
“[Islam] is the second largest religion, and it is also a misunderstood religion,” said Saddam Khattak, president of the Muslim Student Association. “We want to give the message that Islam is not the enemy.”
Adeel Ahmed, media secretary of the Muslim Student Association, said the purpose of the awareness week is to promote Islam and interaction between Muslims and non-Muslims.
“One of the most common misconceptions is that it is a religion that allows extremism and fanaticism and that it allows violence to be a means to solve things,” said Ahmed, senior in computer engineering.
The Muslim Student Association will hold an event each day this week to promote awareness and to educate the community about Islam. All events are open to everyone in the Ames and ISU communities.
Two ISU professors and two ISU students will sit on a panel Monday for a discussion called “Knowing Islam Better.”
The panel discussion will start with an introduction to the basic beliefs about Islam and about common misconceptions, then a question-and-answer session will be held, said Khattak, senior in computer engineering.
Tuesday, the Muslim Student Association will show a documentary, “Islam: Empire of Faith.” In the documentary, scholars tell the history of Islam and examine the worldwide growth of the religion, Khattak said.
“It covers the whole history of Islam and how it became what it is [today],” Khattak said.
A workshop will be presented Wednesday about the use and misuse of the word “terrorism.” Jeffrey Weiss, education director for the American Friends Service Committee, an international governmental organization based in Philadelphia, will present. Weiss is an adjunct professor of political science at Des Moines Area Community College.
“We see a lot of media coverage of events that give the impression that Islam is a religion based on terrorism and violence — that is totally wrong,” Khattak said.
The origin of the word Islam means peace, and Muslims voluntarily surrender to the will of God to attain inner peace, Khattak said.
On Thursday and Friday, 25 posters will be displayed in the main lobby of the Design Building. The collection's aims to introduce viewers to the basics of Islam.
By looking at the posters, people can learn how Islam affects the world, who Muslims are, what Islam says about war and why the family is important to Muslims, Khattak said.
The Darul Arqum Islamic Center, 1212 Iowa Ave., will host an open house Saturday.
Two speakers will discuss the basic beliefs of Muslims and the common grounds that exist between Judaism, Christianity and Islam, Khattak said.
During the entire week, students, faculty and staff can sign up to participate in a Fast-a-thon, which will take place Sunday.
Fast-a-thon is a charity event where non-Muslim people can pledge to fast for one day to call attention to the millions of people who go hungry each day.
“The basic concept for fasting is to make them realize the pain of hunger so they help the poor and give charity to the poor to help them,” Khattak said.
Fast-a-thon participants will fast as Muslims do during the holy month of Ramadan by abstaining from food and drink during daylight hours. The fast will conclude with a feast of Middle Eastern and South Asian food.
Area businesses will donate either a specified dollar amount or quantity of food for every non-Muslim student who agrees to participate in Fast-a-thon.
The money and food will be donated to the Mid-Iowa Community Action food pantry, 126 S. Kellogg Ave., which provides emergency food assistance to citizens of Story County.
Last year, more than 100 people pledged to participate in Fast-a-thon. Those interested in the Fast-a-thon must fill out a pledge card at the Muslim Student Association's office, located in the West Student Office Space of the Memorial Union.
