Posted on 10/28/2002 11:57:21 PM PST by chance33_98
Awareness of Islam promoted
By Karen Schwartz, Daily Staff Reporter October 28, 2002
Students walking through the Michigan Union today will have the chance to try their luck at Islamic Jeopardy as part of Islam Awareness Week, a week designed to raise awareness and dispel myths about the religion and its followers.
The goal of Islam Awareness Week is to bring Muslims together to share information about Islam with the general public and to clear up misunderstandings and misrepresentations of Islam and Muslims, Muslim Student Association vice president Omar Khalil said yesterday in a press release.
"These misconceptions must be removed in order for us to truly experience the joy of living together with over 1.2 billion Muslim worldwide and 7 million in the U.S. Only through education, awareness and understanding can we develop tolerance, respect, and love in our society. Islam Awareness Week is one step toward this goal," Khalil said.
The theme of this year's Islam Awareness Week is "Islam: A Contribution to Our Society," and activities include speakers, a panel discussion, a cultural display in the Michigan Union Pond Room and an informational table in the Diag "to allow students a one-on-one interaction with fellow Muslim students to learn more about the faith of their peers."
MSA member Omran Kaskar, an LSA sophomore, said he thinks the interaction on the Diag is central to the success of Islam Awareness Week.
"There'll be people on the Diag answering questions and the interaction between these people is very important," he said.
"That's where a lot off the information is exchanged about Islam."
He added that since much of the media portrayal of Islam and Muslims is distorted, it is even more important that Islam Awareness Week exist both to teach non-Muslims about the basic concepts of Islam and also to show that Islam is about peace.
Engineering junior Shuaib Mirza, also a Muslim Student Association member, stressed that Islam means peace and has been a peaceful and tolerant religion looking back through history.
"If you look at Islamic history you'll find that Islam has been very tolerant to all the religions it has governed and it's probably the most tolerant to all religions ... nobody mentions that," he said.
Mirza added he hopes people take away from the week a sound understanding of Islam.
"Just to have a knowledge of a religion that is the second largest religion in the world and that their fellow students follow - they have friends that are Muslim, they deal with Muslims everyday, so they should have a sound knowledge in who we are and what we believe and our motivations," he said.
The first Islam Awareness Week was organized in 1994 and held on campuses around the country, with the goal of providing information regarding Islam's message and way of life while clearing up possible misconceptions.
And no priest, minister, or rabbi from arabia disagrees.
Doesn't ANYONE get it?
I don't see Christian awareness weeks on college or high school campuses. Either they aren't advertised, nobody plans them because it may not be the best way to attract new believers, or the schools don't condone them. How about:
"The goal of Christian Awareness Week is to bring Christians together to share information about Christianity with the general public and to clear up misunderstandings and misrepresentations of Christianity and Christians."
Muslims sometimes physically attack detractors who try to protest peacefully against the Islamic presentations on campuses with signs clarifying some Islamic untruths. The Muslims are pretty dangerous, and, if unchecked, may turn out to be just another university-sanctioned "protected" group like MEChA that spouts hate against nonmembers of their ethnicity or belief.
Yes indeedy. They've certainly contributed to the casket industry.
Cause it's a lie.
This does not mean that Jews and Christians living in Muslim-ruled lands were killed or imprisoned. They regularly received dhimmi status, which afforded them temporary protection from some abuses, but no permanent status.
Dhimmis in Muslim countries over the centuries typically had to pay discriminatory taxes and acknowledge publicly their status as second-class citizens. They were on the hook for additional sums and had to supply forced labor on demand. They were ineligible for any public office and without right even to testify in court.
Dhimmis were not allowed to possess weapons, marry Muslim women, meet with others on the streets, or ride horses or camels (the two "noble animals"). Dhimmis had to wear special clothes, walk with eyes lowered and accept being pushed aside by Muslims. Dhimmis had to have low doors on their houses, with no lights on the doors.
Some particular aspects varied from age to age and region to region. In the 9th century, Jews in some Muslim areas had to wear on their shoulders a patch of white cloth that bore the image of an ape; Christians, since they ate pork, wore a pig image. In 11th century Seville, Jews were not to be met with the greeting, "Peace be unto you," because they were not supposed to have any peace.
Other edicts affected not just finances but self-respect. A Cairo rule in 1761 was that "no Jew or Christian may appear on horseback. They ride only asses ... " In Persia in 1890, Jewish women had to "expose their faces in public (like prostitutes). ... Every Jew is obliged to wear a piece of red cloth on his chest. A Jew must never overtake a Muslim on a public street. ... If a Muslim insults a Jew, the latter must drop his head and remain silent. ... The Jew cannot put on his coat; he must be satisfied to carry it rolled under his arm. ... It is forbidden for Jews to leave the town or enjoy the fresh air of the countryside. ... Jews must not consume good fruit."
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