Muslim students across the nation have launched a campaign against anti-Islamic sentiment in the aftermath of September's terrorist attacks.
Their weapon: education.
And at Penn, Islam Awareness Week, sponsored by the Muslim Students Association, has seen a heightened level of participation this year as students work to educate each other and themselves.
With a far greater and more diverse proportion of the Penn community getting involved than in previous years, Islam Awareness Week has taken on a new meaning since September's attacks. Members of the Muslim Students Association said they have used this opportunity to confront some of the misconceptions about Islam perpetuated through the media.
"We expected greater interest than in other years from the Penn community because now is a time when many people are scared of Islam," association publicist Ben Herzig said. "And fear usually comes from lack of information or familiarity... The duty of Muslims to educate about Islam seems greater now than ever."
Herzig added that while the speakers were booked before the Sept. 11 attacks, "obviously some of the topics seem more real now."
Lectures addressing issues like women in Islam and jihad, or, holy war, drew much larger crowds this week than in previous years. About 110 students turned up for Tuesday's lecture entitled "The Truth about Jihad," which was co-sponsored by SPEC Connaissance.
"I think the jihad lecture was probably the most important issue we've handled so far," association board member Sarah Hussain said.
Hussain, a College sophomore, added that "the political situation right now" has given rise to many misconceptions about jihad that the lecture's academic tone worked to dispel.
Herzig said that especially in light of the negative media attention given to "Islamic fundamentalists," one important function of this lecture was to "make it known that Islam does not applaud terrorism while at the same time noting that Muslims around the world have legitimate political grievances."
Aside from the issue of the relationship between jihad and terrorism, another issue that raised a lot of interest during the week was that of the role of women in Islam. At a talk given by Janet Nazif last night called "The Empowerment of Women in Islam," many of these issues came to the surface.
Hussain said that while the issue is always a "hot topic" during Islam Awareness Week, the focus that the media has given to the treatment of women by the Taliban has generated even more interest. About 80 students, significantly more than in previous years, attended last night's lecture.
But along with that interest, Hussain added, television programs like CNN's special report "Beneath the Veil" -- about human rights violations in Afghanistan -- have perpetuated even more misconceptions.
"It might surprise people that Islam places such a high value on women when there's so much negative connotation to the portrayal of women on TV," Hussain said.
During the question and answer session, last night's speaker addressed the discrepancy between how the Koran outlines the treatment of women and the way it is carried out in nations viewed as representative by western media, like Afghanistan.
"She debunked a lot of the myths and misconceptions about Islam," College senior Margaret Grillo said.
Grillo, who said she had attended many of the week's events, added that as a non-Muslim she was pleased by the way the Muslim Students Association addressed her questions and accommodated her wish to observe Muslim practices.
In addition to sponsoring events this week, the association has been manning a table on Locust Walk each day to provide information to curious passersby.
Students sitting at the table said that they saw an increase in interest both from within the Muslim community and from outside.
"People on Penn's campus have been very supportive," Hussain said. "They want to get the right information."
"We get asked a lot about what we think about the September 11 attacks and about what we think about the bombing in Afghanistan," Herzig said.
"These are difficult questions for us because there's not an agreement among all Muslims on campus, just as there's not an agreement among all Americans," he added.
