Promoting Islamic awareness at Penn

Over the next week, Muslim students at Penn will aim to put to rest myths about, among other things, Islamic fundamentalists and the role of women in Islam.

During Islam Awareness Week -- an annual event sponsored by the Muslim Students Association -- Penn's Islamic student body will focus efforts on educating both themselves and non-Muslim students about their culture and faith.

MSA board members say the programs they have planned for the week come at a crucial time. As a result, they have worked hard to ensure a top-notch lineup of events.

"There's no doubt that we're still in a time when there's a very high interest in Islam," said College senior and MSA Vice President Ben Herzig. "When the demand goes up, what we put out has to go up as well."

Based on experiences of past Islam Awareness weeks and current student interests, the MSA has arranged for a series of speakers to visit the University throughout the week.

Tonight, Mokhtar Maghraoui will speak about the connections between Islam and science. Maghraoui holds a Ph.D. in Physics and Electrical Engineering from Syracuse University. Specifically, he will discuss scientific references made in the Qur'an and their relevance to understanding the modern world.

Tomorrow night, former Howard University Professor Sulayman Nyang will speak about the relevance of Muhammed's teachings to American life.

"It helps us bring together what are the values that Americans and Muslims have in common," Herzig said.

On Wednesday night, former Maryland Senatorial Candidate Imad-ad-Dean Ahmad will give a lecture entitled, "Why is the Muslim World so Angry?"

Ahmad is currently the president of a Washington think-tank that addresses issues related to Islam, democracy, terrorism and capitalism. MSA board members say they hope Ahmad will address American conceptions of Islamic sentiments and provide insights into United States' foreign policy.

"This isn't going to be a one-sided lecture," Herzig said. "He brings a lot of objectivity to the table, and he's going to try to tie it all together in terms of a vision for the future."

Thursday night, Janet Nazif, the principal of a New Jersey Islamic elementary school, will speak about the role of women in Islam. She will use classic Islamic heroines as models around which to center the discussion.

"There is no doubt it's going to touch on women in Islam and the classic questions," Herzig said. "But the point is, we want to do it in a way where we're using the examples and we're not on the defensive."

All events will be held in Logan Hall at 7 p.m each day.

MSA board members said they hope a diverse audience of students turn out for each event.

College junior and MSA Communications Chairman Ali Akbar said this week is a good time for Muslim students to learn more about their own faith.

"Just because we're Muslims doesn't mean we are experts," Akbar said. "We need to learn just as much as everybody else."

He also said the group tried to gear the events toward non-Muslim students as well.

"We're definitely trying to attract anyone who will come out -- both Muslims and non-Muslims," he said.

In addition to the speaker series, MSA members will man a table on Locust Walk all week to hand out information and answer questions about Islam.

College senior and MSA Publicity Co-Chairwoman Saema Khandakar said that all of these efforts will help raise awareness and foster discussion about issues related to Islam.

"I think it's really important to reach out to the community and start dialogue," Khandakar said.

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