As the events of the Iraqi war continue to unfold, Penn students are struggling to understand the Islamic viewpoint. And the Muslim Students Association is there to help.
Friday night in Houston Hall, the MSA organized a meeting for all those interested in getting "an idea of what the Muslims are up to, what are they thinking about," MSA President and Wharton sophomore Muhammed Mekki said.
The event took off with a discussion on the feelings that many Iraqi Americans and other Muslims have about the United States and how this affects their faith.
"I'm Muslim, but I am proud of some of the values of this country," MSA Vice President and Engineering junior Amin Venjara said.
The talk continued with an explanation of what Islam means to Muslims and how deeply it influences their daily lives. Particular emphasis was placed on the concept of intention, which is said to guide a Muslim's every action.
Muslims are skeptical of the United States' intentions to implement justice in Iraq.
"Is this what American soldiers are going to do? I don't know if I can believe that," Venjara said. "To me, it seems we're doing more empire-building than anything."
Mekki complicated the issue by saying that this war was one of "conflicting feelings" -- while he does not believe that pre-emptive war delivers justice, Saddam Hussein's regime could hardly be called fair. According to Mekki, Iraqis are now trapped between Saddam and the bombs.
"It really has been a difficult time -- a lose-lose situation," Mekki said.
Despite the desire to be freed from Saddam's regime, "this is not what we had envisioned," Mekki said. But hope still remains for this to be the last trial the Iraqi people will have to face.
Many of the students -- a crowd of about 40 people -- asked what could be done to better the situation in Iraq now that the conflict has started. MSA members suggested to insist that the U.S. government keep its promises. Also, people should continue to have their dissent heard despite the difficulties and the distance between the United States and Iraq.
In a conflict where even Middle Eastern experts are uncertain about the outcome, the situation is complicated by the belief among some Muslims that this war is actually against Islam -- a religion that does not separate church from state, Venjara said. There is a feeling that the American public is against the political aspect of Islam because it requires people to put the doctrine above themselves.
"That's when you start to live -- you've gotten out of your box," Venjara said. But, he continued, the United States cherishes its "boxes."
"That is where people have a problem with Islam," Venjara added.
Mekki said that the meeting's goal was to "create a forum for Muslims to express their feelings and for the University community as a whole to understand where Muslims are coming from."
Many students -- some of whom were not Muslims -- participated actively in the discussion, posing questions and discussing upcoming events.
According to Drexel University freshman Asma Alsalameh, "I wanted to hear Muslim perspective on how we view this situation from a religious point of view."
