John Esposito, Islamic Studies professor at Georgetown University, wasn't afraid to ask tough questions Tuesday night.
"After 9-11, we ask ourselves, 'Why do they hate us?' Today, we still ask ourselves, 'Why do they hate us?' and what can we do about it?" Esposito asked. "How do we answer that question?"
As part of an annual effort to promote awareness of Middle-Eastern issues, Esposito was the latest speaker invited by the Fox Leadership Program and the Muslim Students' Association to speak for Islam Awareness Week.
"It's very important for Penn and West Philly to really understand Islam in a better way; we have a lot of misconceptions in the media," Wharton sophomore Khalid Usmani said. "Our hope is to provide a different insight so people can see a different perspective."
Usmani, a member of the MSA, was among the almost 70 students who trekked to the Class of 1949 Auditorium in Houston Hall to hear Esposito speak on the state of US-Middle Eastern relations.
Esposito cited the relative inability of the United States to learn from its past engagements with the Muslim world and its relative indifference to overseas perception as sources of concern.
"We work in an arrogant way, a unilateral way; not, in fact, in a multilateral way," Esposito said. "We didn't plan with our colleagues."
"To change global terrorism," he said. "We must change the conditions that create discontent, maladjustment. Our policies must be to assist, not direct."
Esposito also stressed the wide-reaching impact that the Middle Eastern conflicts have.
"With 9/11, London, Madrid, global terrorism is a threat to everybody," he said, calling on students to take initiative in promoting understanding of Islamic issues. "We all have responsibility, as informed voters, as constituents. ... Indifference ... just doesn't work anymore."
Attendees, it seemed, agreed with Esposito's message.
"It was definitely one of the best events in terms of Islam Awareness Week," College sophomore Naveed Rashid said. "His speech was very insightful, and, I think, got a lot of people thinking more about Islam and its role in the world."
