Auburn students were given an opportunity last Thursday in Haley Center to learn about and discuss Islam, a faith to which a predominantly Christian campus has little exposure and at times outright ignorance to.
"I hope at the end of this you come away with a different understanding, or at least a foundation," said Imam Mohamed Ismail, the featured speaker at the lecture event of the Muslim Students' Association.
"Clearing up Misconceptions of Islam" sought to answer questions and address inaccuracies students may have about the world's second largest faith.
"The main purpose of the Muslim Students' Association is to invite people to learn about Muslims and Islam in general," said Ansab Ali, president of the organization and senior in accounting.
Ali said there are plenty of people of the Islamic faith in the Auburn community.
"We have about a hundred students in the organization on campus, and we have over a thousand Muslims at least in the surrounding community," Ali said.
In his lecture, Ismail focused on the principles of Islam, which were revealed to the prophet Muhammad and are summarized in the "Five Pillars of Islam," which can be found in the Quran.
They consist of worshipping no god but Allah, daily prayer, a month of fasting during Ramadan, a pilgrimage to Mecca and charitable giving.
He also addressed misconceptions about Islam in the West.
"Sadly, most of the world's education about Islam is received from the media," Ismail said. "Most times, the person speaking does not have the authority or the knowledge."
Ismail stressed education as the most important vehicle to combatting ignorance.
"If academia and intelligencia are ignorant to the basic fundamentals of Islam," Ismail said, "they enter into a world where they will encounter Islamic communities and not have the tools to deal with these situations correctly and effectively."
The Imam fielded questions from a variety of topics from the audience which included a broad mix of Auburn and Opelika's Muslim community as well as interested students.
He addressed technical matters of the faith, life after death and the difference between Europe and America's perceptions of the faith.
"I find Americans are more tolerant because of their Christian roots," Ismail said. "They understand religion. Europe is homogenous; everyone is doing the same thing."
Regardless, American views of Islam are still often defined by stereotypes and a sense of superiority, Ismail said.
Ismail highlighted the similarities and differences between Christianity and Islam.
In Islam, Jesus is one of a line of prophets beginning with Adam and leading to the prophet Muhammad, who received his revelation 600 years after Jesus' time.
A dinner was served after the event, and Ali and the MSA felt it was a success.
"We want to show them that Islam is not just 'over there,'" Ali said. "We are a billion strong around the world, and we are here as well."
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