Before the attacks of Sept. 11, the political turmoil in Afghanistan was not a common topic of discussion among Penn State students. But recently students have been working to spread awareness about that war-ravaged country across the ocean.

PeaceWorks, a new student organization for promoting world peace, held an informational session last night in 111 Tyson to provide historical and sociological background on the situation in Afghanistan.

Both students and members of the State College community gathered to share their ideas and knowledge about Islam and life in Afghanistan.

Documentary presentations were followed by discussion about the issues brought up in the videos. The majority of the discussion was critical commentary about United States foreign policy. Another topic explored was the nature of modern Islam as seen from a female point of view.

Several Penn State professors were present to talk about the concerns and questions raised during the session.

Susan O'Brien, associate professor of history, facilitated the discussion.

"I think this is a good way to allow people the freedom to have dialogue about these events," said O'Brien of the session.

One of the main contributors to the discussion was Ibrahim Ibrahim, assistant professor of health policy and administration.

"It seems that we in the United States are committing the same mistakes over and over again . . . we give support when it is convenient," said Ibrahim. "There is a Muslim void to correct those who have gone astray and the U.S. has filled that void. In going after bin Laden, we are just treating the symptom, not the disease," he said.

Members of PeaceWorks said that an understanding of the religion and culture of Afghanistan was necessary for students to make accurate assessments of the situation and how the United States has reacted to it.

PeaceWorks was formed shortly after the terrorist attacks to raise awareness about the complexities of the current political situation in Afghanistan.

"The purpose of our group is to promote peaceful alternatives to war . . . as far as solving problems of global injustice, terrorism and human rights violations," PeaceWorks spokesman Jesse Durst (senior-letters, arts, and sciences) said.

PeaceWorks has been conducting awareness campaigns like last night's session in an effort to promote peace and social justice to the university community.

During the course of the session, two educational videos were shown. The first one was a documentary by the BBC and Discovery Channel titled Behind the Terror: Understanding the Enemy. The second film, called Beyond the Veil: The Born Again Muslims, depicted how women are treated in Afghanistan and described experiences of various Muslim women.

PeaceWorks meets at 7:30 Monday nights in 235 HUB-Robeson Center.