As part of Sigma Lambda Beta Fraternity Inc.'s empowerment series, the fraternity paired up with the Muslim Student Association (MSA) and presented an open forum on people's misconceptions of Islam last night.
Funded by UPAC, the presentation featured three speakers discussing the fundamentals of Islam, misconceptions of the Muslim religion and the treatment of women within Islam. The speakers were followed by an interactive question and answer period.
Ramy Nasr (junior-premedicine) spoke first, giving the audience a condensed overview of the Muslim religion. Nasr exposed the error in believing that Muslims are Arabs and that one's beliefs and one's actions cannot be separate. Nasr also pointed out the connection between Islam and other world religion.
"Just because you use a different word to refer to the same thing, doesn't mean that the fundamental principle has changed," Nasr said. "Islam, like Christianity and Judaism, is based on the notion of the oneness of God, the Islamic word, however, is Allah."
The oneness of God is the first of the five pillars upon which Islam is built. This is followed by prayer, which occurs five times a day, charity, fasting during the sacred month of Ramadhan and a pilgrimage to Mecca. Nasr described these in detail, explaining how they set up the framework of Islam.
Nasr illustrated Islam as a culture, since the procedures of Muslims directly correlate to their belief in Allah. "Islam is not something you can put aside," Nasr said, "it's a way of life."
Sana Malik (sophomore-biobehavioral health) presented the misconceptions of women in Islam.
"Muslim women are not oppressed," Malik said. "If we were oppressed then why would there be four times as many women converting to Islam then men?"
Malik also pointed out that the Quran presented men and women as equals at a time when women were considered as property.
When she discussed the dress code of women she stated that it was in no way repressive. Rather it meant that Muslim women are special.
"To Muslims, women are precious gems, and those precious gems need to be protected," she said. She also informed the audience that men had a prescribed dress of modest clothes and a beard.
Professor of Health Policy Administration at Penn State Ibrahim A. Ibrahim encouraged the audience to see Muslims as more then a religious group.
Ibrahim showed two concise videos presenting Muslims doing "regular things."
Ibrahim was the first speaker to mention the current stereotype of Muslims as terrorists.
"Islam has nothing to do with terrorism; anyone who is a true Muslim could never perform such actions," Ibrahim said. "Every group, religion and ethnicity has wrong doers, that does not mean that they represent the whole."
After the speakers the approximate 50-person audience was allowed to ask questions of the three speakers. In this open forum the panel said that beyond a few isolated incidents in September, the Penn State community has welcomed the Muslim community with open arms.
To close out the program the vice president of Sigma Lambda Beta, Carlos Palacios (sophomore-advertising) told everyone, "Never ask what someone is, but who they are."
The MSA is hosting a World Fair February 10 from 12pm to 5pm. For more information contact MSA vice president Ayisha Zaki at axz136@psu.edu.
