MSA explains the true face of Islam
The Muslim Students’ Association is preparing for their Islam Awareness Week which will be held April 21 through April 25.
Sara Azimi, a junior international affairs major, said there are a lot of misconceptions about the religion of Islam and that the activities of Islam Awareness Week will eliminate them.
“I really want to educate non-Muslim students about our religion instead of them listening to the media,” Azimi said.
Azimi added that the religion is one of the fastest growing religions.
Azimi will participate in the student panel which will be held Monday at 7 p.m. in UMC 235. The student panel consists of seven MSA members who will answer questions about MSA, the church of Islam, or any other questions about being Muslim.
“Islam means ‘submission’ in Arabic,” Azimi said. “As a religion it is a submission to God; no other god but Allah.”
Mehrnoosh Hirsaee, a senior ecology and evolutionary biology major, is helping advertise for Islam Awareness week by rallying her friends and spreading the word at Kittredge West where she is a resident adviser.
“Freshmen should see the different cultures and the different faces of Islam,” Hirsaee said. “In my heart, I am Muslim but just because I don’t fit the stereotype of a Muslim woman doesn’t make me less Muslim or less of a woman.”
Organizers say the goal of Islam Awareness week is to eliminate the misconceptions about Muslims and the church of Islam.
Ali Gooyabadi, a sophomore computer science major, will also participate on the student panel and said he is looking forward to opening students’ perceptions of Islam.
“Islam is an ideology and students should see the similarities between Christian and Judaism because it’s an Abrahamic religion,” Gooyabadi said.
Gooyabadi said he tries to be more open-minded than conservative.
“We should focus on our similarities rather than our differences,” Gooyabadi said.
Sadra Azimi, vice president of the MSA and a sophomore MCD biology major, is managing all of the upcoming events this week.
Azimi said that those who misinterpret another culture are doing more harm to both themselves and those people.
“The reason we are doing this event is so we can present the Muslim ideology in an unbiased and uncensored way,” Azimi said.
The MSA will host talks about Islam at 8 a.m. each day this week Monday through Friday. The group will also host a film screening each day at 2 p.m., and will hold panels and guest speakers at 7 p.m. each night. All events will be held in UMC 235.
Visit the MSA Web site for a complete list of events.
Contact Campus Staff Writer Katelyn Bell at Katelyn.bell@colorado.edu.
