Islam Awareness Month

To promote Islam Awareness Month, Islam on Campus prepared a series of events and guest speakers to drive student attention. You might remember the Islam Fair earlier this month, when the organization filled the Reitz Union Lawn with trivia games, arts and crafts, and yummy food.

Last night we heard Dr. John Esposito, a professor at Georgetown University and a leading expert on Islam, give a speech titled, Islamic Threat to the West: Myth or Reality. Esposito explained how the jihad problem was caused by a small faction of extremists and America’s leadership was the problem. He explained how he came to be an expert on Islam in the '60s when nobody knew about it, and how he now is a well-paid expert.

The events continue tomorrow night (2/18) with Pulitzer-Prize winner Andrea Elliott of the New York Times at 7:30pm in the Rion Ballroom. Her speech is titled Muslims in the US: Between Rejection, Assimilation, and Integration. Before her speech, Andrea will offer a journalism workshop on how to objectively report on Islam and Muslims at 3pm in the Reitz Union, room 361.

Other events this month by Islam on Campus in honor of Islam Awareness Month include:
Feb. 25th: "New Muslim Cool" Documentary Screening
Mar. 3rd: IAM 2010 Closing Ceremony featuring Canadian Poet Boonaa Mohammad.



- John Davisson