Muslim students kicked off Islam Awareness Week by sharing their religious views and practices at a large exhibition at Carleton March 19-23.
“The idea of this event is to present what Islam and Muslims are about,” said Shahbaz Ghazi, past vice-president of the Carleton University Muslim Students Association (CUMSA), the host of the event.
The Islamic art booths in the Unicentre atrium attracted the most people. There were free henna tattoos, which are temporary and made of plant dyes, and a calligraphy station where professional calligraphers wrote names in Arabic script.
There were also booths about equality, women’s rights, and social justice issues facing the Muslim faith. These were designed to promote understanding of Islam.
“When you are not aware of what something is, sometimes you make assumptions about it,” Ghazi said.
One of those booths, entitled Islam and the media, focuses on the misuse of the word “jihad” by some western media outlets. In Arabic, the word means “struggle” and in the Muslim faith, “to strive in the way of God.”
“I have heard radio stations use the word as an extension to the word ‘war’,” said CUMSA volunteer Firas Obeidat. “Jihad has many meanings to different people. To me, it is the struggle to remove evilness within myself and being a noble person.”
Along with removing misconceptions, another goal for the week is to raise awareness about some of the Muslim needs on campus.
“Carleton has been very accommodating to its Muslim population,” Ghazi said.
However, he said he’s seen rapid growth in the Muslim population at Carleton. Soon, they’ll need larger spaces, he added.
“So many people have started using the prayer room that we need a larger space for everyday prayers,” he said.
Currently, a classroom-sized room in the Unicentre is provided for practicing Muslims, who pray several times a day.
The room is run with the help of CUMSA, who are the largest students’ club with over 1,200 members, according to their website.
Besides operating the prayer room, the association provides students with Islamic literature and supportive material to help preserve Muslim identity.
They encourage dialogue between Muslim students and the wider student body, which is a major part of the week-long exposition.
