Islamic awareness week at University of Maine in USA to promote interfaith dialogue

Sunday 03 Apr 2016 - 09:23 Makkah mean time-25-6-1437

Image from litzusa

Maine, U.S. (IINA) - The University of Maine in U.S.A. has been promoting diversity in cultures all week, from multicultural forums to Islamic Awareness events, WLBZ2 news reported.
Islamic Awareness Week events ended on Saturday night with an open discussion and presentation at the Islamic Center of Maine (ICM).
This community is trying to promote acceptance in the wake of a world facing separation and discrimination. Some of the speakers include Bangor Mayor Sean Faircloth and Nouman Ali Khan. 
The Muslim community hopes to educate more people on what they say their religion really stands for. "To me, Islam means a way of life, a way of life that teaches me how to live life in a peaceful and spiritual way," said Omar Conteh, outreach coordinator at the ICM.
Conteh said being Muslim means facing prejudice in the wake of recent attacks by groups claiming to practice Islam. "I think the vast majority of people have confused views of Islam.  The world we live in, the images we see a lot in the newspapers, on TV, and on the radios about the Muslim world, it's hurtful. It's painful to see," said Conteh.
University of Maine students hope to gain acceptance and spread knowledge through the weeklong Islam Awareness Week.
"If you are ignorant about something, you might hate it. You might have negative ideas and attitudes towards it," said Yahya Mahmoud, a member of the Muslim Student Association (MSA) and Arabic teacher.
He said learning about cultures earlier in life will make the world a safer place for anyone practicing a faith. "I believe the younger you are, your attitudes are still shaping and your ideas. So this is a good thing and I think it's a part of the whole learning experience in general," said Mahmoud.
Conteh said Muslims in Maine do face some prejudice but hope to break down stereotypes as a community.
Noumar Ali Khan, founder of Bayyinah Institute, spoke as the keynote speaker on Saturday night.
"I think we're living in obviously very tense times.  Misunderstandings and misgivings about each other and about each other's faith are almost a default position," said Khan.
This was the Muslim speaker's first time visiting Maine. "People actually contextualizing things and understanding them how they were supposed to have been understood has become very rare. I feel any chance you can get to share some insight into what this tradition really is and how things used to be historically between these faiths communities is a good chance to have these conversations," said Khan.
Student’s part of the MSA said this week was very successful and they think it brought the community closer.
SM/IINA

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