The Muslim Student Association wants to take Saint Louis University “Around the World in 8.0 Days” from March 17 to March 24. The MSA is sponsoring an Islamic Awareness Week that kicks off with a dinner and ends with a conference at the University of Missouri-Columbia.
“Islamic Awareness Week is a time in which the MSA at SLU would like to promote a greater understanding between people of all faiths. It’s a chance to sweep away some of the misconceptions about Islam and for students to learn about the enormous influence of Islam all over the world,” said Siddique Abbasi, co-president of the MSA.
The MSA at SLU has recently been revitalized and has become an active organization on campus.
“The Muslim Student Association has been around since the `70s, but it went into a period of dormancy during 1995. In 1997, we brought it back after two years of inactivity,” Abbasi said.
“Around five years ago the MSA died out because no one took charge. Then, in 1997, Rashid M. Rashid took the initiative and rechartered the MSA,” Jabeen Ali, co-president of the MSA, said.
The spring Islamic Awareness Week focuses on issues in various Islamic areas around the world, including Chechnya and Kashmir. Razi Rashid, external vice-president said, “Eighty percent of the oppression around the world is against Muslims, and we want people to realize what is happening by bringing it to light through our week of activities.”
In addition to speakers and discussion groups, the week starts out with the first annual Eid-Al-Adha banquet on Friday, March 17 at 6 p.m. in the BMC. Eid-Al-Adha is one of the two religious holidays in Islam, the other being Eid-Al-Fitr. Eid-Al-Adha is the Eid of sacrifice, which is in remembrance of Prophet Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son Ishmael to God.
Ali said, “Since many students at SLU are not from the St. Louis area they cannot go home for the big Islamic holidays, so the MSA decided to celebrate Eid on campus with a dinner.”
After the dinner is Kashmir day on the March 20. The day will focus on the issues and human
