“In the name of God, the Beneficent, the Merciful.”
That’s how the press release announcing the start of Islam Awareness Week begins. The theme of the Muslim Students’ Association’s biggest event of the year, scheduled to run from Monday, March 1 to Friday, March 5, is “Peace and Social Justice in Islam.”
According to Asma Maryam Ali, outreach coordinator of the MSA and organizer of the week-long event, the aim of Islam Awareness Week is to foster open and informed discussions about Islam within the U of T community and Toronto at large.
“Islam is often portrayed as a religion that promotes aggression and is oppressive,” says Ali. “We want to erase that misconception.”
Specifically, she says, the event calls for a closer look at Islam’s primary sources to determine the truth about issues concerning which the belief system is often scrutinized, such as the treatment of women, views on war and violence, and tolerance for other peoples.
“Islam Awareness Week provides a good opportunity for people to learn about Islam from its primary sources, and to go from a personal notion or conception of it to an understanding of what it really is.”
The primary sources Ali speaks of are the Qur’an, which Muslims believe is the last in a series of revealed scriptures from God, and the Sunnah, the documented biography of Prophet Muhammad’s life. For Muslims, both of these serve as guides in all aspects of life.
The main components of Islam Awareness Week will be a five-day exhibit, two interactive seminars, and a weekend lecture. All events are free of charge.
The exhibit, which will run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday to Friday in the Sidney Smith lobby, will include informational displays, free reading material, and a multicultural food sale. Muslim students will also be on hand to answer questions.
The seminars on Monday night and Wednesday night will address the topics “Islam 101,” the basics of Islam, and “Social Justice in Islam,” respectively. Hamid Slimi, who specializes in shari’ah (Islamic law) and comparative religions, will be conducting the first seminar, while Dr. Yaser Haddara, assistant professor at McMaster University, will present the second.
In keeping with the overall theme, Ali expects the highlight of the week to be the Sunday lecture entitled “The Shari’ah and Women: A Look at Women’s Rights within Islamic Law.” The two-part panel discussion taking place on March 7 from noon to 3 p.m. at the Earth Sciences auditorium will feature four speakers-two female and two male. One of them will be Dr. Jamal Badawi, a Halifax professor of Islamic studies who visited U of T last semester to give a lecture on Islam’s perspective on Abraham, Moses and Jesus.
Ali stresses that Islam is more comprehensive than many people think. She calls it “a practical way of living that allows us to live in the modern world alongside other people.”
And although she says Islam has become part of life in Canada, Ali sees it as a concept that has not yet been grasped and examined by society at large.
“What Islam Awareness Week does is give everyone the opportunity to try to grasp it and analyze it and so acknowledge something that we all live with.”
