Islamic Awareness Week concluded with a panel of Muslims answering questions and discussing their culture with other students.
Nadir Mitiche, a senior at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis and a member of the panel, said he loved that everyone was able to have a casual discussion.
“It was beautiful to see an array of people,” he said. “It seemed like there were a huge diversity of people that were here.”
Audience members asked questions about religious practices, dressware and Islamic phobia.
“The questions that were asked were all very pertinent, especially the Islamic phobia question,” he said. “If you can get through the phobia part of your culture or religion, you can become more accepted.”
Sheryl Maupin, a senior psychology major, said she would like to learn more about being a Muslim in America.
“It would be interesting to understand how it feels for them to be here, especially in the midwest,” she said. “I think minorities in general, regardless of their religion, have a hard time living here.”
She said she enjoyed hearing about the core beliefs of Islam during the event.
“I think everyone can afford to learn more about respect, peace and dignity,” she said.
Mahnoor Ayesha, president of the Muslim Student Association, said the goal of the panel and the rest of the week was to bring awareness to Muslims on campus and help students gain perspective.
The MSA was founded in 1975, according to the Ball State website. While there was an Islamic Awareness Week last year, Ayesha said the organization made it a larger scale event this year.
“Thankfully, we were able to change that and have an amazing turnout at the earlier events this week,” she said. “We are trying to make it active again and [to involve] the whole campus.”
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