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news
Khani
speaks to demystify Islam
By Sarah Duffy
On-line Forty-Niner
Cal State Long
Beach students came to listen to Maria Khani talk about what
it means to be a woman and a Muslim.
Designating this to be Islamic Awareness Week, the Muslim
Students Association of CSULB invited Khani and others to
speak at a series of talks about the impact of Sept. 11.
A short film illustrating why Muslim women wear the hijab
(headdress) was shown prior to Khani's talk at noon in the
Sunset Lounge at the University Student Union. In the film,
one young female Muslim said that her hijab symbolized empowerment
and self-assertion in America.
Khani addressed some of the misconceptions the West has about
Muslim women during her talk entitled, "Liberating Women
Through Islam." She works with the Council on Islamic
Education, an organization that provides information for social
studies textbooks used in schools throughout the nation.
"A lot of people think Muslim women are not equal because
of the way they dress," Khani said.
Muslim women can be lawyers, doctors, teachers, nurses, and
have the freedom to practice and learn, she said. Khani also
addressed Muslim women's inheritance rights, and their role
alongside Muslim men.
She cited culture as the problem for those Muslim women who
do not know their rights or suffer abuse by their husbands.
Islam is not the problem she said, and asked people not to
judge the religion by the way people choose to practice their
religion.
"Sometimes when I go and speak to a lot of groups I see
the ignorance is among the Muslims more than the non-Muslims,"
Khani said. "I'm not going to be a person who is trying
to justify Islam because I can't do that."
An attendee at the event and affiliated member of MSA, Mukhtar
Ahmed, said Islam has lots to offer in solving society's problems,
such as violence, family breakdowns and alcoholism. He said
Muslims have valid solutions to contribute positively in solving
these kinds of problems with the cooperation of the people
in the community.
"The Quran organizes people's lives with its laws, but
some Muslims break the laws like any other laws," Ahmed
said.
Many people broke up into smaller groups after the event to
continue in the discussion. Senior art major Courtney Reed
and her friend Kim Klein asked junior Amna Bhatti, who is
Muslim, to help them with their question about some of the
tenants of the Quran regarding women. Reed interpreted the
passage in the Quran as condoning violence toward women. Bhatti
replied that the passage was not about beating women literally.
"You can't always take things straight out of the Quran."
Bhatti said. "You're really not allowed to beat your
wife. . . it's not really beating your wife. But I know it's
like a way of admonishing her, like let's say there's a situation
or something" Bhatti said.
Bhatti continued with her explanation, but at one point she
admitted that she felt somewhat inadequate in addressing the
specific verse they were trying to discuss.
Director for Student Life and Development, Jeane Caveness
spoke briefly at the beginning of the event to announce that
her department does not approve of any disruptions by protestors
against the MSA or any group who assembles peaceably in such
forums.
At the first talk of the series that began on Tuesday entitled
"Islam in America," there was some yelling and shouting
by protestors against MSA, and fliers were passed out without
approval.
MSA member Usama Kahf, a senior finance major, said
college is where people argue not yell.
"I would think it would happen in a public space, but
not here in an academic institution," Kahf said.
The next talk is today in the Sunset Lounge at the Student
Union and is entitled "Jihad v. Terrorism."
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Kandace
Hsu/On-line Forty-Niner
Hilla Baha gets information from the Muslim
Student Association table from Mansoor Lakhani on Monday to
help understand Sept. 11 and educate about a very misunderstood
people.
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