Islamic Awareness Week began at Brandeis last Tuesday with a lesson in coexistence and concluded with a lesson in Islamic culture.
On Wednesday, Professor Kanan Makiya (NEJS) spoke in the Usdan Student Center about Muslim/Jewish relations on the Dome of the Rock.
Makiya recently published a book, "The Rock: A Tale of Seventh-Century Jerusalem," that illustrates the intimate relationship of Jews and Muslims, made most obvious by their shared connection to Haram a-Sharif or the temple Mount, upon which the Dome of the Rock sits.
This lesson in coexistence between two groups that are often not able to have meaningful dialogue in this world introduced Brandeis students to one of the main themes of this year's Islamic Awareness Week.
On Thursday, a documentary on women in Islam by Leila Ahmed, professor of Women's Studies in Religion at Harvard Divinity School, was shown to students in the North Quad AB Lounge.
The film addresses the many misconceptions about Islamic women and their treatment at home.
Following the documentary, Professor Khaleel Mohammed (NEJS) spoke for 15 minutes on the documentary, clarifying and expanding on points. After this, three female Muslim students at Brandeis participated in a question and answer session in which they discussed what it means to be a Muslim woman in the United States. Tania Shahid '02, Bariza Umar '05 and Nour F. Al-Sabeeh '05 spoke about the differences of being Muslim in their homeland compared to in the United States, as well as other topics on this controversial subject.
"There are a lot of misunderstandings about Islamic women and how Islam treats them. We showed a documentary about these misconceptions and what the reality actually is," Mohammad Ashraf '04 said.
Islamic Awareness Week 2002 concluded on Friday with a traditional religious lecture by Mohammed, prayers and a South Asian lunch.