The Brandes Muslim Students Organization (BMSA) is hosting several events this month geared at educating not only the Muslim, but also the general Brandeis community in Muslim traditions and values. "For students on campus, it brings better understanding of diversity and Islamic culture," said BMSA faculty adviser Professor Qamar-Ul Huda. "It gets all people involved in a very special way."

Huda came to Brandeis a few weeks ago and said he was pleased about the warmth with which the community greeted him and the current activities being held by the BMSA.

"Because Brandeis is a liberal arts university, it embraces other cultures and religions, thus allowing these views to be shared by and interacted with other people," Huda said. "It adds to the rich and active community. Also, any element or contribution of other cultures is a real way for the entire community to have a global perspective and make the students more well-rounded."

BMSA president Zahra Mohammad Shoaib Ayubi '06 agreed with Huda.

"The BMSA is a resource to the greater Brandeis community," Ayubi said. "The main purpose of Islam Awareness Month is to educate the community at large about Islam and Muslim students."

According to the Muslim lunar calendar, this November marks the Holy Month of Ramadan, during which Muslims spend their daytime fasting and, at night, breaking the fast with the traditional Iftar dinner.

Ayubi said that Islam Awareness Month concurs with the Holy Month of Ramadan brings even more significance to the programs.

"This year we chose to have Islam Awareness Month during the Holy month of Ramadan in which Muslims fast during the day light hours for the duration of the month," Ayubi said. "Ramadan is meant to be a self- and community-purifying time as well as a time for reflection and raised sensitivity toward those who are less fortunate.

"The goal for the month has been education and to share our faith with the community as well as engage in conversation about issues discussed at the lectures."

Most of the events held were co-sponsored by other campus organizations. The Hunger Banquet, on Nov. 11, and the upcoming Shabbat Iftar, on Nov. 21 are programs that Hillel co-sponsored with the BMSA.

"The purpose of co-sponsoring some of the events with Hillel and other groups is so that more students of the campus will be engaged in Islamic awareness," Ayubi said. "There would be an exchange of ideas and effective dialogue between diverse groups on campus."

There were events focusing more on the religious aspect of Ramadan, namely Huda's Nov. 3 lecture on "The Inner Meanings of Ramadan," as well as the Hunger Banquet, which shed light on hunger throughout the world by interactively involving students in a banquet divided into low-income and high-income dining. The lecture, given by Prof. J. Larry Brown of the Heller School of Social Policy and Management, created more awareness about disadvantages in countries with economic issues that impede on their citizens' well being.

This year's central event, according to Ayubi, was a lecture given by professor Omid Safi, assistant professor of philosophy and religion at Colgate University on Thurs. Nov. 13, in Sherman Function Hall.

Titled "Social Justice Issues in the Progressive Muslim Movements," the presentation focused on contemporary misconceptions of Islam and of the progressive Muslim movement's efforts to push for civil rights that were hazed by the concept of "Clash of Civilizations," as Safi calls it.

There was also a signing of his new book, "Progressive Muslims: on Gender, Justice, and Pluralism."

"I'm not interested in discussing whether the Wahabis, Ayatollah Khomeini, Bernard Lewis, or Daniel Pipes are good people," Safi said. "I want, rather, to see how their discourse helps focus people on the 'Clash of Civilizations.'"

He further proceeded to castigate Wahabist Islam and their twisting the Qur'an's words to allude to violence.

"The idea of standing up for the Divine but for stating the critique for your own preachers is very important," Safi said. "It is so easy in this day, with so much hate and suffering, that we must focus on upholding justice. Those who don't uphold justice, we will act against them, but this must start at home."

Safi blamed Khomeini for saying that "the contemporary Muslim sees the basic assumptions of Modern Western civilization as the antithesis of the Islamic principles he cherishes." According to Safi, this non-mainstream rhetoric engenders unnecessary backlash from the United States.

Also, according to Safi, the Wahabists changed the language of a text recited by Muslims 17 times a day to satisfy their agenda. The text, with additions annotated in parentheses, was added in the Wahabist edition of the Qur'an, and reads, "The way of those on whom You bestowed Your Grace, not (the way) of those who encourage Your anger (such as the Jews)."

According to Safi, pamphlets with such misconstruing of texts, which are distributed in many Arab countries for free to students, gives the mainstream and progressive Muslim communities a wrong negative image.

"Justice is indivisible. One cannot affirm it for this one and that one but not for all," Safi said. "You cannot affirm it for certain groups and not for all and in the Qur'an, standing up for justice is inherently a part of it. You cannot pursue the post of being human without pursuing justice."

While Islam Awareness Month is not yet over, according to Huda, it has so far been very valuable to the entire community.

"It's bringing a lot of people together," Huda said. "It is bringing Muslims together, it's bringing the community together and it gives a whole range of people the ability to partake in these events.