This week students are bringing awareness to Islam by reaching out to the campus community and asking for support.

From Oct. 26 through Oct. 30, the Muslim Student Association (MSA) at CSUSM is celebrating Islam Awareness Week in order to challenge and break down some misconceptions surrounding the religion of Islam as well as Muslim Americans.

“Islam Awareness week is important because the one thing that many people don’t receive is accurate information about Muslims and Islam. For some people, the only things they’ve learned about Islam stems from the Media, where most stories are exaggerated or inaccurate,” said MSA Vice President, Sabreena Yaseen. “Having events like these allows students to ask their own questions to people knowledgeable about the subjects, as well as meet Muslims on campus and learn more about Islam through them as well. Our goal is to bring different religious issues to light and bring awareness to their realities.”

On Monday, Oct. 26, MSA students stood outside of the USU and distributed 200 roses with messages attached from the Prophet Muhammed. These messages provided descriptions of the Prophet’s life and vision. While sharing these roses with students throughout campus, MSA members also asked for support in their effort to educate others on Islam.

The next Islam Awareness Week event was held on Tuesday night and was titled “Walking Gently on the Earth”, featuring guest speaker Sr. Nana Firman. This talk focused on the relationship between Islam and environmental consciousness.

There was also an event held on Wednesday night called “Understanding Gender: An Islamic Perspective” with guest speaker Sr. Marwa Abdulla, which explored the concepts of gender in Islam and also cleared up some common misconceptions.

“It’s important for students to attend these events because they are able to learn so much about Islam and Muslims from the interactive activity and the lectures. The events covers many diverse topics and I think they would be of interest to many people,” said MSA President, Leena El-Maleh

Students still have a chance to attend events throughout the week including tonight on Thursday, Oct. 29 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. in University Hall 100. “The History of the Erosion of Civil Liberties” will feature the Executive Director of the Council of American-Islamic Religions, Br. Hanif Mohebi.

Also on the agenda for Islam Awareness Week is a Jummah Prayer and Khutba event which will take place on Friday, Oct. 30 from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. in USU 2310. This Friday prayer will be open for anyone to participate in or watch.

“We hope to create more understanding about the Islamic faith and allow student to hear Islamic perspectives from our speakers,” said El-Maleh.

MSA will hold even more events throughout the year and hope that they can gain as much support from their fellow students as possible.

“We want to be able to create an understanding about the Islamic Perspective among the students. We also want to continue creating an open and communicative environment among everyone on campus.”