Panel Discussion to Be Held on Muslim Perspectives

Three campus organizations are sponsoring a panel discussion to help provide a Muslim point of view on the events of September 11. "Quran, Jihad, 9/11: A Muslim Perspective" is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. on Monday, October 29, in Textor 103. It is free and open to the public.

Shelley Facente ’02, a planned studies major, will be the moderator. Serving on the panel will be

• Asma Barlas, associate professor and chair of the Department of Politics, and director of the Center for the Study of Culture, Race, and Ethnicity, who will discuss the Quran and the basic tenets of Islam;
• Naeem Inayatullah, assistant professor of politics, who will discuss international relations and religious terrorism; and
• Omer Bajwa, a graduate student in communications at Cornell University, who will discuss the jihad in historical context and how it relates to Osama bin Laden and his followers.

The event is sponsored by Ithaca College’s Student Government Association, Interfaith Council, and Diversity Awareness Committee. Following the presentations by the panelists, audience members will have an opportunity to ask questions and engage in discussion.

"Many Americans have made derogatory statements toward people of the Muslim faith in the wake of the tragedy," says politics major Roger Custer ’04, an organizer of the program. "The intent of this forum is not only to educate the community about the tenets of Islam, but also to give non-Muslims a better perspective on their own beliefs and backgrounds through the discourse facilitated by the panel. I hope it will be the first of a series in which we can explore a variety of topics from religious perspectives."