Source/Credit: Read the Horn | UT Austin
By Christina Woodard | May 1, 2012
The Ahmadiyya Muslim Student Organization presented their interfaith dialogue Coexist: A Message of Peace throughout The University of Texas campus community on Sunday, April 29 in the SAC Black Box Theatre.
Founded to spread awareness of Ahmadiyya Islam, the purpose of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Student Organization is to promote a peaceful co-existence with all races and religions. Student, faculty and staff members of the group provide services that benefit both UT and the community. Service opportunities for the religious organization encompass events such as interfaith dialogues, Islamic faith and Ahmadiyya presentations, and blood drives. Through their efforts, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Student Organization strives to promote unity and dispel misconceptions about their faith.
“You have to find that inner peace and proper connection with God,” said Usama Malik, president of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Student Organization. “Then and only then can you peacefully coexist with everyone around you.”
UT students are presented daily with the opportunity to mix and mingle with all types of religions, and for many this is an important aspect of college life.
“I think that accepting each other’s religious views helps us learn so much more about different groups of people and can even help us learn more about our own religion sometimes,” UT student Aleida Gamez said.
From Christian to Jewish and Islamic perspectives, Coexist posed the question: “How can we all coexist peacefully despite our religious differences?”
Professor Robert Woodberry of the UT Sociology Department spoke to the Christian perspective, Rabbi Moshe of Hillel spoke for the Jewish faith and scholar Lutfur Rahman Mahmoud brought the Islamic perspective forward.
“Originally we were going to have four speakers,” event coordinator Joseph Seager said. “We chose to go with Islamic and Judaism because they have the hardest time getting along, even though they are from the same origin.”
A question and answer session followed the speakers, and Free Samosas and Tiff’s Treats were served to attendees. Seager said speaker time was purposely cut short so that there would be more opportunity for intergroup dialogue.
“The root of so many of our problems is of religious conflicts,” Seager said. “I feel like it’s our responsibility as human beings, especially at UT, to start talking about that.”
-- Follow Christina Woodard on Twitter: @ChristinaWooda1
Read original post here: Student org held “Coexist” for interfaith dialogue
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