Since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, many Americans have had hard feelings towards the religion of Islam and its followers. However University of Arkansas student Salama Almahayni says Islamic terrorists are the exception, not the rule. “Every religion has their extremists. All of them have extremists of the same sort,” she says. “Look at your religion first and the people who have believed your religion and see what they have done first and then compare it to Islam.”
Almahayni believes that Islam’s primary focus is peace and tolerance. “Islam literally means peace, and it’s a derivative of the word peace.” She says Islam has always been an extremely tolerant and moderate religion. “Everything about Islam is supposed to be about the moderate way.”
Almahayni is also involved in the Muslim Student Association on campus, a group devoted to socializing with people of the same beliefs and to helping spread the true beliefs of Islam. Some of the members of the Association attend prayer services at the Islamic Center of Northwest Arkansas, a mosque built in 2003 that is located on the corner of Razorback and Center streets, across from the outdoor track stadium.
For more information about the Muslim Student Association, e-mail muslim@uark.edu. If you are interested in visiting the Islamic Center of Northwest Arkansas, it is open to the public during Friday’s prayer at 1:30pm.