As college students, we’re used to encountering various awareness events. But this week’s “Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week” isn’t your everyday Bruin Plaza bake sale.
Put on by Bruin Republicans, with similar events being held at universities around the country, the week aims to link some of the most significant political problems of today ““ terrorism and human rights abuses ““ with a specific source: Islamic extremism.
At the center of the debate seems to be the question of whether enlightening students about such important issues is worth running the risk of spreading intolerance toward religions.
“Radical Islam is a major problem of our generation,” said fifth-year economics student and Bruin Republicans chairman and former Daily Bruin Viewpoint columnist David Lazar. “It’s an attempt by people in Western Europe and even America to impose Sharia, or Islamic law, on all of us.”
However, Muslim students feel as though the event will misrepresent their faith.
“The agenda being pushed is not one I’d like to see my country being pushed toward,” said Mohammad Tajsar, fourth-year English and comparative literature student and external affairs director for the Muslim Student Association at UCLA. “It targets students and people in no way related to political context overseas.”
While I have no doubt that students will gain something valuable from attending such events and that the messages Bruin Republicans is sending are probably valid, I hope students will proceed with caution.
Rather than taking the things they learn throughout the week as fact, they should use it as a launching platform that will allow them to explore Islam from a variety of vantage points.
One such vantage point is the one represented by the Muslim Student Association. Tajsar emphasized that the organization aspires to be open to curiosity and questions from non-members, and though they will be criticized later this week for having ties to radical Islam, they make valuable contributions to the community.
“We have a history of involvement in social justice and community service. If you think that’s fascism, look it up in the dictionary,” he said.
Lazar has planned events to include a question-and-answer session to allow such viewpoints to be heard. He says he hopes this can serve as a way to reach the Islamic community and that they’ll join him in “condemning the horrific actions being done in the name of Islam.”
However, certain aspects of the week, including its name, will mean Muslims may hesitate before taking part in the events festivities at all.
“(The name of the event) functions to conflate Islam and fascism, effectively labeling all Muslims as fascists and conveying a highly negative value judgment,” said sociolinguist and communication studies Professor Pamela Hobbs.
“By suggesting analogies with well-known initiatives such as AIDS Awareness Week and Breast Cancer Awareness Week, it acts to present Islam as a disease … something that poses a threat to public health and should be eradicated,” said Hobbs.
Whatever the event may be called, I encourage Muslims to put aside feelings of frustration toward the Bruin Republicans and channel the energy into creating awareness about Islam not pertaining to terror.
By providing students with more evidence of how Islam can be a valuable part of life, it will not overshadow the atrocities that have been committed by followers of Islam, which students definitely should be aware of.
But it will help them keep things in perspective and establish differences between traditional and radical Islam.
“A lot of the hysteria comes from people having a limited understanding,” said Tajsar. “Getting to know others will make for a much more cohesive student environment.”
This will allow for “Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week” to be a success in that students are aware of such evils while still understanding that Muslims, including students at UCLA, are mostly just people trying to go about their daily lives.
E-mail Noble at bnoble@media.ucla.edu.