2008 Woodie Awards
Event teaches students about Islam
Jared Mogensen
Issue date: 11/29/07 Section: News
|
Conceived as an open discussion forum/lecture with audience participation encouraged and welcomed, the event was plagued by the same fear of public speaking as many classrooms, and most of the time, rather than questions being asked by non-Muslims, there were comments offered from Muslims.
There was a plethora of information presented by Nehrwr Abdul-Wahid.
Abdul-Wahid had a very casual, easygoing attitude and tone throughout the evening, and he interspersed bits of the Arabic language into his speech, adding a little spice of multi-culturalism and strengthening the tie between Islam and the Arabic language.
Over the course of the hour-and-a-half long presentation, listeners gained basic insight into the world of Islam.
Abdul-Wahid discussed ideas that guide the lives of Muslims all over the world.
He also discussed the differences between Muslims in different countries, from cultural to lingual to physical, and how they are all tied together through the common religious practices they all share.
He demonstrated many points and used the Muslims in the audience as his allies to drive home some points that may have been lost were it not for their participation.
In the instance where he was reciting verses from the Qur'an, he purposely made a mistake, and many of Muslims in the audience corrected him, almost in unison.
The statement showed the dedication the followers have to their religion.
The word Qur'an, in Arabic, means "recitation," a clue to how the book was passed down through the ages.
Many Islamic cultures have been oral cultures, and the message was passed down with no written copies of the Qur'an until long after it came into existence.
The only way people were able to retain the message was by memorizing it and passing it down to the next generation, until someone decided to write it down on paper.