SCSU session on Islam aims for tolerance

SCSU session on Islam aims for tolerance
By David Unze • dunze@stcloudtimes.com • April 13, 2010

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The event, which is scheduled for noon in the Cascade Room of Atwood Memorial Center, is in response to recent instances of anti-Muslim activity in St. Cloud.
The keynote speaker for the event is Dr. Jamal Badawi, a scholar of Islam, who will speak about the concept of coexistence among different religious traditions from an Islamic perspective. The event is free and open to the public.
Recent anti-Muslim incidents include the posting in several locations around St. Cloud of drawings that depicted sexually explicit and obscene activity, the prophet Mohammed and a swastika, among other things.
"Recent incidents such as the hateful cartoons posted around St. Cloud show the need for Islamic education and understanding," said Mohammed Hatim Kareem, St. Cloud State MSA president, in a news release. "We hope to bring together people of all faiths and talk about how we can live together peacefully."
In late March, the Council on American-Islamic Relations asked the U.S. Department of Education to investigate what it calls a hostile learning environment for Muslims in St. Cloud and other Minnesota schools.
The group claimed there is a growing number of instances in St. Cloud schools in which Somali and Muslim students are being harassed and discriminated against. Some of the incidents took place at Apollo and Technical high schools, according to the group's complaint to the Department of Education.