By Danielle Kutchel
No topic was off limits at a recent Question Islam event at Federation University Berwick.
Approximately 50 students and staff members attended the event on Wednesday 11 September, which was organised by Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, as part of the educational campaign Muslims Down Under.
The event aimed to “put Islam under the spotlight”.
A spokesperson for Muslims Down Under said the event exceeded expectations.
“Once the ice was broken, students asked many questions and a lot of myths and misconceptions were clarified,” he said.
Over the two hour Q and A session, topics included Jihad, terrorism, women in Islam, marriage, Sharia Law, and the political state of the Muslim world.
Imam Syed Wadood Janud, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Imam in-charge for Melbourne, Northern Territory and Tasmania, provided responses to the eager questions.
The spokesperson said while many Australians hold reservations or even fears about Islam and Muslims, the Question Islam event allowed these to be addressed.
“Programs like these … will not only help us to remove the negative sentiments about Islam but by increasing our understanding of each other we will be able to forge greater ties of kinship and to establish an atmosphere of brotherhood and mutual sympathy,” he said.
“I want to encourage the community to meet a Muslim, interact with us, and learn about our faith from us, not from the afternoon news or social media. Interaction, education and awareness break down walls of ignorance and division.”
Similar events are planned for locations around Victoria, with the next session to be held in Ballarat.
