Islam in Higher Education in United States - Research Paper Example

Islam in Higher Education in United s Submitted by: April 21st, Topic: Exploring a Diversity Plan for Culturally Responsive Teaching Exploring a diversity plan for culturally responsive teaching is important for promoting multicultural understanding in students on campus. The basis of this plan is the view that increased knowledge about world religious traditions through an intercultural program that increases group expression and dialog is beneficial in creating harmony and reducing hate crimes. Socially, patterns of racism and discrimination need generational change and increased information sharing to be eradicated in populations, and these knowledge-based plans of multicultural spirituality will have long lasting results in the shaping of the individuals personally on campus. Lessons Learned: Islamophobia can be viewed as a social problem such as racism, sexism, or other forms of discrimination. These types of hate-based beliefs are created from ignorance of other cultures primarily, and should be unacceptable as a practice in higher education. Multicultural education can promote tolerance in the campus community through diversity awareness. An effective approach to combat Islamophobia is addressed through a platform that teaches the diversity of all world religions and not just Islam alone. Believers from every faith should be part of this process. A plan that can be implemented across campus by educators in existing classes is more likely to have a widespread impact than a voluntary program. The individuals targeted most by the need for the information will likely be least likely to attend a voluntary program. Nevertheless, all learning is voluntary, and rather than promote division the plan seeks to build a textbook and video that can be used in classes displaying the diversity in unity of religious belief and practice worldwide. This inter-religious approach was favored over a unilateral approach to combating religious discrimination against Muslims, as it fits with the broader principles of tolerance and multiculturalism on campus. Application to Practice: The responsibility of this plan is to prepare the organization for the construction of publications and multi-media resources, including pamphlets, hand-outs, video, and ultimately a textbook that can be used by educators in already existing classes. Individuals can be encouraged to learn more about religion and spirituality through an intercultural framework that includes textbook, video, and other course materials in the plan. The video and textbook will both be prepared by committees of experts in the field, professional academics, who will both contribute essays on their faith and also video interviews for the project. Volunteers will assist with editing and producing this. The final version should include a textbook with representative background on the main beliefs of all the world religions, as well as the rituals and practices that distinguish them. These would be reinforced with principles of multiculturalism teaching the importance of tolerance through mutual understanding of ideas. Sources Cited: Bauer, Anne M. & Kroeger, Stephen D. (2004). Exploring Diversity: A Video Case Approach. Pearson Higher Education, 2004. Gollnick, Donna & Chinn, M. Philip (2009). Multicultural Education in a Pluralistic Society, 8the Edition. Pearson Higher Education, 2009. Islam in Higher Education in United States Topic: Exploring a Diversity Plan for Culturally Responsive Teaching Submitted by: Class: Date: April 12th, 2011 Part I. Research Paper: Exploring Diversity Part I - Abstract: Islam as a religion dates to the year 610 A.D. when the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) began to receive the revelation of prophecy recorded in the Quran. During the course of history, the religion has spread throughout Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Europe, and the Americas to create distinct social and cultural institutions that have contributed to world heritage in many important ways. Islam as lived and practiced historically by people all over the world is an underreported and little understood social and cultural value system for people who grow up without significant exposure or community interrelation with Muslim culture. Thus, multicultural programs in higher education need to target the awareness deficiencies of youth in today’s universities, who may form their opinions and understanding of Islam from images and depictions in popular culture and media that have little in common with the historical traditions, faith, and practice of Muslims indigenously. This research paper analyzes the requirements for building a diversity program in higher education that can be implemented effectively to educate youth about the social and cultural dimensions of Islam historically and in modern society. Part I - Introduction: Exploring a diversity plan for culturally responsive teaching is important for promoting multicultural understanding in students as well as in society. Modern liberal democracies require a tolerance among citizens that respects the religious beliefs of others, and this research paper suggests that multicultural understanding is best built through the education of students in the historical and cultural traditions of all religions. Yet, the terrorist attacks of 9/11, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and the modern political reporting on Islam in news media all create a historical condition that can be considered as unique in America, and possibly calling for the additional attention of educators in the coursework, lectures, and readings. The threat of intolerance is great and can be seen on campus in discrimination, hate groups, attacks, and other types of behavior that seriously affect the health of community in higher education. Teachers can address current events specifically in their classes, yet there is the need for an even more comprehensive education in religious understanding and tolerance that is based in history and culture. Developing resources and an appropriate plan of implementation shall be the additional goal of this study. A diversity plan as implemented in the United States or Europe in the context of higher education will be different than one implemented in a Middle Eastern or Asian university, because the fundamental ethnic, religious, and cultural institutions of society are different. Thus, our diversity plan for Islam must be constructed to address the unique needs of the students in the culture from which they are participating as citizens. The diversity plan suggests that unique coursework materials including multimedia resources should be developed that can be provided to educators to integrate into their existing classes, lectures, and themes as complimentary material, as well as designing program material that can be introduced as part of multicultural education programs that are conducted on their own basis. Through this, the diversity plan hopes to achieve a wider application in the general student body than would be possible based on voluntary attendance programs alone. The diversity plan intends to lay the fundamental requirements of what is needed to prepare this curriculum material for educators to teach specific courses on the social and cultural history of Islam. This includes books, pamphlets, hand-outs, and other material for the students, guides for implementation for the educators, and video material that can be shown independently in the classroom. Part I - Discussion: Exploring Diversity In conducting a review of literature and scholarly journals for this research project, sources were chosen to relate specific scholarship of recent publications to earlier works that were developed in multiculturalism at the beginning of the initiation of the movement. Primarily, given 25 years of academic initiatives in multicultural awareness, lessons have been learned by previous programs as to what is effective in accomplishing the aims of diversity and tolerance on campus. This literature review was further limited to reflect Islamic Studies issues as they relate to multiculturalism. This research implements the goals of two textbooks, “Multicultural Education in Pluralistic Society” by Donna & Chinn (2006) and “Exploring Diversity: A Video Case Approach” by Kroger & Bauer, A.M (2004) in building a diversity plan for culturally responsive teaching. A study published by Sarfaroz Niyozov and Gary Pluim in 2009 titled “Teachers' Perspectives on the Education of Muslim Students: A Missing Voice in Muslim Education Research” illustrates the need for the building of a diversity plan relating specifically to Islamic Studies in culture. The study reports: “The article examines and challenges the research, media and publicly produced contradictory and overlapping statements about Western teachers' work with Muslim students. Predominantly pessimistic, these pronouncements implicate teachers in (1) racism and Islamophobia; (2) an unwillingness and inability to include Muslims' historical and contemporary contributions and perspectives into the existing school curricula; (3) a lowering of expectations about their Muslim students and channelling them into non-academic streams; (4) cultural and religious insensitivity; and (5) an overall lack of knowledge about Islam and Muslims. The article problematizes these observations by engaging with them conceptually and methodologically, and by bringing counter-points from research. The article concludes by proposing a balanced portrayal of teachers' work and the inclusion of teachers' perspectives to improve policy, research, and practice in educating Muslim students within a multicultural society.” (Niyozov & Pluim, 2009) While specifically addressing bias in teachers is beyond the scope of the diversity plan, as our program is generally targeting students, this study does illustrate the bias and discrimination described as “Islamophobia” which can be seen on campus today. Furthermore, the “lowering of expectations” for Muslim students points to a similar practice with reference to African-American youth from low income communities, pointing to a joined social practice of discrimination with a basis in racism that may target minorities because of the color of skin or ethnic background. Educating multicultural tolerance in this context is targeting these attitudes in a type of intended reform of practices in educational institutions. In "Education and Islam: A New Strategic Approach" (2004) Maurice Irfan Coles writes, “The events of 9/11, the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, and various ‘terrorist’ attacks throughout the world have led to an increase in anti-Muslim sentiment, expression and action. For many Muslims the wearing of hijab, or having beards or turbans, or any dress code that can vaguely be associated with Islam, has led to overt hostility. Islamophobia is a relatively new term but a very old prejudice. It has little to do with Islam itself but is more about people’s prejudiced perceptions of Islam. The term ‘Islamophobia’ itself became widely known in Britain after the publication of a report by the Runnymede Trust, Islamophobia – a challenge for us all, in 19973. This well argued and balanced report made a clear distinction between legitimate debate and disagreement about Muslim beliefs and customs, a debate in which many Muslims themselves participate, what the authors called, ‘ open views of Islam’; and between what the authors argue is unfounded prejudice and hostility, ‘closed views of Islam’.” (Coles, 2004) Thus, ‘Islamophobia’ can be seen as a socially undesirable belief system in institutions and civil society itself as it is found in a multicultural democracy, and like racism, sexism, or other forms of discrimination, it should be unacceptable as a practice in the campus community and higher education. Thus, our program in cultural diversity must combat this, and in order to do so must develop an understanding of the root causes of the problem. If we understand ignorance of the cultural practices of Islam as religion primarily as a cause of ‘Islamophobia,’ we can target that negative social belief through popular education programs that highlight the richness of Islamic culture worldwide. Similarly, in “Intercultural and Multicultural Education: Enhancing Global Interconnectedness” (2010), Carl A. Grant writes: “Unlike Comparative Education or Multicultural Education, an intercultural approach still requires necessary scientific researches of its practical application, along with shared theoretical foundations and mutual epistemology for researchers of different nationalities and languages.” (Grant, 2010, p. 25) Following the reading of “Intercultural and Multicultural Education: Enhancing Global Interconnectedness,” I decided to pursue a methodology that was based on interculturalism as a specific technique within the multicultural paradigm. The reason for this became clear in the interview I conducted with a professor in Islamic Studies, and this led to the development of an intercultural approach in combating ‘Islamophobia’. What this means practically is that rather than building a multicultural program that would just focus on Islamic culture, we needed to build a wider framework of religious understanding and tolerance that promoted the mutual understanding of all religions, and focus within that in expressing our Muslim heritage with all its diversity and richness historically. From this, I also decided to build the framework of our education program, and the textbook, video, & other materials that would accompany it, on an intercultural methodology as suggested in this work. In "Exploring Spirituality and Culture in Adult and Higher Education" (2003), Elizabeth J. Tisdell writes: "Spirituality is an important part of human experience. So is culture. In the last decade, there has been much discussion of the cultural dimension of human experience, and the importance of attending to it in higher and adult education. More recently, there has been some consideration of the role of spirituality in teaching and learning as well. For the most part, however, there has been little discussion of the connection between culture and spirituality - the cultural dimension of spirituality and the spiritual dimension of culture - and the importance of their connection to adult and higher education." (Tisdell, 2003) In reading Tisdell’s work, I decided to build our diversity program on the intercultural aspects of spirituality as they are reflected in religious cultural practice, and to focus on Islamic faith, culture, and history in building the specialized research needed for this plan. Yet, this also requires recognition of the need to show the positive aspects of Islamic spirituality throughout their expression in numerous societies across time. In building our textbook, course materials, and video for a diversity program, I elected to volunteer for the responsibilities of representing Muslims in the multicultural education process by building the historical research on Islamic spirituality across the different cultures of the world. This is the intention of building a positive message and a focus on spirituality to combat the stereotypes that portray Islam negatively. In popular literature these themes can be seen in a recent newspaper article by the Guardian titled “Islamophobia on the Rise as Austerity Bites,” where the author notes: “France, where the National Front polled almost 12% of the vote in last year's regional elections, has criminalised the wearing of the burqa and niqab, and in Belgium similar draft legislation passed last year could also come into force. In Holland, Geert Wilders's Party for Freedom (PVV), whose manifesto includes a ban on the Qur'an and an end to all immigration from Muslim countries, became the third-largest party at last year's general election.” (Fekete, 2011) This article goes to illustrate the actual problems that Islamophobia in people and institutions can create in inflicting hardship on other unnecessarily, and in how these issues can be used to divide society and create racial or ethnic tension. As such, the diversity program as envisioned will educate on Islamic culture and history, to show the positive aspects of Muslim spirituality, and hope that this can assist in popular understanding in countries where Muslims are a minority population. In a Washington Post article titled, “Five Myths about Muslims in America,” Feisal Abdul Rauf writes: “I founded the multi-faith Cordoba Initiative to fight the misunderstandings that broaden the divide between Islam and the West — each perceived as harmful by the other. Millions of American Muslims, who see no contradiction between being American and being Muslim, are working hard to bridge this gap.” (Rauf, 2011) In chapter one of the textbook “Multicultural Education in a Pluralistic Society,” the authors discuss what they call the “Foundations of Multicultural Education” traditionally. (Gollnick & Chinn, 2009, p.4) Multicultural education, global culture, and the individual and group cultural identity of people and families are related to the importance of tolerance in liberal democratic societies and the mutual respect for ideas. These ideas found the basis and goal of the implementation of the diversity plan. In chapter seven, the authors discuss the relation of religion to culture and show how it is inseparable from both personal and group identity. The importance of religious pluralism in the United States establishes the historical ground for tolerance. (Gollnick & Chinn, 2009, p.234) In “Exploring Diversity: A Video Case Approach,” the authors ask us to consider what culturally responsive teaching can contribute to building harmony in classrooms, and creating environments of learning that are free of racial and anti-religious bias. : (Kroeger & Bauer, 2004, pp.21-25) This book also assists the plan in building a diversity program that is based on standards of consensus and peer review, which will be used in the construction of a textbook and course materials in our program through a committee of academic professionals in each religion. This intercultural methodology in building a multicultural environment is further discussed in “Exploring Diversity: A Video Case Approach” with regard to the implementation of INTASC Principles. (Kroeger & Bauer, 2004, p.29) As the paper "Tolerance in teacher education: restructuring the curriculum in a diverse but segregated university classroom" noted in the journal ‘Multicultural Education' (2006): “As a culturally responsive teacher one must celebrate each student as part of the learning community. To be culturally responsive and find the commonalities within a classroom, a teacher must recognize that he/she must work toward social justice for his/her students.” (Watson & Johnston, 2006) Part I – The Interview In order to build background understanding on the issues, I interviewed an assistant professor of Islamic Studies at the university to receive his views on the most effective ways to introduce multicultural education on the cultural history of Islam to a wider audience of students. The professor agreed with my explanation of the need for this, and we discussed examples of the way cultural practice and values in Muslim communities were expressed culturally throughout history, but a limited view of this was communicated in the popular media only. The need as defined would be “to build interest in students for multicultural education.” This professor stressed that it “would be better to implement this diversity plan as part of a wider model educating on the cultural diversity of all religious practice, rather than focusing on a program that would just address Islam in relation to popular media discussion of terrorism.” That, he felt, “would reinforce the social stereotypes that the diversity program itself sought to counter.” The professor suggested that I use my interest to build the Islamic basis for curriculum materials that specifically addressed Muslim identity. The professor told me that it was good for Muslims “to represent their own religion, faith, and understanding” when conducting diversity programs, but that “course material that all educators could implement into their classes” would be a big help. He told me that my interest in Islamic Studies and Muslim cultural history should be put to use ‘in building the books, literature, pamphlets, and video productions” that provided the foundation for a course in diversity. But he also told me that I would need “to work together with other Muslims and academics to build this research,” because the topic itself was “too large.” The professor gave me some suggestions on how to integrate this with “a broader course on religion and society related to diversity and tolerance.” We discussed ways to build pamphlets, hand-outs and videos that educators could introduce into their classes as part of this campaign. I ended the interview by asking the professor to write a short introduction to our pamphlet on the importance of diversity and its relation to the understanding of Islamic culture and history globally, and he agreed to join our committee. As part of this research, I also conducted an interview with a student that I chose to be representative of the age and background of the general population on campus. I asked the person some questions to ascertain the general level of knowledge about Islam. He stated that he “understood the division between Sunni and Shiites in Iraq and Afghanistan,” but that he “did not understand the full reasons behind” the division. He explained that this was “similar to Catholicism and Protestantism” in his view. I asked how many Shiites he thought lived in Afghanistan, but he said he did not know, “probably less than Iraq.” I asked what other Islamic countries he knew and he stated: “Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Palestine, Syria, Turkey, Lebanon, UAE, Libya, Morocco, Algeria, Sudan, Yemen, and Pakistan.” I complimented him on this, and asked what he knew of the religious practices in these countries. He said, “not much,” but that Muslims “generally prayed 5 times a day facing Mecca and tried to make a pilgrimage there once in their life.“ He said “Muslims believe in Allah” and “fast during Ramadan.” I then asked the student what he thought would be important in a campus-wide program in religious diversity and tolerance. He stated that the course “should be exciting,” and hoped that it would not be “boring.” I asked if he thought that religion was boring in general, and he said that he really was “not very religious,” but believed that “everyone should have the right to their own freedom of religion.” I asked the student what it meant to express the freedom of religion, and he stated that it meant “to be free of anybody controlling your thoughts or actions.” Finally, I asked him what he thought of Islam and its religious beliefs personally, and he said he didn’t know enough about them to judge. This point illustrates the main problem that the diversity plan seeks to address, but in relation to this the student also admitted that he also did not the details of other religions, not just Islam, pointing to the need to integrate this education as part of a broader understanding of religion. However, this student also said that “I don’t believe that religion should be a big part of the formal university education system,” which created an issue that may be of wider need of addressing by the administrators of the diversity program. Part I - Conclusion: This diversity plan explores culturally responsive teaching methods in higher education towards the implementation of an Islamic Studies program that is part of a larger intercultural program that builds awareness of the issues of tolerance and multiculturalism in society. The research suggests that ‘Islamophobia’ may have increased tremendously in America and Western Europe in the past ten years following the 9/11 attacks, and that this is largely an issue of people being uneducated or unaware of the positive aspects of Islamic culture popularly. The existence of Muslims as minorities in Western Societies demands that additional attention be given to ensure that their rights, including freedom of religion but extending to all social and political rights, are respected in the society. Multicultural education can promote tolerance through diversity awareness, and individuals can be encouraged to learn more about religion and spirituality through an intercultural framework that includes textbook, video, and other course materials in the plan. Part I - Reference List: Bartlett, L., Frederick, M., Gulbrandsen, T., & Murillo, E. (2002). The marketization of education: Public schools for private ends. Anthropology & Education Quarterly, 33(1), 5-29. Bauer, Anne M. & Kroeger, Stephen D. (2004). Exploring Diversity: A Video Case Approach. Pearson Higher Education, 2004. Cochran-Smith, M., Davis, D., & Fries, K. (2004). Multicultural teacher education: Research, practice, and policy. In: J. Banks (Ed.), Handbook of research in multicultural education (pp. 931-936). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Coles, Maurice Irfan (2009). Education and Islam: a new strategic approach. Race Equality Teaching, Trentham Books 2004. Retrieved from http://www.re-net.ac.uk/attachments/47ec42b6-e362-4512-9bd3-889c6096eaa3.pdf Fekete, Liz (2011). Islamophobia on the rise as austerity bites. The Guardian, 13 April 2011. Retrieved from http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/apr/13/islamophobia-rise-austerity-bites Gollnick, Donna & Chinn, M. Philip (2009). Multicultural Education in a Pluralistic Society, 8the Edition. Pearson Higher Education, 2009. Grant, Carl A. (2009). Intercultural and multicultural education: enhancing global interconnectedness. Taylor & Francis, 2010. Retrieved from http://books.google.co.in/books?id=bLFCaxYZa28C Niyozov, Sarfaroz and Pluim, Gary (2009). Teachers' Perspectives on the Education of Muslim Students: A Missing Voice in Muslim Education Research. The Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto, 2009. Retrieved from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1467-873X.2009.00463.x/abstract Ogbu, J. U. (2003). Black American students in an affluent suburb: A study of academic disengagement. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2003. Rauf, Feisal Abdul (2011). Five myths about Muslims in America. The Washington Post, April 1, 2011. Retrieved from http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/five-myths-about-muslims-in-america/2011/03/30/AFePWOIC_story.html Tisdell, Elizabeth J. (2009). Exploring spirituality and culture in adult and higher education. John Wiley and Sons, 2003. Retrieved from http://books.google.co.in/books?id=4A9Q6v668rUC Watson, Sandy White & Johnston, Linda (2006). Tolerance in teacher education: restructuring the curriculum in a diverse but segregated university classroom. Multicultural Education, Caddo Gap Press, 2006. Retrieved from http://www.freepatentsonline.com/article/Multicultural-Education/143629435.html Watson, Sandy White & Johnston, Linda (2006). Tolerance in teacher education: restructuring the curriculum in a diverse but segregated university classroom. Multicultural Education, Caddo Gap Press, 2006. Retrieved from http://www.freepatentsonline.com/article/Multicultural-Education/143629435.html Part II – The Plan for Culturally Responsive Teaching The plan for building a diversity education program based on Islamic cultural history will be implemented as part of a larger multicultural program in higher education related to religious tolerance. The responsibility of this plan is to prepare the organization for the construction of publications and multi-media resources, including pamphlets, hand-outs, video, and ultimately a textbook that can be used by educators in already existing classes. This approach was decided upon against the implementation of a voluntary attendance program, because of the possibility for a wider appeal to the target audience. The program materials should also become extensive enough to be used as a stand-alone program in diversity education, and the production of materials will require a committee of experts in religious studies that include all of the major religions. The textbook will be divided into sections on each of the religions, and the video will provide 5 to 10 minute segments dedicated to each major faith: Islam, Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, Jainism, and Indigenous belief schools. This context of world religions provides the larger theme of the diversity program, and the plan will address the particular aspects required for developing the Islamic Studies section of the research. The first stage involves the building of an academic committee of professional educators in higher education in religion. I have taken responsibility with organizing a committee of 5 to 10 academics in Islamic Studies who will serve as consultants to the program and contribute literature to the project for the production of the textbook, video, and other resources. An editor will be placed in charge of the process of collecting submissions and building them into the chapter on Islamic history and culture that will be placed in the textbook. The editor will also facilitate communications between the main project committee, which includes the academics of all religions. The introductory and conclusion chapters of the textbook itself will be written in association with academics from all of the religions, while each will also collaborate in producing a chapter of history that illustrates the cultural and social history of the faith. The final result should be a textbook titled: “Exploring Diversity: Multiculturalism through Religion.” This textbook will be able to form the basis for a stand-alone course and program in diversity, but can also be used by educators in the context of their current classes. In association to this, the diversity plan envisions a video documentary that would explore the main themes of the textbook and produce them as a one hour video that educators could use in their classes. The video would follow the textbook in giving a visual expression to all of the religious diversity found in cultures around the world, and the varieties of their faith and practices popularly. The video should explain in condensed form the essential points of each religious framework, including dogmatic beliefs, major sacred texts, historical teachers, and the use of churches, mosques, temples, etc. in religious practice through ritual. The requirements of the Islamic Studies group in this project will be to collect the documentary footage to be used in the 10 minute segment on Islam, as well as writing the script which explains the religion through dialog. In association with this, the Islamic Studies group should seek out the academics on the committee and video-record a ten minute interview with each academic. This source video can then be used to edit and build the Islamic segment of the documentary. The plan requires two groups of office workers, volunteers who specialize in writing, editing, and desktop publishing, as well as a group focusing on video editing. These editor groups should consist of 3 volunteers, and the larger committee of academic advisors should be 5 to 10 professors of Islamic Studies. The editor groups will work directly with the academic committee to produce the chapter for the textbook, the video segment, and the source materials for fliers and pamphlets that are part of the overall diversity plan. The academic committee and editing groups will also communicate and work together with the parts of the project dedicated to other religions, and as such the entire project should be the model of multiculturalism and diversity that it seeks to communicate popularly. The production of a textbook, 1 hour video, and pamphlets, fliers, and handouts to build a complete program in diversity education in religion can be used as a standalone course or as a package that educators can integrate into their existing classes. The goal of this program is to teach students of the rich cultural history related to religious practice, as well as to make them familiar with the major tenets, practices, and beliefs of the world’s religions, as a basis for a deeper understanding of the issues and the promotion of tolerance for all beliefs in society. I would personally like to be involved with the production of resources that build the segment and chapter on Islamic history as part of this project. I am also interested in working as part of the committee of all religions that builds the project. I initially considered a unilateral program in Islamic Studies and multicultural tolerance, but professionals in the field suggested that there would be more value in building this awareness in the greater context of world religions. Therefore, I will use my specialization in Islamic History and my cultural faith as a Muslim to teach on these topics using the course material that is proposed for development. I would like to be involved in the research and editing for the textbook “Exploring Diversity: Multiculturalism through Religion” and also prepare the video interviews with academics for our documentary. Together, I would like to use these materials to teach a diversity plan for culturally responsive awareness in students, which I believe is important for promoting multicultural understanding in the community to build awareness of the unique social and cultural contributions of Islam historically. Read More