Spring Break
Students unite for religious tolerance
Diversity
Robert Ragsdale
Issue date: 3/28/08 Section: News
UA groups Muslimas of UARK and the Hindu Student Council will host the "MILAAP Banquet: A Dialogue for Interreligious Friendship" 6:30 p.m. today to clear misconceptions about Muslims and Hindus, and promote religious tolerance and peace.
UA students, faculty, staff and community members can attend the event to share their views on the topic and listen to Hindu and Muslim scholars discuss peace, according to a UA press release.
Amen Ismail, president of Muslimas and secretary of the Hindu Student Council, said the intent of the banquet is "basically to raise awareness. Bring people closer and don't let other people make your decisions for you. People don't form relationships with each other because they've been told not to."
Jiger Patel, president of the Hindu Student Council, said the banquet is calling for religious peace across all spectrums.
"It's not just calling for peace between Hindus and Muslims, but globally," Patel said. "Religion plays a big role in people's life, and students should be taught about different religions positively."
The documentary "The Step Forward," which proposes ways to begin bringing about peace, also will be aired at the banquet.
"Looking at the past history, there have been many conflicts and misconceptions between these two religions, and it's an initiative from the youth to bring understanding to the communities," said Tanvi Chowdhary, vice president of the Hindu Student Council, according to the press release.
In 2002, the Hindu-Muslim riots of Gujarat resulted in the death of thousands of Muslims, and thousands of Kashmiri Hindu pundits have been expelled from their homes and killed by Muslim militants, according to the press release.
But this is not the first time turmoil has broken out in the Kashmir Valley between these two groups. In 1989 to 1991, religious warfare flared up between Kashmiri Hindus and Muslims, but was only vaguely covered by Western media, Patel said.
UA students, faculty, staff and community members can attend the event to share their views on the topic and listen to Hindu and Muslim scholars discuss peace, according to a UA press release.
Amen Ismail, president of Muslimas and secretary of the Hindu Student Council, said the intent of the banquet is "basically to raise awareness. Bring people closer and don't let other people make your decisions for you. People don't form relationships with each other because they've been told not to."
Jiger Patel, president of the Hindu Student Council, said the banquet is calling for religious peace across all spectrums.
"It's not just calling for peace between Hindus and Muslims, but globally," Patel said. "Religion plays a big role in people's life, and students should be taught about different religions positively."
The documentary "The Step Forward," which proposes ways to begin bringing about peace, also will be aired at the banquet.
"Looking at the past history, there have been many conflicts and misconceptions between these two religions, and it's an initiative from the youth to bring understanding to the communities," said Tanvi Chowdhary, vice president of the Hindu Student Council, according to the press release.
In 2002, the Hindu-Muslim riots of Gujarat resulted in the death of thousands of Muslims, and thousands of Kashmiri Hindu pundits have been expelled from their homes and killed by Muslim militants, according to the press release.
But this is not the first time turmoil has broken out in the Kashmir Valley between these two groups. In 1989 to 1991, religious warfare flared up between Kashmiri Hindus and Muslims, but was only vaguely covered by Western media, Patel said.
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