When is Christianity Awareness Month? Judaism Awareness Month? Under what auspices does this bit of proselytizing take place? From the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Collegiate Times, with thanks to EPG:
The question posed to students at the first Islam Awareness Month event this year was “What are you living [for]?”
The Muslim Student Association kicked off Islam Awareness Month this week with festivities to educate students about the faith.
Johari Abdul-Malik, a member of the Muslim Alliance in North America, spoke in Commonwealth Ballroom last night to discuss this month’s topic, “What are you living for?”
Abdul-Malik acknowledged the audience in a way he said he knew Jesus, Moses, Muhammad and Noah alike would all greet a crowd.
“With peace,” he said.
Abdul-Malik said in the spirit of peace, he wanted everyone to know he was speaking from a Muslim point of view, and that he didn’t want anyone to be offended.
With assistance from the audience Abdul-Malik noted four ways in which people learn and acquire a sense of reality: observation, rationalization, emotions and faith.
“You can try to just use empirical thinking an observations, but it takes other tools to get the real sense of reality,” he said.
Abdul-Malik cited many analogies in his explanation of what people are living for, saying that each person was like a machine or tool and Allah was the manufacturer. He said the Quran was like the manual put in place to learn how to operate the machine.
“Whenever you get a new computer, the manual says ‘Read Me First’ but who really reads it first? No one. You only pick up the manual when the product’ not working right,” he said. If you want to know how to use the operating system to it’s highest level, you have to use the manual,” he said. “The Quran is the manual for the highest system. There won’t be any upgrades.”…