Islamic Awareness Week occurred this week and was accompanied by various activities to spread information about the religion to other students.
The Muslim Student Association’s main goal was to show Central students that they are not so different from their peers with the theme: “I was here.”
“I think [the purpose of Islamic Awareness Week] is to get people more aware of the different cultures and religions that are in the school because they have a lot more in common than people would expect. There are a lot of misconceptions about Muslims, so Islamic Awareness Week can clear those up,” said senior Shalma Jabri.
MSA set up bake sales in order to raise money for Pakistan, an open house in the cafeteria for presentations, a Fast-a-thon and lunch discussions, as well as a before-school breakfast to celebrate this week.
“My favorite part is the Fast-a-thon. I have a couple friends who are going to fast and we’re going to go to the McDonald’s at four in the morning—it should be fun,” said Riyah Basha, sophomore.
According to the students in MSA, Central has an accepting environment towards those who practice different religions.
“Central is a very tolerant place in that, if you’re strong enough in what you believe in then people will respect you,” Basha said.
The only drawback to the event this year was the minimalistic publicity and low turnout.
“I think they did a good job with putting the flyers around and doing the bake sale, but I feel like it could’ve had more announcements. I didn’t hear any announcements about it,” Jabri said.
The main goal of those in MSA was to emphasize that they are not different than anyone else, that they are just high school students. And their wish is for other students to be informed and respectful.
“I hope that [Islamic Awareness Week] gives you a more concise and complete knowledge about Islam so that when you leave Central and you see things on the media, you can always think back to Islamic Awareness Week or the Muslims you knew back in high school, and you can really understand more,” Basha said.
