Hajj - A College Event

1. To Introduce Islam and the concept of Hajj to Non-Muslims

2. To remove misconceptions of Islam

3. To allow our Muslim youths to actively participate and volunteer in an Islamic Organization

Method:

1. We went to Seminole Community College(SCC) and made arrangements with the head of activities through Muslims Student Association (MSA)

2. We set a date that was convenient for the participants and a time that will facilitate a large number of student exposure.

3. We set the event in a busy area hence giving us the a larger audience of students

4. The core group made posters on hajj and models for display, we gathered informative books and for attractions (just to pull the crowd) we had Henna application. Furthermore, to let the audience feel "How a Muslim feels".

Our aim was to target their five senses by introducing elements such as Hijab (Touch), Anthar (Smell), Food (taste), Hajj video (visual), Nasheeds/Quran (Sound)

5. We had an experienced speaker who was ready to answer questions

6. Our time was from 10:00am to 2:00pm

7. We made posters - downloadable here and here.

Results/Experiences:

The experience of participating in the event was phenomenal, not only due to the interaction among the Muslim youths and the Non-Muslims, but also due to the level of exposure our youths got into the mindset of Non Muslims. Personally I found this very enlightening and it made many of the Muslim youths research further into the questions they were presented with. We, as Muslims realized our inability to answer challenges from the Non-Muslims brothers and sisters, and hence it inspired many youths to take Islam seriously. However it was interesting to see the flicker of enlightenment in the eyes of non Muslims when they realized that the majority of Muslims around the world do not fit the stereotypical image presented by the western media. Overall, it was a syncretism of two worlds that may seem at odds, but in reality they are close enough to be understood and respected if the correct information was given to them.

There were a lot more questions on Islam, as a religion, from adults such as teachers, Grad students and older students. Their questions ranged from Historical facts of Abraham as the 'Father of monotheism' to certain misconceptions of sectarian differences. However the younger (freshman, sophomore) students were more interested in Islam that is presented to them through the Iraq/Afghanistan War. Numerous students asked about Muslim women and oppression, especially about a book written by a Nigerian Muslim woman who freed herself from Islam by coming to the west. We had numerous Christians who showed interest in debating the relationship Islam has to Christianity, especially one lady in her Mid-40's, spend at least forty-five minutes discussing with one of our youths. Overall the experience was uplifting and pleasurable, but most of all it was an eye-opener.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, as a group we really enjoyed the event and we hope to be able to do many more. For our next program we suggest the following improvements

1. Plan the event better and give ourselves more time

2. Try to work with a college association that is more active

3. Do some in-depth research on what questions to expect and try to find sufficient answers

4. Have more books and literature that we can distribute

5. Have more attractions to attract the students

6. Have more experts/speakers

7. Advertise more and do a better job campaigning

8. Have many more programs repeatedly