A lecture held on the University of Missouri campus Thursday night explained what it means to be a Muslim. It was the first lecture in a series aimed at teaching the Columbia community about Islam.
The series allows non-Muslims to learn how Muslims conduct themselves and what they believe. The speaker Thursday night was Dr. Shakir Hamoodi, outreach coordinator for the Islamic Center of Central Missouri.
He detailed key points of the faith such as the rules and rituals Muslims must follow and took clarifying questions from the audience.
“This is the goal. It’s to know one another, to get ourselves involved in the community at large and tell them who we are rather than leaving others to define who we are,” Hamoodi said.
Beverly Keiper attended the lecture and said she got an overall better understanding of the religion.
“It was very interesting about if Muslims can marry non-Muslims and the difference between men and women. That was very striking,” Keiper said.
Dr. Hamoodi said minority groups in America should not give up telling people their stories and how important they are to society.
“It is good to know one another rather than being ignorant. When [the public] sees me praying in the airport or on the street they will say, ‘hey, he’s bringing sharia to America.’ No, I’m just applying my religion to myself,” Hamoodi says.
The next lecture in the series will be October 12 in Strickland Hall.