Keep calm and discover Islam

There seems to be a ‘KEEP CALM….’ slogan for every situation including ‘KEEP CALM IT’S ONLY THE OLYMPICS’. But here’s one you may not have thought of, ‘KEEP CALM AND DISCOVER ISLAM’, perhaps because mainstream media has done such an effective job in portraying that word ‘Islam’ with terrorsism…‘Islamism’...radicalism…list goes on. But just how much do you really know about it? There are loads of misconceptions and Discover Islam Week aims to address them.

Questions that you probably won’t see in your exam paper during your scientific degree include questions such as why are we here. What is the meaning of life? Is there a ‘purpose’ to life and if so what is it? It’s easy to let these questions sit at the back of our mind and to not reflect on them because our routine makes it easy to do so. DIW is an opportunity for everyone on campus to take a step back from the work, challenge the way you think and to find out more about a religion followed by over a billion people.

The coming week andtoday marks the start of Discover Islam Week 2013, the annual project organised by the Islamic Society. There are events every day kicking off with today’s talk, which is by a former priest at the Vatican who will be speaking on ‘Jesus, Moses and Muhammad: Brothers in Faith’ at 6.30pm. Tuesday’s event hosts a panel discussing their reasons for becoming Muslim, including former MTV presenter, Kristiane Backer. ‘Great British Islam’ is on Wednesday afternoon, which includes a short documentary on Britain’s Islamic history. Wasim Kempson will be speaking about the Prophet Muhammad (peace be apon him) on Thursday, addressing why Muhammad is a true inspiration for every Muslim. DIW ends with an informal and relaxed dinner on Friday with some light entertainment.

So whether you’re an undergrad, postgrad, male, female, of faith or not of faith, join us for any of the days or just pop by the exhibitions on Monday and Thursday in SAF for a bite to eat and a wander round, we look forward to seeing you there!!