Daily Egyptian TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2016
SINCE 1916
DAILYEGYPTIAN.COM
VOL. 100 ISSUE 40
Students examine religious misconceptions ANNA SPOERRE | @AnnaSpoerre
Abdulrahman Alowais usually does not tell people he is Muslim until they get to know him better. He worries strangers will assume he is a member of ISIS, or another violent group, based on his religion, or because he is from the Middle East. Alowais, a freshman from Saudi Arabia studying aviation technologies, said he feared some people might hurt or insult him because of his country of origin. When he is in public, Alowais said he avoids speaking Arabic, his native language, even to his Muslim friends. “I’m not saying I’m ashamed to speak Arabic,” said Alowais, who first came to America in May 2013. “I’m proud. I just don’t want to make people uncomfortable.” Alowais said it is difficult to keep his religion, a strong part of his identity, hidden. Of course, he is not the only student or Carbondale resident to struggle with these issues. About 2,000 people make up the Islamic community in the city, said Oasmane Sawadogo, assistant Imam of the Carbondale Muslim Center. Sawadogo, who works with Muslim students on campus, said one of the more common misconceptions associated with Muslims is that they may carry bombs. “What some people are doing in the name of Islam does not necessarily reflect the behavior of Muslims,” Sawadogo said. The Quran does not condone murder or suicide, he said, and some people don’t realize ISIS is also killing Muslims. “The best way to know Islam is to hear from a Muslim and not to rely on what is being said in the media,” Sawadogo said. Alowais said a man last semester handed him a small Bible on his way to class. He keeps it in his room as a reminder to respect Christianity and other faiths.
Morgan Timms | @Morgan_Timms Wisam Aldayyeni, a doctoral student in mechanical and computer engineering from Baghdad; Said Bakkar, a graduate student in physics from Amman, Jordan; Abdulrahman Alowais, a freshman studying aviation technology from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; and Tariq Khaaliq, from Carbondale, kneel in silent prayer Monday at the Carbondale Muslim Center. “I believe now some of the U.S. citizens believe you’re ISIS if you say you’re Muslim,” Alowais said, “but we have verses in our Holy Quran that say if you kill one person for no reason, you kill all of mankind. If you help someone live, it’s like helping all humans live... In Islam you pray, you ask God for forgiveness, and you go out and try to make people happy.”
If you hear someone talking about his or her religion, be patient and listen, Alowais said. Even though Alowais knows he cannot change outsiders’ perceptions of his community in one day, he said he wants to teach more people to respect one another. “Islam is one of the most
misunderstood religions in the world right now,” said Nabil Salik, a graduate student from India studying mechanical engineering. Salik said there is more in common between Christianity, Judaism and Islam than people realize. To discuss these similarities and differences, students of Muslim and Christian
backgrounds — including Alowais and Salik — gathered Monday evening at the Student Center. The Rev. Jay Holden, assistant pastor at Our Savior Lutheran Church and president of SIU Campus Ministries, which organized the event, said everyone goes through struggles, and discussing this across
faiths is important. “This opens the door for tolerance and accepting each other,” Sawadoga said. “How can you know each other if you don’t mix with the other, if you don’t listen to the other?” Anna Spoerre can be reached at aspoerre@dailyegyptian.com
SIUE sets record spring enrollment ELIZABETH DONALD BELLEVILLE NEWS-DEMOCRAT
SIU-Edwardsville has the largest spring enrollment in the university’s history this year. Spring semester enrollment is 13,346 undergraduate and graduate students, of which 10,214 are full-time students. That’s the highest total and the highest number of full-time students ever enrolled in the spring in SIUE’s history. Enrollment figures for the Carbondale campus will be released on Tuesday. At SIUE, traditional undergraduate enrollment is up 281 students or 2.6 percent over last spring’s enrollment. All undergraduate schools have seen increases individually: — College of Arts and Sciences is up 197
students, or 8 percent. — School of Education, Health and Human Behavior is up 83 students, or 7 percent. — School of Business is up 70 students, or 6 percent. — School of Engineering is up 40 students, or 3 percent. — School of Nursing is up 201 students, or 17 percent. MORE: SIUC interim Provost Susan Ford concerned about enrollment numbers International enrollment stands at 425 students, a 5 percent increase over last spring and the highest since spring 2004. “Considering the highly competitive higher education marketplace, I’m proud of
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the tireless effort by the enrollment, advising and marketing staffs working cooperatively with the faculty and entire campus community to achieve our recruitment goals,” said SIUE interim chancellor Stephen Hansen. “It reflects the fact that SIUE provides an excellent environment that enables students to learn and grow.” Last spring’s enrollment was another record-breaker: 10,153 full-time and 13,178 total students enrolled in spring 2015, the highest number to that point. In addition, online enrollment is up 35 percent, which officials attributed to the recognition of SIUE’s online “RN to BS” program for nursing students. Overall, nearly 12 percent of SIUE’s credit
hours will be in online classes, compared with 8 percent last spring. SIUE has had steady enrollment growth for many years, and the fall 2015 class was another record-breaker. “It appears that our retention efforts as well as initiatives to expand international student recruitment and offer online programs are being successful,” said Scott Belobrajdic, associate vice chancellor for enrollment management. The fall-to-spring retention rate for freshmen was 90 percent, Belobrajdic said. Elizabeth Donald: 618-239-2507, @ BNDedonald