Islamic Awareness Week wraps up with keynote presentations, WLBZ reports

WLBZ (Channel 2) reported on the wrap up of Islamic Awareness Week, which invited members of the University of Maine and surrounding communities to learn about Islamic faith and culture. UMaine’s Muslim Students’ Association (MSA) and the Islamic Center of Maine, an Orono mosque, sponsored the seventh annual event, which culminated with two guest speakers — Jonathan Brown, the Alwaleed bin Talal Chair of Islamic Civilization in the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University; and Nouman Ali Khan, founder and CEO of Bayyinah, an organization that aims to make Arabic and Qur’anic studies accessible to the world. “If you are ignorant about something, you might hate it. You might have negative ideas and attitudes toward it,” said Yahya Mahmoud, a member of the MSA. Members of the group told WLBZ the week was successful and they think it brought the community closer. IINA (International Islamic News Agency) cited the WLBZ report.