Student Organized Conference Focuses on Domestic Muslim Community

March 3, 2003

Source: The Michigan Daily

http://www.michigandaily.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2003/03/03/3e62f53b87714

On March 3, 2003 The Michigan Daily reported that "while the war against terror has placed much emphasis on the status of Muslims internationally, a conference held in the Michigan Union Ballroom over Spring Break attempted to focus on the Muslim community domestically... 'We wanted to really bring emphasis on Muslims in America,' said Muslim Graduate Student Association representative and Dental School student Mohammad Khalil. 'People think that Muslims only care about what's going on internationally but they care about both international and local issues...' Khalil said event organizers wanted to get as many different perspectives as possible to discuss issues highly debated within the Muslim community, such as dealing with different ideologies and understandings of Islam... The speakers' backgrounds were as diverse as the topics that they covered. Abd-Allah was born in a Protestant family and converted to Islam while in college. Nyang is a former Gambian diplomat who immigrated to the United States in 1978. [Dr. Aminah] McCloud is a black convert to Islam, while Fareed is originally from South Africa."