Come help support Syria. Saturday April 6, 2013. All proceeds to support Syria.

Guest Speakers:

Dr Anas Al Kassem.

Dr Yahya Abdul Rahim

Shahir Raslan, Syrian Activist.

Featured Musical Performance by

Malek Jandali, Award Winning composer and Pianist

Oud Performance by 

Prof Abdul Rahman Alsiadi

‘Songs for Syria’ performace by

Dylan Connor.

Life for Relief and Development. The largest U.S.-founded Arab American humanitarian relief and development organization. Life is devoted to providing humanitarian aid to people regardless of race, color, religion and cultural background.

April 6th, 5:00pm,

The Central Academy of Ohio.

Hope to see you there!! 

I am a Muslim American. I love America, Democracy, and Americans. I love to give back, which I express  by volunteering in the nearby hospital, soup kitchen, and elementary school every week. I’m a good student and I respect all people.  I also love Islam very much. I love my religion, God, and all Muslims, I Pray 5 times a day, read Quran every day, and study Quran every Saturday. Out of free will, Because I love my religion which gives me peace, and my country is a source of security and pride. Yes, I’m very proud of both aspects of my identity and identify completely with both. I love being American, and I love being a Muslim.

There are many great values and ideals taught in the United States, such as hard work and independence, and I have never felt my religion to be anything but a source of empowerment, from which I derive self cultivation and happiness. I look up to many American non-Muslims such as Michelle Obama and Robert Grant, and many Muslims such as Samira Ibrahim and Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber al thani.  I do not understand from where “Islamophobia” originated, as I have never explicitly been discriminated against in the United States.  Regardless of the events which may suggest otherwise,  I have faith in humanity. I  love all people, not because I am naïve, but because I understand that all people are good, Muslim or otherwise not. We can all contribute to the world in our own way.

Yes, I am equally as proud to be both Muslim and American.

I’ve never felt these identities conflicted.

Come listen to an Expert Dr. Ovamir Anjum,  Imam Khattab Endowed Chair of Islamic Studies, present “Good Muslim, Bad Muslim and the American dream”  as part of ‘Islamic Awareness Week’! This Thursday, 7pm Law School Auditorium.

 See events in flyer for Islamic Awareness week events, which cannot succeed without your attendance!  

MSA_Islamic_Awareness_Week_Flyer_2013

University of Toledo Students who participated and made a difference in Escuela Jose Artigas and in the City of Managua include: Lucius, Aaron Thomas; Sangal, Alisha; Steyer, Daniel; Holmes, Emily M; Wrasman, Kayla Marie; Rizk, Mina; Hutnyan, Natalia Elizabeth; Lear, Samantha; Meiers, Samantha Marrie.

A Welcome from Estudiantes en Escuela Jose Artigas with: Left to Right: Emily Holmes, Kayla Wrasman, Samantha Lear, Natalia Hutnyan, and Samantha Meiers.

UT students Emily holmes and Samantha Meiers Teach English to fourth grade children in Escuela Jose Artigas.

“A Career Against Child Labor”. Professors in Escuela Jose Artigas hope to help alleviate Child labor by keeping children in school. This School serves approximately 1800 students, many unable to complete the usual 8th grade level education, due to child labor and poverty.

Students in Fourth grade Math Class watch as the group builds desks and a Playground for Escuela Jose Artigas.

UT students and International Samitarian participants.Top: Samantha Lear, Samantha Marrie, Alisha Sangal,Daniel Steyer. Bottom: Kayla Wrasman, Natalia Hutnyan, Emily Holmes, Me, Aaron Lucias, Mina Rizk.

Alejandro, a Second grade Student.

Celebrating International Women’s day Friday March 8, 2013.

Medical Clinic in Managua, Nicaragua.

Nicaragua is well Known for Water and Volcanoes. This is Lake Managua

Muchas Gracias to the University of Toledo Jessup Scott Honors College, Dr Armstrong, Center of International Studies and Programs and International Samitarian for the meaningful and productive trip. This trip allowed 10 honors students to help alleviate poverty in Garbage dumps in Managua, Nicaragua.

To think of young girls in India, pulled from school and forced into sex work or child marriages…

To remember the Columbian children limited to less than four years of an education, due to living in a war ravaged country…

To contemplate the past African American educational experience, one supported by less funding and resources…

To dream of helping over 3 million Chinese children with no access to education due to socioeconomic status…

…Is to appreciate and excel in your educational endeavors.

Inspired by Independent Collegian columnist Hillary Gyuras, a senior double majoring in Women and Gender Studies and Law and Social thought,  who so eloquently stated, “I’m investing in the empowerment of all people. I hope that through my own studies, I’m able to be part of the solution (to help those deprived of an education)”.

Let excelling in finals become your way of expressing your love for knowledge and your appreciation for what many around the world are deprived of due to gender, ethnicity, or poverty.

Thank you for reading, and Best of Luck on finals.

Leo Tolstoy, once stated, “If everyone fought for his or her own convictions there would be no war”.

As we are all well aware,  Syrian people are undergoing genocide and the death toll is now nearly over 40,000 as they fight for liberation from the Assad regime. Peter Maurer, head of the Geneva-based International Committee of the Red Cross, describes the struggling to maintain a steady flow of resources and transportation with food and medicine into the country, where thousands of people are struggling; and based on reports by CBC News, the International Red Cross is struggling to cope with the worsening crisis in Syria.

Hospitals are filling in Gaza, Israel as innocent casualties are admitted. Exactly four years ago, “Operation Cast Lead,” on the Gaza Strip, was a siege which killed over 1,300 and wounded more than 5,300. These reapeated  atrocities, this time in an air, sea, and ground raid have killed 13 Palestinians and wounded 116 others so far. Click here for the latest news on the Gaza crisis.

 To show genuine interest and to recognize the struggles of those abroad, who may suffer from a lack of peace and justice in their countries is part of our role as Americans. It is to help improve the human condition by showing our support against occupation or ruthless totalitarianism.

Please join the Toledo community in a silent candlelight vigil in solidarity with the oppressed Palestinian and Syrian people. Please bring signs, flags, cameras and candles, Saturday, November 17, 2012 from 5:30 PM to 7:00 PM at the corner of Tallmadge Road & Sylvania Avenue next to Westfield Mall.

GO ROCKETS!!!

Many UT students are putting in a much needed effort to “Spark a Change” by emulating the traits Martin Luther King Jr. was applauded for. The following is a brief synopsis of the organizations they have created and steps on how to create your own organization!

Premedical students are known to dance on the edge of ethical and political  swords and Rahul Prasad, a Biology  UT student,  put in the initiative to start an organization called “Model UN” in which UT students from different countries discuss political issues relevant to their places of origin. The standpoints of the Security Council nations (United States, Great Britain, France, Russia, China) are used in debates often held on the first floor of Sullivan Hall.

I personally feel egocentric living and being raised in America while my Palestinian brothers and sisters are struggling in Palestine as does a dear friend named Butheina Hamdah, a Political Science major and IC columnist, who decided to start the organization called “Students for Justice in Palestine”. Butheina believes the cause of the organization is that of Social Justice and Human Rights and  the Fall Semester overflowed with successful events including the participation in ISA’s “International Village” in which the Palestinian culture was displayed!

The steps these students used to Spark a Change are simple. Click here to view the easy-to-follow steps on how to Create your Own Student Organization on UT’s Campus in order to organize and discuss political or controversial topics which may concern us, divide us, or even push our buttons; but which ultimately create Justice, Tolerance, and Understanding among people of difference!

UT faculty who will be more than delighted  to support your cause include Michele Martinez (the Dean of Students), Jessica Merritt (Program Manager), Sabina Serratos (Associate Director) and Rebecca Bair (Secretary in the Office of Student Involvement).

 As Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere”….

Spark a Change!