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Seminar's Moderator Introductory
Remark
Dr. Halide Salam
Professor of
Fine Arts in the Department of Art at Radford University
<hsalam@radford.edu>
Bismillah ar Rahman ir Rahim (In the name
of Allah the most Compassionate and the most Merciful)
Good
evening and peace be on you.
In light of the recent
events, we, members of the Muslim community of Blacksburg, Virginia
feel obliged to hold a seminar whereby we
can reaffirm and reiterate the grief and pain we share with our
fellow Americans, as well as, express the position
Islam takes on wanton destruction of the innocent, of women
and of children. We do this with a solemn and steadfast heart because our religion, Islam that teaches us to
live in righteous and just conduct is under question.
At this time I
would also like to mention that this seminar would not be possible
without the assistance of Virginia Tech,
Blacksburg Electronic Village and the Blacksburg community.
We thank them for their support and solidarity. You have
touched our hearts by your gift of
friendship and for making tonight’s event possible. I would however,
especially like to thank you, my audience,
for taking time off from your busy schedule to come here tonight. I
know for some it is right at dinner time. I hope, InshaAllah, that our modest refreshments will tie you over
for a little bit . Please feel free at any time to help yourself
to refreshments that are placed at the back
of the room.
3. Since this is the first of the many
seminar/workshops that we hope to offer, we have decided to use a
seminar format that consists of panelists
and a question and answer session. Our panel tonight consists of Dr.
Sedki Riad who is a Professor of Electrical,
and Computer Engineering at Virginia Tech. Dr. Riad’s presentation
is on: Islamic Terminology: Its use and Misuse.
Our second panelist is Mr. Mark
Hamza (Dockarti) Dougherty. Mr. Dougherty is a Ph.D. Candidate in the department of
Civil and Environmental Engineering at
Virginia Tech. His presentation is on: Getting acquainted with Islam
and Muslims.
Our third panelist Mr. Walid Faris is a Ph.D. candidate in the department of Engineering
Science and Mechanics at Virginia Tech. Mr.
Faris’ presentation is on: Islam and the West.
I am Dr. Halide Salam, Professor of Fine
Arts in the Department of Art at Radford University. I will
serve as your moderator tonight. Some of us
are educators others engineers, all Muslims, but none scholars
in theology or in Islamic studies, law and
jurisprudence. Tonight’s discussion will be in Understanding what
is Islam the religion, who and what are
Muslims and separating the myth for what is real. The presentations
are in an outline form and at times
summarized too tightly. We feel that this necessary because of
time constraints and our own limited
capacity regarding the material. We can attempt, nonetheless, to
give you a realistic picture of what is
Islam.
Tonight’s Seminar Format is as follows: 3
presentations, each 20 minutes long, followed by a ten minute period
for questions. At the conclusion of
all the presentations there will be a 30-minute question and answer
session that may be extended. We
will however, conclude at 9.30
p.m.
For those of you who would like to learn more, the
Muslim community invites you to visits our Masjid (place of worship)
either on Friday noon during our prayer time
or at 2:30 PM, that is, after the prayer. You may pick up a copy of
directions to the Masjid as well as Masjid
visitation etiquette from the information table. Also there are
Survey Forms that you may fill out that will
help us to plan future events and address topics of interest.
4. Having given you all the necessary information regarding
the structure of tonight’s seminar. I would like to open the
event with a verse from the Qur’an which is
very appropriate for the occasion. In chapter 49, verse 13 of the
Qur’an Allah says (Translation of the
Meaning):
"O mankind, We
created you from a single (pair) of a male and a female, and made
you into nations and tribes, that you may
know each other. Verily, the most honored of you in the sight
of Allah is (one who is) the most righteous of you. And, Allah
has full knowledge and is well-acquainted
(with all things)."
Let us start then with the intention
of wanting to know each other in the true sense of the word and by
this knowledge move towards a mutual
appreciation of each other’s right to choose a moral code of life
for themselves. For the Qur’an also says in
chapter 11 verse118,
(Translation of the Meaning):
“If thy Lord had so
willed, He could have made mankind one people: but they will not
cease to dispute.”
Moderator Concluding Remark -
Dr. Halide
Salam
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