Students joined actors on Oct. 16, for a participatory play called “Mosque Alert” at the Kupferberg Center. “Mosque Alert” is about the construction of a new mosque in Naperville, Ill, which led to conflicts between two families of different religions. The two families learn more about each other and eventually put their differences aside. The cast consisted of actors such as Noam Ash, star of YouTube’s “My Gay Roommate.” “The creation of these characters really grew out of a development process,” Jamil Khoury, the play writer, said. “We started looking into this broader issue of the resistance of building mosques across the US.” The play began with each character’s backgrounds and belief systems. Mostafa Khalil,…
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Muslim students dispel myths about Islam and extremism
The recent attacks in Europe led to a resurgence of the role of Islam in relation to extremism. On Jan. 7, gunmen, all Muslims, attacked the office of Charlie Hebdo in Paris, a French satirical magazine, which published controversial cartoons that concerned Islam. Twelve people were killed. On Feb. 15, a shooting occurred in Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark, which resulted in the deaths of a security guard and a director. Mahrukh Ahmed, secretary of the Muslim Students Association at Queens College, said the shooters involved in the attacks in Europe did not truly follow the faith. “In the Koran, God says that when you face the ignorant people, when you face those who…
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Author reports on Western surveillance policies against Muslims
The issue of surveillance against Muslims is a major civil liberties issue in the United States. Wiretapping was present throughout CUNY campuses, including Queens College. A few years ago, NYPD officers — or paid informants — spied on Muslim students as documented in the report “Mapping Muslims: NYPD Spying and Its Impact on American Muslims,” which was released last year. Arun Kundnani, a QC adjunct professor, reported on the consequences of such policies in his book, “The Muslims Are Coming: Islamophobia, Extremism, and the Domestic War on Terror,” released on March 18. Kundnani was born and raised in London, England and graduated from Cambridge University. He arrived to the U.S.…
