Toledo mosque religious leader Iman Farooq explained the meaning of the Islamic religion to University students and faculty last night in room 115 in Education Building. The event, sponsored by the University Muslim Student Association was part of an effort to raise campus awareness of the Muslim faith.

Farooq said Islam is one of the most misunderstood religions and he wanted to clear up some of its misconceptions.

“We need to get together in these times to eliminate misconceptions of Islam,” he said. “I think there is enough hate.”

Islam is a religion that believes in one god. Muslims, which is the name given to followers of Islam, also believe in the day of judgment and the accountability for one’s actions.

The direct meaning of Islam is peace. Followers of such radical groups as the Taliban, are contradicting Islam, according to Farooq.

“Islam means peace, so Osama bin Laden, crazies and such like him … contradict Islam,” Farooq said. “Matter of fact, the killing of any creature for no use is against Islam. This even includes animals. When crazies like David Koresh kill people, he is not coined as a Christian terrorist. It is unfortunate that bin Laden is being associated with Islam, a religion which devotes itself to peace.”

The Islamic religion is based on five pillars that followers have to practice. The first pillar is the declaration of faith. This is a two sentence declaration in which Muslims say: “There is no deity but God, and Mohammed is the messenger of God.”

Prayer is the second pillar. Islam followers pray five times a day facing the city Mecca. Zakat, or charity, is the third practice. In this Muslims set aside a portion of their wealth for those less unfortunate.

Fasting, otherwise know as Ramadan, is the fourth pillar. This is done from first light until sunset in order to experience some of the hunger that takes place in the world. It is also a way of self-purification for the Islam lunar month.

The last of the five pillars a is pilgrimage to Mecca. This is to be done at least once in a Muslim’s life, providing that the person is both physically and financially able.

The Qu’ran is the holy book for Muslims. For them, it holds the exact words of God through Angel Gabriel to the prophet Mohammed. The book consists of 114 chapters and remains unedited.

“Islam is not a submission to God. You submit yourself out of love. Without God we are nothing,” Farooq said. “God without us is still God.”

As in Christianity, both men and women of Islam are treated equally. Under Islam, women have always had the right to own property, receive an education and take part in community life. In the old Arab times, the killing of young baby girls was a common practice.

Islam, according to Farooq, came about in order to lift women up and make them equal to man. The modest dress of the Islamic religion applies to both sexes. Men cannot show certain parts of their bodies, wear gold, or silk. Women also dress in a modest fashion.

Contrary to popular belief, Farooq said men normally have one wife under Islamic tradition. Less than one percent of Muslim men have more than one wife. In extremely rare cases, a man may have another wife if his current wife is ill. This is only done with her permission and is extremely rare.

“I have just one wife and one is more then enough,”Farooq said as the audience chuckled.

To conclude his presentation, Farooq testified about the importance of his religion for him.

“I am proud to be Muslim,” he said. “My religion is what makes me feel alive, without being connected, I feel meaningless.”

He added that he came to the University in hopes of ending hate and sharing the truth of Islam.

“What is needed is to bring unity and commonality, not unity and confusion,” he said.

The Muslim Student Association is bringing in another speaker today at 8 p.m. in Education 115 to talk about the Muslim community views on the war on terrorism.