By Madeleine Neal, The Daily Iowan
Stereotype, stranger, inclusion, equality, Muslim, and non-Muslim.
These are the words that flashed across the PowerPoint presented by Ramsey Ali, a Ph.D. in the University of Iowa Counseling and Psychology Program.
The UI Muslim Student Association continued its Islam Awareness week with a “Facts versus Fears” lecture in the IMU on Wednesday evening.
As the words flashed across the screen, Ali asked audience members to think of what they associated each word with.
Some audience members connected the word “non-Muslim” with “white.” Others associated the word “stranger” with “danger.” Some Muslim audience members identified the word “Muslim” with “me.”
UI junior Abdualrahman Ismail said cultural differences are noticeable, especially when considering others religions.
“A lot of people hear things and are intimidated by the media,” he said. “You don’t really get the full story from the media.”