Hanan Ismail, left, the principal of the New Horizon School of Iowa and Islamic Weekly School, helps Hana Itani, an AMA member and a school volunteer with Islamic studies. The group s booth at the Celebrating Cultural Diversity Festival will include food, martial arts, body art and video presentations. The UI pre-law, political science and religion sophomore is the executive board member of the University of Iowa Association of Muslims in America. She also is involved in many extracurricular activities and has traveled to two continents and thinks of herself as a woman who defies the stereotypes about Muslim women.
People think that Muslim women are oppressed.
AMA, one of an estimated 12 UI student nationality organizations participating in the festival, is using this opportunity to help people understand and appreciate Islam, the religion of Muslims that includes the belief in Allah as the sole deity. At the AMA booth during the festival, participants will get to sample a variety of foods such as baklava, samosa, African cookies, chocolate truffles and popcorn. Although the activities and cuisine might seem foreign to festival attendees, Muslim people and culture are a part of Iowa's population - the state's minorities include 8,000 American Muslims. And a historic Muslim landmark stands in Cedar Rapids. Built in 1934 as the first mosque in the United States, the Mother Mosque of America is listed in the National Historic Register.