UA professor speaks about religious awareness
A UA professor said yesterday that Americans are blind to the Islamic religion and are afraid to expose themselves to other cultures.
"We're afraid of other religions because we don't know enough about them," said Robert Burns, associate classics professor at the University of Arizona.
Burns told an audience of about 50 people yesterday at UA's Gallagher Theatre that most Americans do not know anything about the Islamic religion, except from what they see in the media.
Most newspaper articles regarding the Islamic culture are negative stories about Saddam Hussein or terrorists, he said. The stories provide Americans with negative stereotypes that the Islamic religion is intolerant and strange.
"Morals come from culture, not religion," Burns said. "Don't blame religion for things that come from culture."
There are more than one billion Muslims worldwide, and Islam is one of the fastest growing religions in the world, Burns said, adding that it is the second largest religion behind Christianity.
Islamic people believe that there is one God, Allah. They follow a text called the Koran, which is very similar to the Christian Bible in length and in scripture.
Burns called the Islamic religion "colorblind," and followers believe that all people are God's people who have high ethical standards, guiding them along the path to eternal life, he said.
One audience member challenged Burns' ideas, asking for an explanation about violence that ensues within various Islamic countries around the world.
"Violence that occurs is more about social economy than religion," Burns said. "Islam doesn't want violence, but we live in a sinful world. If everyone followed their bible, we'd have a peaceful world."
Sandra Roth, an undecided freshman, said the lecture brought the ideas of Islam into a new light.
"(It) made you think about the Islamic religion and exactly where our values come from," Roth said.
Communications and marketing freshman Angelle Judice said Burns was "dead on about Americans being oblivious when it comes to other religion's stereotypes."
"I think we need to study different religions, that way we'd be better off and could appreciate our own faith," she added.
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