Illuminating Islam: A Guide for Better Understanding
 Illuminating Islam was a semester long grant-funded project bringing Muslim students
and community members from James Madison University, the public school system,
and the larger community, into dialogue with one another. Funded from September
of 2003 to June of 2004, the core purpose of the Illuminating Islam grant was
to carry out an educational program which would augment understanding of the
Islamic tradition. oIP staff recruited volunteers from the JMU Muslim student
community, who presented introductory information in local high schools on Islamic
doctrines, practices, history and art and then answered the high school students’ questions.
This personal interaction of local high school students with international Muslim
students produced a valuable opportunity for both parties to learn from and about
each other. Presentations were also made to the Rotary Club and at JMU’s
International Student Leadership Conference.
The second tier of programming took
place on campus and utilized more sophisticated materials for JMU students
and faculty. In conjunction with the Muslim Student
Association, Grant Coordinators arranged for various activities during Islam
Week, including talks on calligraphy, jihad, Sufism, and women in Islam, and
co-hosted an Islamic Art Exhibit.
All of the presentations were filmed, and two
were chosen to be produced as video
programs by the JMU School of Media Arts & Design. Those presentations, entitled – Women
in Islam and Jihad in Context – were donated to local libraries and schools where
they will be available for personal checkout and use as teaching aids. In addition,
texts discussing the Islamic tradition were donated to local county
schools; high schools received two books and three videos (including a PBS production).
The Illuminating Islam Project was supported by the U.S. Department
of State through a grant from the Cooperative Grants Program of
NAFSA: Association of
International Educators and the JMU Office of International Programs.
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