UH Muslims invite students to ask about Islam

During Islamic Awareness Week, Muslim students at the University of Houston spent the afternoons at a booth offering free food, henna tattoos and information about their faith.

The  organized the setup, called their “mega dawah” table, plus additional activities like a movie screening, discussion panel and open Friday prayers, as a way to reach out to other students at UH. (Dawah is an Arabic word that means conveying the message of Islam.)

“We have a regular informational table setup weekly throughout the year, but Islamic Awareness Week is simply a week long intensive that takes that info table up a notch and adds creativity and an increased Muslim presence on campus,” said Falah Adnan, the organization’s vice president, who participated along with dozens of other Muslim students last week.

“The most successful (activity) has definitely been the free cultural food and the henna tattoos that we’ve been doing, in my opinion. It’s a great way to attract people and get the message out there at the same time. Everyone seemed to love it, even the guys,” she said.

UH is among the most ethnically diverse college campuses in the nation, and the MSA includes members from across nationalities and welcomes non-Muslims to participate as well.

The chapter will hold a final dawah table before the end of the school year during lunch this Wednesday.