On Saturday night, as many students were heading home for the Easter holiday, another celebration of community was taking place at East Lansing High School, 509 Burcham Drive.
About 100 East Lansing residents, MSU faculty and students gathered for food and festivities at the sixth annual Muslim Students’ Association, or MSA, Diversity Dinner.
The theme of this year’s dinner was building a community and strengthening its support system, MSA Vice President Kristen Schotts said.
Schotts said the Diversity Dinner is held at the end of each year to showcase things the MSA has done, including recently holding Islam Awareness Week and doing community service projects.
The event featured a comedy performance and skits by MSA members, as well as a keynote speech by assistant professor of religious studies Mohammad Khalil, who grew up in East Lansing and spoke at the first Diversity Dinner five years ago.
Khalil spoke about the importance of community involvement on a personal and collective level, saying every community should work to maintain a good relationship with its members.
“No community is going to be a utopia,” he said. “But a healthy community is one that can successfully deal with tension.”
He said many Muslims have spent the past decade telling people what Islam is not and worrying about the implications of declaring oneself a Muslim, when it should be time to educate others on what Islam really is.
Schotts said the dinner, open to both Muslims and non-Muslims, served as a way to teach others about Islam and allow social interaction between diverse groups of people.
“I hope they meet new people whom they otherwise wouldn’t,” she said. “I hope they feel enlightened and not intimidated by Muslims.”
Communication sophomore Hiba Naseem said she invited her family from Novi, Mich., to the dinner with the hope of teaching them more about the MSU community and making it stronger.
Naseem added her roommate is not a Muslim, but neither of them has had any problems learning about each other’s cultures. She said events such as the Diversity Dinner are important for meeting and understanding different people.
“It’s important to immerse yourself just to stay away from becoming ignorant,” she said.
Khalil said everyone is a part of many different communities, whether it is MSU, East Lansing or even a global community, and although it can be challenging, it is important to be open-minded to everyone.
“In the end, community involvement is a more important way of assessing where we are spiritually,” he said.
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