Militant Islam Monitor > Articles > Dhimmitude v.s. Jihad: Vanderbilt U Divinity School hosts mosque da'wa course after Tennessee U revokes campus venue Dhimmitude v.s. Jihad: Vanderbilt U Divinity School hosts mosque da'wa course after Tennessee U revokes campus venueDean of Bible college asked TSU administration: "Would you let me lecture at TSU on Christianity?" Dean of Bible college asked TSU administration: "Would you let me lecture at TSU on Christianity?" By HOLLY EDWARDS VU takes in class on Islam after Tennessee U cancels use of it's room Change of sites follows letter of complaint from Bible college One week before the scheduled start of a free course on Islam at Tennessee State University, members of the Islamic Center of Nashville have been told they won't be able to use a room at the campus, a mosque leader said yesterday. TSU officials could not immediately explain why the invitation was reversed. But the cancellation came one week after the dean of Tennessee Bible College in Cookeville sent a letter to TSU President James Hefner questioning the use of a government-funded university for a course on religion. "Are you not using government money to promote religion a single religion?" Dean Kerry Duke wrote in his Jan. 14 letter, which was also sent to The Tennessean. "Would you allow me to lecture at TSU on Christianity?" Awadh Binhazim, outreach director for the Islamic center, said he was informed of the cancellation last week by the TSU faculty adviser to the Muslim Student Association, which was co-host for the program. "He said they just needed the room, and he couldn't tell me more than that," Binhazim said. The TSU adviser, Amiri Al-Hadid, could not be reached for comment yesterday. The Islamic Center has held several similar courses at TSU in recent years. The classes, which will begin Sunday, will now be held at Vanderbilt University Divinity School, with that university's Muslim Student Association as co-host. Student associations routinely use Vanderbilt facilities for educational programs, and there is nothing improper about allowing the course to be held on campus, Chaplain Gay Welch said. Animosity and misunderstandings between Christians and Muslims are rising, she said, making it more important than ever to foster interfaith discussions. "What's at stake is not letting people exchange ideas," she said. "The more you learn about a faith, the less likely you are to make egregious stereotypes." In an interview yesterday, Duke, the Bible college dean, said he believed that Islam promotes violence against non-Muslims. He scoffed at assertions that Islam is a peaceful religion and accused Muslims of watering down the true nature of their beliefs. "I've been to the mosque several times and I'm well aware of the teachings of the Koran," Duke said. "I disagree with their claims that their religion does not promote violence, and I can show there are statements in the Koran that encourage violence to non-Muslims." Welch cited passages in the Bible that she said promote violence and pointed to atrocities carried out in the name of Christianity during the Spanish Inquisition, the Crusades and, more recently, by the Ku Klux Klan. "A lot of violence has been committed in the name of all religions, and there's no reason to lay it all at the feet of Islam," she said. "If you look deeply into the teachings of Jesus and Muhammad, you find that both promoted benevolence, peace and unity." More than 40 people have signed up for the class so far, and the center is now planning to hold two separate sessions to accommodate everyone. Binhazim said the course wasn't designed to convert non-Muslims but to help people gain a better understanding of Islam. "I don't want to dwell on our differences," he said. "I want to look at what unites us and our common humanity." Related story: Islamic Center offers 2 sessions Holly Edwards can be reached at 259-8035 or [email protected]. --------------------------------------------- MIM: The course
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