Jannah Zulkefli is a College of Engineering freshman from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. She has been a Muslim all of her life.

Last weekend, Zulkefli went out with her friends. While out, one of them, who did not know of her Islamic background, made a joke linking Muslims to terrorism, she said.

Zulkefli was shocked because "Islam isn't just terrorism," she said. Islam is about peace, respecting others and a strong belief in Allah, the Arabic word for God, she said.

"At a Catholic school, it's good to inform people about different religions," said Zulkefli, who said she was surprised by the large population of Muslims at Marquette.

This is the reason for the upcoming Islam Awareness Celebration, which begins Monday and ends on March 3, Zulkefli said.

The celebration will help students realize what Islam is, she said.

"It helps open the people's mind that Islam is not Iraq," Zulkefli said.

Salma Khaleq, intercultural program assistant in the Office of Student Development and senior in the College of Arts & Sciences, said there is a lot of misunderstanding about the Muslim community.

"The celebration will help increase campus awareness and allow students to connect to people of Muslim faith on campus," Khaleq said, "so as to learn about the Muslim culture and practices, and provide explanations for any misunderstandings students might have."

Phillip Naylor, an associate professor of history and an expert in Islam, said the celebration is important with many Muslim students on campus.

Naylor said he will be addressing the issue of Muslims in France on Feb. 28 as part of the celebration sponsored by the Muslim Student Association.

The celebration is "absolutely essential to understand Islam," said Naylor, who described Islam as quite complex even though it is portrayed as simple.

The chief principle of Islam is the idea of the oneness of God, he said. Compassion is also important.

But nonetheless, there is a problem is the stereotype of Muslims and Islam, he said.

Every religion has had a history of extremism and those in the religion who oppose this extremism, Naylor said.

Another celebration, which began on Jan. 26 and concludes on Feb. 28, is the Pan-African Heritage Celebration.

Events held thus far have been successful and well attended, according to Pam Peters, associate dean for intercultural programs in the Office of Student Development.

There is also a lot of involvement from and by students, Peters said. The Black Student Council and the African Student Association have big involvement in the event of the celebration, which the Office of Student Development is sponsoring.

Peters has attended almost all of the events and really enjoyed last Friday's SLAM Poetry Night, which 120 students attended, she said.

The original name for the celebration was "African Diaspora"; however, Peters said the change was made because the new name is more commonly used and easier to understand.

The change was more of a preference, said Peters, who brought the name with her from where she worked a few years ago in the Office of Black Student Affairs for Claremont Colleges in California.,”James A. Molnar”

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