The second bi-annual Chai Hour event was held on Thursday afternoon for students to share research and thoughts on the Islamic World with fellow students and faculty members. The Modern Languages and Literatures Center for Global Islamic studies and Office of Students Affairs hosted the event.
This event is not a typical lecture, but rather an informal setting where faculty members and students can share their ideas and get feedback.
“By creating a venue where students are free to share with one another what it is that they find important or intriguing about the cultures, histories, civilizations and languages of the Muslim world, we are fostering a climate in which it is possible for students to grow intellectually through their encounter with other minds,” Islamic Studies Professor Christine Kalleenv said.
Kalleeny said the event aimed at generating and promoting increased awareness among students at Lehigh about the Islamic World at large.
“In each of these events, I encourage Lehigh students of multiple disciplines to give a brief presentation of 15 minutes on any topic that interests them pertaining to the Islamic world,” she said. “In other words, students are simply encouraged to deepen and/or broaden their knowledge of some aspect of the Islamic world.”
Connor Nolan, ’13, said he thinks students should learn about Islamic culture because they represent a sizable percentage of the world, and it hasn’t been talked about a lot.
Nolan presented on Islamic societies differing from the idea of western modernism. He argued that these countries are modern, just in a different sense than western countries are.
Ehsanul Mahmud, ’14, presented on cricket and its effect on Bangladeshi people. He said he wanted to make this presentation because he has not seen much of a Bangladeshi presence on campus.
Events like these are important because they give students facts about Islamic culture, and show that some common misperceptions are false. When asked about the perspective of Islam among students, Ehsanul said, “It’s improving all the time, especially because of events like this.”
