Santorum's criticism of Muslims inspires dialogue

College senior Artina Sheikh, a Muslim who wears a head scarf, sat in the LGBT center Tuesday night fielding questions from students about Islam and homosexuality.

Sheikh, along with other members of the Muslim Student Association, were invited by Queer People of Color, a branch of the LAMBDA Alliance, to discuss the interplay of religion and sexuality.

QPOC invited MSA to discuss the topic after former Sen. Rick Santorum's visit to campus at the end of last month, College senior and LAMBDA Alliance chairman Kevin Rurak said.

At the speech, Santorum, famously opposed to gay rights, called left-wing individuals hypocritical for tolerating radical Islam because radical Islam stands against things such as sexual freedom and gender equality, which the left supports, Rurak said.

Rurak added that he wanted to react with a discussion, not a protest, specifically because Santorum said left-wing students are stifling these types of conversations on campus.

Santorum would not return repeated requests for comment.

For most of the meeting, which was attended by over 20 students, QPOC members respectfully asked the Muslim students about their religion's stance on homosexuality.

"From the Islamic perspective, it's pretty clear homosexuality is" discouraged, said Wharton junior and MSA member Bilal Choksi, who participated in the discussion.

However, Choksi also noted that, in Islam, "everyone is considered equal," and "no one has the right to judge another person."

Political Science professor Henry Teune said discussions such as these are critical.

"The most necessary conversations that are occurring are between Christianity and the West and Islam," he said.

Teune added that statements similar to Santorum's are "the politics of hate and fear," and that "we have to start building symmetrical and not asymmetrical relationships between people."

Students at the event also discussed whether Islam forbade being attracted to people of the same sex, or only homosexual acts.

Wharton and Engineering junior and MSA member Danish Munir said that while the Koran does not specifically mention homosexuality, homosexual acts are forbidden.

Other students agreed, noting it was acts of sodomy that are forbidden, not a homosexual mindset.

After the meeting, the feedback was widely positive.

"There's a lot of value in having these discussions," Sheikh said, adding that it was a "great first step to breaking down preconceptions" about Islam.

College freshman Alec Webley, also at the discussion, likewise found the entire event "very educational."

"This is what a university thrives on," he said.

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