"What thoughts and images come to mind when you hear the words 'Islam' and 'Muslims?'" asked Omer Bajwa, a Ph.D. candidate in Cornell's Department of Near Eastern Studies, speaking on campus last week (Feb. 20).

Far too many non-Muslims, he said, fall into a so-called "three 'B'" way of viewing all Muslims, as "bombers, billionaires or belly dancers."

"You've got to break through that stereotype," he said. "They're normal people. They live normal lives. Don't be afraid of them."

The lecture in 122 Rockefeller Hall -- titled "Islam 101: Everything You Need to Know About Islam (But Were Afraid to Ask)" -- was the first event in Cornell Islam Awareness Week 2006 and was sponsored by Cornell's Muslim Educational and Cultural Association (MECA).

"Islam is one of the fastest growing religions in the world," said Bajwa, noting that there are some 1 billion Muslims worldwide and 7 million in the United States. Yet, many non-Muslims, he said, are unfamiliar with or misinformed about the religion.

"For many people, when you say 'Islam,' these are the images that come up," Bajwa said, showing pictures of suicide bombers, Osama Bin Laden and the results of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. These violent associations are somewhat ironic, he noted, since the word "Islam" comes from the Arabic word salaam, meaning "peace."

Bajwa outlined the five pillars, or basic practices, of Islam: declarations of faith, daily prayer, charitable donations, daily fasting during the month of Ramadan and the Hajj, a pilgrimage to Mecca that every Muslim is expected to make at least once during a lifetime.

Muslims worship the same God as Jews and Christians, he pointed out, and recognize both Moses and Jesus as important prophets. Muhammad, however, is considered the final and most important prophet.

According to Islamic beliefs, it was through Muhammad -- who lived from 570 to 632 -- that God chose to reveal the Quran, or Islamic scriptures, to humanity. For this reason, Muslims regard Muhammad as "the perfect exemplar and the best of creation," Bajwa said. "He is considered to be the epitome of creation." Since Islam prohibits any visual representation of either God or Muhammad, many Muslims viewed as a double insult the Danish newspaper cartoons depicting the Muslim prophet.

The violent clash of opinions about the cartoons, however, represented just one of many misunderstandings between Muslims and non-Muslims. According to Bajwa, the two most misunderstood elements of Islam are jihad and hijab, which he claimed are "sensationalized by the media in the non-Muslim world."

"I can say definitively for you today that jihad does not mean holy war," Bajwa said. Literally translated, it means "exertion" or "struggle," and, according to Bajwa, could just as easily be used to describe studying for a difficult exam or an inner spiritual struggle as struggling for justice.

In recent years, though, jihad has become synonymous with the idea of a "holy war" waged by Muslims. In fact, Bajwa claimed, that definition is taught in many U.S. school social studies classes.

Hijab refers to Muslim women's practice of veiling. Often regarded by non-Muslims as a form of oppression, the veil is meant to signify modesty, and is -- from a religious standpoint -- only required to cover a woman's hair. Some countries, such as Afghanistan, are known for their use of the burka, a more complete veiling of the face and body. But according to Bajwa, this is a cultural phenomenon.

"You will see different variations in dress between [different countries]," he explained, "but the point is the same."

Courtney Potts is a writer intern at the Cornell News Service.