The Muslim Student Association and the InterResidence Council will hold a discussion titled “Islamophobia in America – Freedom of Religion Under Attack” Thursday in Withers Hall at 6 p.m.

The program will attempt to help clear up the confusion, stereotypes and misconceptions about Islam in the general public and in the media.

The student-led program will feature a panel of Muslims addressing the issues at hand and a world-renowned and learned Islamic speaker, Abdul Malik, from Charlotte, N.C.

According to Mohammad Moussa, president of the Muslim Student Association and junior in electrical engineering, “it is evident that there has been a lot of media coverage regarding the ‘Ground-Zero’ mosque and Islam in general. This event will seek to address this issue as well as Islam in the media.”

Moussa said the discussion is critical in preserving the integrity of Islam in today’s society by undoing all the harm done to the religion’s reputation by those such as Fox News, Rush Limbaugh and even liberal news sources such as CNN.

Muhammad Khan, vice president of MSA and junior in microbiology, said the event will be composed of a student panel and media clips.

“Furthermore, we will be presenting a video from our own students regarding what their thoughts are about Muslims as well. The video will feature Muslim and non-Muslim students alike from across the campus, so that the audience will get a better understanding of the opinion of Islam amongst learned individuals, such as college students,” Khan said.

“We will also have a question-answer type session for the audience, so people can have the opportunity to ask any questions they feel may help clear up any misunderstandings. Abdul Malik, a Muslim speaker who has been highly formally educated about Islam will be leading a discussion as well,” Khan said.

If college students and professors — who must have associated with Muslims or studied Islam in school at least to some extent — have a great deal of misconceptions about Islam, it gives a great insight into what the entire population of Westerners perceive Islam as, according to Khan.

“If someone who has at least been taught a little bit about Islam still believes Muslims value suicide bombings, there’s something inherently wrong in that situation. They probably feel this way because of the media and Islamophobic propaganda, which is why we are having this discussion,” Khan said.

Islamophobia is a phenomenon that can be dated back to the 1980s; however, the term has been more widely used following the 9/11 tragedies. Instances of hate crimes against Muslims and other events that can be explained in part to the rise of Islamophobia over the past nine years.

Scott Nedvesky, a freshman in computer science, said Islamophobic events, such as people with Muslim last names being stopped in the airport, occur all too often against innocent individuals and it all stems from a general misunderstanding about Islam amongst the public.

“The only source of information about Islam that most of the people in the country get — especially those who are uneducated — is from the media. Now when the media is spreading inaccurate Islamic concepts and facts, the only thing that can be done to counteract that is for those who are being affected to speak up for themselves and deny the accusations,” Nedvesky said. “That is why I plan on going to this Islamophobia discussion. I have a few questions I’d like answered and I think this will be one of the best places for me to ask them.”