Project Nur Unrecognized

We have a Facebook group!

Spring 2011
Next meeting: Tuesday, March 8 at 6 PM in FPH 104

Topic: Iraq-where should we go from here? (information about the topic will be given before we discuss/debate it)

Topics for Upcoming Meetings


 * 3/22-Kurdistan
 * 4/5-Oil in the Middle East
 * 4/19-The "Best" Type of Government for Middle Eastern Countries

Towards the end of March, we will (possibly) be having an event titled "The Role of Social Media in Uprisings in Middle East and North Africa."

In early-mid April, we will be screening the film "Who Will Cast the First Stone?" and having a speaker to talk about women's rights in Pakistan. The event will be from 5 PM to about 7 PM. Dinner will be served.

"The Role of Social Media in Uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa"
(co-sponsored with HUA)

Tentative date and time: Wednesday, March 23rd from 4 to 5:30 PM

Screening of the documentary "Who Will Cast the First Stone?"
(co-sponsored with the Spiritual Life Office)

Early to mid-April

Past Events
We hosted an international dinner with Hampshire's chapter of Project Nur on October 22nd at the Red Barn. The dinner was from 6:30-8:30 PM. Suggested donation was $5 for students and seniors and $10 for adults.

On Tuesday, April 6th, 2010 we had a screening of the film "Arranged." This event was co-sponsored by the Spiritual Life Office. It was in FPH 101.


 * 5-6 PM: Reception with Middle Eastern food
 * 6:15-7:45 PM: Film screening

Preamble
Muslim student groups and the term “Muslim” traditionally have been rooted in and/or associated with religion, and less often culture. Totally devoid of any religious underpinnings, Project Nur is a “new light on campus” in that it creates a distinct and alternative Muslim voice: a civic identity grounded in pluralism and moderate thinking and action, one that dispels the perception of a monolithic Muslim voice. This revolutionary and much needed civic identity is formed at the unique intersection between the American-Muslim community that is comprised of diverse opinions, beliefs, experiences, and backgrounds and the principles of human rights, civil rights, social justice, tolerance, understanding, and co-existence, making Project Nur a sum greater than its individual parts. Project Nur is an alternative student community providing a place for students to go where in the past they may have felt alienated and/or left without a voice.

Project Nur is a student-led initiative of the American Islamic Congress. The AIC was created after 9/11 as a non-religious, civic initiative challenging increasingly negative perceptions of Muslims by advocating responsible leadership and understanding. The AIC provides a platform for moderate Muslim human rights and civil rights activists and empowers them to raise their voices in the hopes of creating a better understanding of the Muslim world. As an extension of the AIC, Project Nur believes that only through responsible leadership and civic engagement emerging significantly from the American-Muslim community, focusing on issues here in the US and abroad, will the moderate Muslim voice be heard on campus and beyond. With this belief that responsible leadership is the remedy for the pressing challenges facing the American-Muslim community, the efforts of Project Nur leaders are organized around the fundamental guiding principles of nonviolence, equality, and free expression.

Project Nur is an inclusive space where civic-minded students of all backgrounds can come together to explore the complexity of the Muslim community and Muslim identity and simultaneously work together on issues affecting all human beings. While we encourage Muslim leadership, our leaders and members are both from within and outside the Muslim community. Project Nur is again distinct in that it emphasizes civic action, but does so with the goal of forging a cohesive and mutually respectful multicultural community. Moreover, Project Nur transcends mere discourse and dialogue through action-based undertakings addressing issues that equally affect all communities. It is Project Nur’s belief that only in taking action with different people, addressing issues affecting all humans, do we truly come to understand the meaning and reality of co-existence.

In sum, Project Nur aims to invigorate an activist spirit in and beyond the American-Muslim student community, cultivate intercultural understanding through civic undertakings, and challenge the perception of a monolithic Muslim community.

Mission
Project Nur will be dedicated to creating a space that allows all students to learn from and about each other in order to build an inter-ethnic and multi-faith student community promoting human rights and civil rights; this would ultimately result in emphasizing the positive values and expectations of all identities, while promoting co-existence, tolerance and understanding. Furthermore, Project Nur aims to emphasize positive relationships by building bridges between Muslims and people of other faiths in order to diminish generalizations and stereotypes.

Nur as defined in Arabic as enlightenment, will position itself as a Muslim-led forum for students from various backgrounds, cultures, and faith to come together to celebrate their differences, solidify their commonalities, and bring light or knowledge to their respective communities.

Goals
Hence, the goals of the Project Nur relate to the name and mission which reach out to students to promote understanding of each other in the spirit of enlightenment.

1. Project Nur aims to form a social arena for students to represent a strong identity of multicultural backgrounds and opinions, while opening the doors for people of other cultures to come, share, discuss, and ask questions in a multicultural setting.

2. Project Nur's goal is to a build a student led initiative for human rights and civil rights led by students in order to denounce hate speech and violence, by being committed to co-existence, tolerance and individual human and civil rights.

3. Project Nur aims to create the ground for voices of pluralism of Muslim-Americans and non-Muslim Americans by working with students who are progressive, reformist, liberal, secular, moderate or conservative and without proselytizing and judging Muslims of different thought.

4. We do not make religious rulings, and the chapters will not provide a religious agenda. The role of Project Nur is to promote human rights, promote positive social change in the pursuit of civil rights, and celebrate cultural and social identities students whether the individuals are religious or not.

Inventory
We have no inventory.