The Muslim Student Association (MSA) will be presenting “Rise of Islamophobia,” a lecture by Khaled Beydoun, a visiting professor of law from the University of Detroit Mercy on Thursday, Nov. 16 from 5 to 7 p.m in Maucker Union Ballroom C. Food and drinks will be provided.

The subject of the lecture will be the rise of Islamophobia under the current political climate.

MSA is an on-campus organization, and its focus is to educate both Muslims and non-Muslims about what Islam entails. Last year, the group organized events such as Hijab Day and Ask a Muslim.

Nadir Khan, vice president of MSA, said that they came up with the idea to invite Beydoun to speak during Quran study one Tuesday night.

The group watched some videos of him speaking, and they liked how he served as an advocate for Muslims in the United States.

“I think we are very much looking forward to how this event will leave an impact on people who didn’t know Islam,” Khan said. “We are trying our best to reach out to churches, synagogues, meeting people, going into organizations and talking to them, telling them how important this issue is and how to address this issue right now at this point.”

Khan acknowledged that UNI President Mark Nook is taking initiatives toward being a more diverse campus.

“Being an international student on campus, I think we all play a diverse role in this campus, and our religion also plays a very […] diverse role,” Khan said. “It will be a great, diverse event for them to [get to] know a different religion. It will contribute to inclusiveness on campus.”

Khan said that he wants people to attend the event because it will help diversify and liberate themselves, as well as help them better understand Islam.

“If I didn’t know a culture, I [could] go online and see about it, but if that culture is presenting itself [at] UNI, I [could] just go there and see what they are doing. After this event, I think students will get an idea of what Islamophobia is.” Khan said. “They will educate themselves, and if someone else has Islamophobia, they will help that person to […] understand that Islam is not a thing that you have to fear a lot.”

Khan hopes that students leave the event with an understanding of the difference between Islam and radical Islam, as well as learn about ways that they can help to counter Islamophobia when they encounter it.