Tensions ran high earlier this week when the Muslim Students Association and the Army and Navy ROTC paired to bring information to the student body regarding the issue of Muslims in the military.


Armed with a handful of notes, junior Devin Saucier asked Awadh Binhazim if he, as a Muslim, followed the Islamic belief that homosexuals should be killed. Binhazim, a professor of pathology at Meharry Medical School, first approached the question in more general terms. “A lot of religions dismiss the concept of homosexuality. Christianity, Judaism—“

“No,” Saucier interrupted. “No other religion says the reaction to homosexuality should be capital punishment. I am asking if you personally, as a follower of Islam, believe that homosexuality should be punished by death.”

“Yes,” Binhazim said. “As a follower of Islam I do believe homosexuality be punishable by death. You cannot pick and choose which laws to follow.” See correction in most recent article here.


Project Dialogue, MSA, and ROTC coordinated the event Monday evening, held in the Student Life Center, that sought to "bring fact and knowledge to a media storm through discussion and open dialogue," according to Project Dialogue coordinator Emily Stewart.

"The MSA approached Project Dialogue about creating this event largely in response to earlier this school year,” Hana Nasr, president of MSA, said.  “We wanted to share with the student body what the reality of our religion entails, and try to dispel some misconceptions the media frenzy may have perpetrated."

Binhazim, an advocate for Nashville’s Muslim community, gave a brief lecture entitled “Islam 101.” He was followed by Capt. Darryl Cox, a member of the military whose explained how his Muslim beliefs proved even more difficult to manage given his conversion from Christianity.

Senior and ROTC member Austen Packer spoke to the relevance of the issue.

“As seniors, a lot of us are only a few months away from service. This is an extremely relevant issue, and the odds are that we will have to deal with this issue first hand. In this sense, information and familiarity are invaluable.”

Both speakers addressed this idea of information as a necessary tool. “Education cannot be underestimated. We need it to learn from each other, from other cultures, and ultimately to succeed,” said Binhazim.

 

Edit: The article originally stated that Binhazim is an adjunct professor at Vanderbilt University. He is not.