PAGE 11
GREENSBORO, NC
Islamic scholar to speak during Religious Emphasis Week
Stephanie Atlan
Staff Writer
Islam is at the forefront of world pol
itics. It is the second largest religion in
the world. Yet, given our post 9-11 so
ciety, Islam has become widely misun
derstood.
These are just some of the issues
that Dr. Seyyed Hossein Nasr will ad
dress as part of Guilford's Religious
Emphasis Week (Jan. 25-31).
Nasr, head of Islamic Studies at
George Washington University, will
visit on Jan. 28 to give a lecture enti
tled "The Heart of Islam" (7 p.m. in
Dana Auditorium). He will also partici
pate in a forum on religion and sci
ence.
Nasr is a leading Islamic scholar, for
mer president of the University of
Tehran, and former professor of reli
gious studies at Temple University. He
Monster trucks fall short
Tim Scales
Staff Writer
Looking for bone-crushing excite
ment? Edge-of-your-seat thrills? An
awesome display of raw testosterone?
If so, the Monster Truck Rally at the
Greensboro Coliseum is probably not
the best choice.
Though certainly highly testos
terone-charged, it was by no means
an awesome display, and not really
worth the exorbitant $lB entrance fee.
However, it was an experience I don't
altogether regret.
"It's the thirst for blood that makes
people go to monster truck rallies,
drink down a six-pack of beer, and
watch big trucks mercilessly crush
small cars," says first-year Nate Miller.
The small arena floor consisted of
two tracks, each with a small jump and
four beat-up cars to crush. For the
race event, two cars faced off on the
tracks and, after a buildup of engine
revving and false starts, slammed the
pedal down and bumped slowly over
the line of cars. Each heat took ap
proximately four seconds and four
thousand decibels.
The freestyle competition was mar-
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has written over 50 books and hun
dreds of articles on religion and sci
ence, Sufism, and the spiritual and
natural world.
It is no wonder that such a prominent
Islamic scholar is speaking at Guilford
College given the importance of Islam
in our community. For the first time in
Guilford County's history, more Mus
lims live here than Quakers.
"What people are not exposed to is
the compassionate aspect of it and the
beauty of Islam - the more human
side," said Assistant Professor of Reli
gious Studies Shelini Harris, who is
using Nasr's book The Heart of Islam
in her Islam class this semester. "He
goes against the stereotype."
Campus Ministry Coordinator Max
Carter worked with Nasr at Temple
University. He describes him as "very
gentle, very warm, and very approach
able for a person of that stature and
more interesting. For this, one
ve out at a time and powered
in a circle, crushing cars and
;asional minivan. Unfortunately,
ly because of the arena's small
ginally i
car dro 1
around
the occi
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there
was
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imagi-l
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By the,
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had
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, : . .
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il
www. familyevents. com |
Monster trucks crushin' some cars
was to
offer.
Between events, they showed clips
of other rallies on the giant T.V.
screens above the arena. Watching
these, it appeared that every other
monster truck rally was far more excit
ing than the one we were watching.
reputation."
"I'm really excited for [Nasr] to
come," said junior Mohammad Khalaf,
an active member of Guilford Col
lege's Muslim club. "He explains a lot
about the true side of Islam. It means
a lot to the Muslim community."
Nasr's speech is part of Guilford's
14th annual Religious Emphasis
Week.
"It is an opportunity for different reli
gious groups and clubs to help adver
tise their wares," said Max Carter. "Re
ligious Emphasis Week helps us
showcase what is available on cam
pus."
In addition to displaying Guilford's 11
religious clubs and organizations, Re
ligious Emphasis Week events allow
the community to speak openly about
issues they might not otherwise feel
comfortable discussing. One of these
events is the interfaith student discus
They showed cars flipping, rolling, and
driving through mobile homes: all
manner of things more daring and
death-defying than the stunts we were
watching. Far from pumping me up,
favorite
part of the evening's entertainment
was when the smallest trucks took the
stage. Four tiny remote controlled
trucks drove out into the arena and
proceeded to perform all the tricks that
I had expected from the big trucks:
jumping and rolling and running each
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sion of spiritual formation in college,
entitled "Faith after Four Years at Guil
ford," which will be held on Jan. 27.
The week also features the Luby
Casey Campus Ministry Visitors,
Michael Birkel and Mike Heller, who
will speak on "The Timeless Quaker
Wisdom of John Woolman." Or, for the.
lighter side of religion, come to a view
ing of Monty Python's Life of Bryan on
Jan. 29.
The week will conclude on Jan. 30
with a Chow down, Center down, and
Hoedown - a potluck, silent worship,
and contra dance.
All events are free and open to the
public. For more information, check
the current issue of the College Activi
ties of Worship (Guilford Council of
Religious Organization's newsletter)
or the Guilford Beacon, or contact
336-316-2445.
other over. Far more exciting than the
main event.
TranSaurus Rex, the transforming
robot dinosaur, also put on an impres
sive display. Driving onto the floor, ac
companied by a stirring but wacky
background story of intrigue and ad
venture, he proceeded to unfold him
self from the back of a truck and tear a
Plymouth Horizon apart with his teeth
and flaming nostrils.
"I liked the juxtaposition between the
fire-spewing TranSaurus Rex and the
1980's soft-rock chart-topper 'Don't
you forget about me' that immediately
followed the beast's appearance," said
first-year Erin Burns.
I probably will never attend a
ster truck rally again. However, that
doesn't mean that I regret going, and
I'd recommend it simply for the oppor
tunity to say that you went.
If you are interested in attending a
monster truck event, check out
www.ushra.com. Though this particu
lar event is over, rallies visit this area
regularly throughout the year. ;
First-year Aaron DeMoss summa
rized the experience best when he
s&id, "I liked it when they crushed
seeing
what
could
fchappen
■just
made me
that
much
more dis
appoint-
ed by
ijwhat I
iw a s
1 watch
ing.
Ironi
cally, my
t _ • A _
JAN 23, 2004