The Muslim Student Association will bring a taste of Palestine to Creighton next week, from Monday through next Friday the Ethnic Palestinian/Middle Eastern Festival. Next week’s festival seeks to offer the Creighton community an insight into Palestinian culture and people.
The event is sponsored by Nebraskans for Peace, a grassroots statewide peace advocacy organization that focuses on “working nonviolently for peace with justice through community building, education and political action”.
Last year’s week-long spotlight was organized as a joint event with University of Nebraska at Omaha’s Muslim Student Association, that included activities each day of the week.
“That was difficult to organize and handle … this year, we have chosen Monday, Tuesday and Friday for the main events,” said Nasir Alsharif, moderator of Creighton’s Muslim Student Association (MSA), who oversees and advices students involved in the organization.
The lineup of activities includes a 90-minute panel discussion on Monday from 6:30 p.m.-8 p.m. the discussion’s main goal is to give students and staff a glimpse of the country and the Palestinian people “in their own words”.
On Tuesday from 11:30 a.m.-3:00 p.m., “Palestine in my heart” will hold the Ethnic Festival component of the week.
“Artifacts will be on display, music will be playing and there will be many cooking classes on how to cook traditional Palestinian food,” Alsharif said. There will also be a book fair.
Next Friday features a showing of “Belonging,” a biographical documentary by Tariq Nasir that has received accolades for telling “a story of the Palestinians that humanizes the Palestinians without romanticizing them.” Seif Nasir, president of MSA and Arts & Sciences sophomore, is the nephew and family member of the filmmaker.
“It’s his passion to make films … he wanted to show the human perspective. He put a face on the situation, using his family and their immediate situation … what’s more important is that he integrated American culture to make people understand. That was his inspiration,” Nasir said.
The movie, which will start at 6:30 p.m., will be followed by a question and answer session that ends at 8:30 p.m.
“The fact that we can have these kinds of events on campus is a great testimony to how everyone is so willing to accept different points of view,” Alsharif said. “Our goal is build bridges of understanding and respect. We want to present the Palestinian people through their reflections, beliefs, values, aspirations and values.”
The Muslim Student Association has plans during the spring months of the school year to host a comedy show and bring other exciting educational and cultural events to the Creighton campus.
by Sanju Sathian