Belmont Muslim students denounce Islamophobic event, university apologizes

An event on Islam and Christianity at Belmont University drew condemnation from the university's Muslim Student Association and an apology by the school's leadership.

The event featured a presentation from the Franklin-based nonprofit Crescent Project in which fliers were made available saying Islam “ultimately does not offer salvation or peace” and “the Muslim world is in a state of spiritual dryness like a desert,” according to a photo and Belmont Vision, the student newspaper.

The Belmont Muslim Student Association said that even though Belmont prides itself on being inclusive, demonstrated by taking steps such as approving the newer Muslim Student Association, the incident Wednesday showed the school has work to do.

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“We are very disappointed in the dishonesty, blasphemy, and bigotry displayed toward the faith of Islam and our beloved Prophet Muhammad; peace be upon him,” the Muslim Student Association said in an Instagram post Thursday.

The student association said officers with the university program that organized the event, called Well Core, did not reach out to the student association beforehand or the Islamic Center of Nashville, a nearby mosque with longstanding relationships to Belmont administrators, faculty and students.

The American Muslim Advisory Council, an advocacy group for Muslims in Tennessee, called the incident at Belmont “egregious” and asked the university to “take concrete steps to ensure nothing like this ever happens again," according to an Instagram post.

Belmont was quick to respond, saying it’s working to do exactly what they're being asked to.

Belmont President Greg Jones said he tasked several of his cabinet members “to work this summer on establishing a document of guidelines and expectations that any future Belmont guest speaker must agree to prior to being given a campus platform,” according to a statement to the student body on Thursday.

Jones said Belmont students were “rightfully upset” and apologized.

“Meaningful and respectful disagreements lead to understanding; however, when these conversations mock, belittle or disrespect another’s beliefs or viewpoints, the result is division and fractured relationships,” Jones added in his statement.

Belmont, formerly Southern Baptist-affiliated, continues to navigate how it should maintain a faith-based identity while becoming more inclusive to non-Christian perspectives. After Jones became president, the school rebranded itself as a “Christ-centered” community and the university announced in December it would begin recruiting Jewish faculty.

More: Belmont University is hiring Jewish faculty. Why it's a major change for the school.

The mission of the Crescent Project, a Christian organization, is to evangelize to Muslims, and its Sahara Project provides training on how to do that, according to the nonprofit’s website.

Crescent Project founder Fouad Masri, a pastor who gave the presentation at Belmont on Wednesday, said in a phone call Friday, "I understand that in this day and age, people can be tense. But the ministry is about building bridges between Christians and Muslims."

Masri said he encouraged Christians attending the event "to read the Quran once so they can understand their Muslim classmates."

The Belmont Muslim Student Association said the event was poorly screened. A member of the student association told Belmont Vision students were excited going in about an event on the intersection of Christianity and Islam.

However, the student association said on Instagram, “The Muslim students that attended felt as if the goal of the speaker was to convert Muslims to Christianity and to turn Christians against Muslims.”

Liam Adams covers religion for The Tennessean. Reach him at ladams@tennessean.com or on Twitter @liamsadams.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Belmont Muslim students denounce Islamophobic event, university apologizes