Last night in a panel entitled “Understanding Islam,” five experts on the Islamic religion tried to illuminate the true nature of the faith in the wake of the Sept. 11 attack on the World Trade Center by Islamic fundamentalists.

The Graduate School of Education (GSE) assembled the panel, attended by about 150 people, to assure that “some good comes from Sept. 11,” said panel organizer Dottie Engler, GSE’s co-director of external relations and development.

“It’s extraordinary that by the year 2025, one out of four people will be Muslim,” Enlger said. “There’s an elephant in the middle of the room that we’re starting to take a look at.”

Walid Fitaihi, an instructor at the medical school and the treasurer of the Islamic society of Boston, began the discussion with the traditional Islamic greeting, “Peace be upon you.”

or to defend their faith from attack.

Jabri also enumerated the rules of conduct that Muslims must follow if they go to war for their faith.

“If someone slaps you, you have the right to slap them back,” Jabri said, “but only as hard as they slapped you.”

Asani also emphasized that the Islamic community is diverse—geographically and ideologically.

“The Muslim community is culturally very diverse, and Islam itself, while there are certain tenets that hold it together, has different interpretations.”

Asani compared Islam to a rainbow, with many colors but bound by some common lines.

Other panelists also objected to the stereotyping of Muslims.

Fitaihi related a story of how his son, after watching CNN, asked him, “Am I an Arab or a Muslim or an American?”

Fitaihi told him that those labels were not mutually exclusive, but were “in harmony” with each other.

“In the last 22 days, I’ve grown 22 years,” Fitaihi said. “The struggle and agony have made me mature and grow.”

Asani said we have to move past the concept of the Muslim as “the other” in the U.S.