Students hold awareness campaign to eradicate notions about Islam

As part of the campaign, SIO has set up kiosks in several colleges

In order to eradicate misunderstood notions about Islam, the Students Islamic Organisation (SIO) started a campaign called Islamic Knowledge Test (IKT) in September - which will continue till October 15 - across city colleges, to give a basic understanding of the religion which promotes humanity, peace and harmonious living.

As part of it, SIO is not only holding awareness programs, but is also taking a small test to help participants gauge their understanding of the religion. For promoting better understanding of Islam, information kiosks were arranged at several college campuses by SIO representatives, and in some colleges, informal talks were also held with students who might have questions regarding Islam.

It also held a test on Sunday to gauge participants' knowledge of Islam

"This campaign is SIO's way of taking small steps to eliminate the misconceptions about Islam, by trying to give basic knowledge and understanding of the faith, to let people know that Islam is like any other religion promoting humanity, peace and harmonious living," said Simab Khan, SIO campus secretary for Mumbai.

He added, "We thought this will be an opportunity for people of all faiths to understand Islam and its basic teachings. The purpose behind keeping a test at the end of it was to give everyone the motivation to learn about the religion. At the end of the campaign, we'll be giving out prizes and certificates."

The campaign has till now been held in around 50 colleges, with more than 2,000 students visiting the kiosks. Around 250 candidates appeared for the test held last Sunday at eight centres. "More than 70 percent of the participants were of non-Muslim faiths," added Khan.

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