The recent murders of three young Muslims in Chapel Hill, North Carolina last Tuesday by alleged gunman Craig Stephen Hicks has prompted some Muslim students to emphasize Islamic awareness on the UTEP campus.

“It’s about hate,” said Reem Issa, junior electrical engineering major and a Muslim from Palestine.

Issa and another student, who declined to comment, set up a table at the Union Breezeway Wednesday, Feb. 18, stacked with Islamic pamphlets, brochures and signs in support of the slain Muslims at Chapel Hill.

“So we want more people to know about Islam and our religion,” Issa said.

Issa said once she heard about the tragic and senseless murders of the three young Muslims, she immediately wanted to host the event, which usually takes two weeks advanced notice to set up.

UTEP expedited the process.

“They really were helpful with me to do this event and they reserved a table for me so fast and everything,” Issa said. “I did it in three days and that’s impossible.”

Issa said though students have reacted positively to the event, the mosque she attends in El Paso has been threatened, and two mosques in Texas have been burned because people have negative stereotypes about Islam.

“I’m trying to let people know more about Islam,” Issa said. “Because one of us did something bad doesn’t mean we should generalize about the whole religion.”

Issa founded the Arab Student Association at UTEP, which began last spring in the hope of spreading Islamic awareness and educating students about Arab culture. She said they get across the message that not all Arabs are Muslims.

Issa said she wants all Arabs to unite no matter what religion they are or what they believe in.

“We should be united and all people should know about us, about our wonderful culture,” she said.

Ben Woolridge may be reached at [email protected].