Shiekh Shakir Alani made an attempt to eliminate misunderstandings of and educate others about Islam during his speech titled "The Common Misconceptions About Islam" on Friday in the K-State Student Union's Big 12 room.

The event was organized by the Muslim Student Association of K-State, and the talk was open to students and Manhattan residents.

Alani, who is originally from Iraq, has a doctorate degree in engineering and also has completed a degree in Shari'ah law, a fundamental Islamic law of governing.

The speaker emphasized that he is discussing Islam and not Muslims, who sometimes misrepresent Islam, he said.

"I'm not in a position to defend Muslims," Alani said. "They are human beings, who are subject to mistakes, to violence, just like other people in society."

During a two-hour lecture followed by a question-and-answer session, the speaker explained the basics of Islam. He touched upon topics that evoked discussion, like connections between Islam and other religions, its history, prayers and practices, human rights, men's and women's clothing, food, marriage and more.

He gave a brief overview of Shari'ah law and described it as a "balanced system between a person and society."

Alani told the audience that Islam is not a violent, aggressive or dangerous religion. From the other side, he also explained that it is not a passive religion - people are supposed to fight to protect themselves, their land and their way of life.

"Harming the neighbor is definitely outside the circles of Islam; it doesn't fit," Alani said. "The Quran says, 'If you killed one soul without a reason, you have killed the whole humanity. If you saved one soul you saved the whole humanity.'"

For mutual intercultural understanding, Alani said it is important to understand that Islam is not a terrorist religion and the term 'holy war' is inaccurate.

Moreover, he said the Islam religion believes people who commit suicide, including suicide bombers, are sent to to Hell, not to Heaven like the media often portrays, he said.

"None of these 19 people who made an attack on September 11 belonged to any Muslim community; none of them attended a mosque. Only a few know this fact. But since then, our communities have to pay a very heavy price," he said.

Alani admitted that the number of people who choose Islam is growing in America and Europe and that it is not a threat to non-Muslim countries.

"We can respect each other regardless of what we believe," Alani said.

For whatever reason visitors attended this event, the general response was that the event was helpful and raised awareness about Islam.

"I had some questions, so I was pleased to be here and clear some misconceptions I had," said Herve Oyenan, graduate student in computer science.

He said he has many Muslim friends and this lecture helped to understand their beliefs better.

"I am an American who didn't know anything about Muslims or Islam before I spent some time in another country and got to know them better," said Judy Roe, research associate in agronomy.

"I'm trying to understand why Americans don't know what Islam is really about. The more I can learn about Islam, the more I can transmit to other people in this country."