Muslims and people of other faiths alike gathered at SMU Saturday to discuss what it meant to be a Muslim in North Texas.

The Islam in North Texas convention, which was the second part of a three part series in “The World of Islam Series” was put on by the William P. Clements Center for Southwest Studies and department of history along with The Scott-Hawkins Lecture Series.

“The goal [of the conference] was to export the SMU culture of tolerance and accommodation to beyond the boundaries of SMU,” said Hisham El-Rewini, professor and chair for the Computer Science and Engineering department. “In my opinion it was an attempt to inform the public [and] to clarify some of the misconceptions that people might have of Islam.”

The first half of the convention was titled “Islam in North Texas”, where panelists presented an overview of Islam, explaining the diversity of the region and also describing their experiences since the Sept. 11 attacks on America.

The second half of the convention included parallel sessions on “Being Muslim, Being American”. Panels included discussion on topics ranging from Islam in daily life to the work of Islamic Charitable Organizations in North Texas.

“I think SMU as a University has a mission,” El-Rewini said, “not only to educate people in the fields that we offer, but also to play a role in educating the public of how to develop a common understanding between people who are different, or maybe perceived to be different.”

SMU students representing the Muslim Student Association acting as Ambassadors for the event were on hand to answer any questions and direct people to the events.

First year business major Ummukulthum Almaawiy and chemistry major Eman Elashye said that events such as these are important to SMU and the surrounding community to help break general misconceptions.

“It bridges the gap between different cultures and different religions,” Almaawiy said. “The more we understand each other, the more we can relate to each other, the more we are able to communicate.”