Volume 126 Issue 56
kansan.com
Wednesday, December 4, 2013
EGYPT
MICHAEL STRICKIAND/KANSAN
Marwa Ghazali, a graduate student at the University, will present a lecture tonight regarding her experiences during the revolution in Egypt during the summer.
Student's lecture will give firsthand account of Cairo's political upheaval
tquinlan@kansan.com
ITOM QUINLAN
Marwa Ghazali vividly remembers the tanks, protests and unbridled chaos in Egypt from her time there this past summer. She witnessed the violent political upheaval that engulfed the entire country and overthrew a government.
Ghazali, an Egyptian-American graduate student at the University studying medical anthropology, was in Cairo when massive protests took place and the democratically-elected President Mohamed Morsi
was unseated by the Egyptian military. Tonight, Ghazali will give a lecture at the Kansas Union detailing her account of the political uprising.
Students for Justice in the Middle East (SME) is one of
Ghazali witnessed the political upheaval in Cairo: assault, gunfights and riots. According to Amnesty International, at least 800 people were killed in August alone. Ghazali recalled one aspect of death in the streets of Cairo. "The fires that I was seeing and the smoke were people's bodies being burned," said Ghazali.
several University organizations co-sponsoring the lecture. Salman Husain, a junior at the University and vice president of SJME, said his organization is concerned with issues of injustice in Egypt, including economic opportunity, democratic elections and the creation of a fair constitution.
Husain believes this lecture is a great opportunity for University students to have the complex political turmoil in Egypt explained by someone who personally witnessed the upheaval. Husain also wants those interested to understand the conflict not only in
political terms but also in personal terms. "We hope people will be able to connect to it on a human level. This is a very human issue that all of us can relate to," said Husain.
CITY COMMISSION
As a medical anthropologist, Ghazali conducted research examining populations of people who live in cemeteries in Cairo. She examined the relationship between people's homes and their health. However, early into her stay in Cairo, popular protests against the
SEE EGYPT PAGE 3
GEORGE MULLINIX/KANSAN
The Lawrence City Commission tabled the vote expanding a rental licensing program on Tuesday. opponents are concerned about privacy.
Rental licensing decision postponed for two weeks
CODY KUIPER
Following months of debate, the Lawrence City Commission failed to reach a decision regarding an ordinance that would expand a citywide rental licensing program Tuesday.
ckuiper@kansan.com
Hours of debate and public input culminated in the commission voting to table the issue for two weeks in order to correct vague portions of the legislation and gather more information.
The ordinance will require nearly every rental unit in Lawrence to be licensed by the city and therefore subject to city safety codes. Previously, only rental units in single-family home zones were licensed by the city.
The new program would make city inspectors responsible for inspecting nearly every rental unit in the city. Opponents of the law change cited potential invasions of privacy if city officials were to become responsible for inspection of rental properties. However, members of the city commission say they do not anticipate privacy violations to be
an issue,as the inspections will be scheduled in advance.
"I don't think we'll be tramping on anybody's rights," said City Commissioner Bob Schumm, who supports the ordinance. "I see value in this going forward. We've done a good job of listening to those involved and made compromises on several issues."
Under the ordinance, 10 percent of a renter's units will be inspected every three years to make sure they are meeting city codes. If they have five or fewer violations on their property, the inspections will only occur every six years.
City Commissioner Jeremy Farmer proposed a brief pilot program to test the reaction to the program, quell fears relating to it and identify difficulties, which the commission has also decided to consider.
"If we do this, we have facts and data about going through the process, and I'm going to feel better about supporting this," Farmer said.
- Edited by Emma McElhaney
Muslim students adapt Islamic rituals to busv college schedules
RELIGION
atidwell@kansan.com
ASHLEIGH TIDWELL
The Islamic Center of Lawrence is a place where Muslim students can go to pray. Prayer times are often missed by students because of busy schedules, but students are free to observe prayer times whenever possible.
This story is the third in a weeklong Kansan series on religion. Check tomorrow's Kansan for a story on atheism.
ASHLEIGH TIDWELL/KANSAN
Islam's guidelines for how one should live set moral standards, regulate the diet and determine prayer times. These are some of the most fundamental elements of Islam and are elements that Muslim students, like Fatoumata Bayo, sometimes struggle with.
Bayo, a senior from Warren, Mich., spent the first 12 years of her life in the Gambia in West Africa — a predominantly Muslim country
When she was a child, her family observed the five daily prayer rituals, which occur near dawn, at midday, in the afternoon, at sunset and at nightfall. They kept to the specified diet, which forbids eating pork products. Bayo wore a hijab, the head covering required for Muslim women. She lived a traditional Muslim life with her family.
"I was raised in a Muslim country with a Muslim family, so everything we did was done religiously and traditionally," Bayo said. "We were not extremely religious, but we did follow the ways of our religion."
For Bayo, the upbringing is an
important factor that makes her who she is today. The values and morals that her religion instilled in her as a child have been beneficial throughout her life.
"My religion kept me grounded and guided me the right way," Bayo said. "I am very thankful for that."
She notes that as she grew up, she realized there were some aspects she didn't entirely agree with. However, she wanted to keep her faith and continue the practices. For Bayo, religion is about finding what fits for you and shaping your religion in a way that reflects your ideals.
"I like to call myself an unorthodox Muslim." Bayo said. "Even though I follow my religion somewhat fully, there are some things that I don't do."
Though she follows Islam as a student, Bayo has adapted her religion to fit her busy college lifestyle.
At this point in her life, Bayo doesn't find herself in a place where she is ready for the commitment of wearing a hijab, but does plan on doing so again when she's older. This is just one of the ways she has adapted her religious practices to fit her college lifestyle.
A major struggle that she has dealt with since coming to the University is missing the strict prayer times because of class and
Moussa Elbayoumy, director of the Islamic Center of Lawrence, said that prayer times are often missed because of busy schedules, but that students are free to observe prayer times whenever possible.
"I sometimes miss prayer times and have to make them up when I get home, and honestly, sometimes I forget," Bayo said. "But I do try my best to keep up with them."
"Students who wish to observe prayer times can do it anywhere, anytime," Elbayoumy said. "It just depends on their flexibility."
work schedules.
Elbayoumy also noted that the Islamic Center has added prayer times to the traditional number to help busy students. This is one way the Center has helped students adapt to the new environment of college.
"Coming into a new environment and adjusting can be very difficult for students," Ilbayoumy said. "We want to give them a welcoming home and get them involved in the community."
Because so many of the Muslim students on campus are not from the U.S., they must work to adapt and translate their religion to a collegiate environment in the United States.
The Center also hosts a Ramadan celebration every year and invites the community to join them
regardless of religious affiliation. Because of the religious diversity at the University, students of different religious views can sometimes disagree
When presented with such situations, Bayo respects the opinions of others, but finds it pointless to argue. She said that everyone is entitled to their own religious opinions. Bayo also said it might be more important for
people to focus on what their religions have in common instead of their differences.
"The three Abrahamic religions [Islam, Christianity and Judaism] have more in common than differences," Bayo said. "The moment people realize that, the better off we will all be."
Elbayou encourages students of all religious backgrounds to come to the Center if they have
"We're always open to new students who have questions," he said. "People think our religion is more exotic than it truly is, but it is not that different from any other religion."
CLASSIFIEDS 7
CROSSWORD 5
— Edited by Kayla Overbey
questions about Islam.
CRYPTOQUIPS 5
OPINION 4
SPORTS 8
SUDOKU 5
All contents, unless stated otherwise, © 2013 The University Daily Kansan
Don't forget
It's Jay-Z's birthday. Brush your shoulders off.
Today's Weather
Morning showers. Wind.
30 percent chance of
rain. Wind N23 at 13 pm.