The Southwest Folklife Alliance is hosting the event “Islam 101: Everything you wanted to know but were afraid to ask” Sunday, April 30, to inform the community about the second-largest faith practiced on the globe.

“We believe this is a great opportunity for the Tucson community to experience Islam and ask the questions they have not had the ability to in the past,” said Taha Hasan, board member for the Islamic Center of Tucson.

The Southwest Folklife Alliance, part of UA’s College of Social and Behavioral Science, celebrates the multiplicity of cultures in our society—one of which is Islam.

“While often misunderstood, it shares tenets with many other faiths, and also has unique perspectives,” reads the event’s Facebook page.

The event is hosted as the SFA’s monthly “Culture & Society Learning Exchange”.

Tucson has become increasingly influenced by Muslim and Islamic culture and the UA has a nationally competitive Arabic program that has recently introduced a new major program for the Arabic language.

The event will hold a presentation and open conversation with the Islamic Center of Tucson.

The SFA was first formed in 1943 by UA president Alfred Atkinson as an interdisciplinary committee. It didn’t become a standalone affiliate until 2014.

Hasan said the ICT has a history of working with the SFA during the “Tucson Meet Yourself”. The ICT hosts a booth there to educate anyone who attends about Islam.

SFA has hosted the “Tucson Meet Yourself” event every year since 1974 when it was first introduced to “research, document, interpret and present the living traditional arts”.

SFA will hold the event at Southern Arizona Work Space at 403 N Sixth Ave. at 2 p.m. It is free of charge and open to anyone who wishes to attend.

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