Islamist front group the Muslim Student Association is running an “Islam Awareness Week” at Northern Illinois University (and probably other universities as well), whitewashing the meaning of jihad for gullible college students:

Hadam Soliman, a senior OMIS major and vice president of the MSA, gave a speech titled, “Islam: A Religion of Peace?” that touched on the concepts of peace and jihad as they relate to Islam.

Saad Quadri, a sophomore English major and president of the MSA, opened the event, and Omar Mishal, a junior electrical engineering major, read a passage from the Islamic holy book, the Quran.

About 30 people listened intently as Soliman explained the meaning of jihad and outlined its 13 forms.

He described jihad’s meaning as “to strive to one’s utmost” or “to struggle.” This is different from the commonly accepted definition of “holy war.” Jihad can be used against one’s self, against the devil, against unbelievers or against one’s oppressors, he said.

“Jihad is not a means to force others into Islam,” Soliman said.

I wonder which of the 13 interpretations of jihad Mohammed Atta had in mind the morning of September 11. That’s the only one I care about.

Here’s a statement about “peace” that is so odd I wonder if the writer described it incorrectly:

Soliman discussed the meaning of peace. Islam preaches peace that could necessitate loss of life to ensure the continuance of Islam, he said. Control of material resources is not an acceptable reason for war.

Trying to figure that out is giving me a headache.

But the real whopper is this:

One common cause of discord is racism, which is prohibited by Islamic teaching.

There is so much mendacity in that one simple sentence.

It deliberately confuses the concepts of “race” and “religion,” for starters. Muslims can only be victims in this definition, never perpetrators, since Islam itself “forbids racism.” This message is tailor made for a Western liberal college audience, always eager to see racism as the hidden motive for strong value judgments. Cast yourself in the victim role, and you’ll never lack support from the pomo multiculti crowd, especially if you belong to an easily identifiable oppressed third world group.

But I wonder what would have happened if someone had asked Hadam Soliman about Sura 5:60, the Koranic verse that calls Jews and Christians “apes and swine” and says they are cursed by Allah? A quick look through our archives finds dozens of examples of this verse being preached in the holiest spiritual centers of Islam—along with calls to jihad that are unambiguously about holy war.

I know this can’t be racism, since the Muslim Student Association says racism is prohibited by Islam. So what is it?