Professor Shakeel Ahmad from Pakistan flew 8,000 miles to come to the United States to speak at Blumberg Auditorium at UTEP on July 14 with the hope of providing a better understanding about the Muslim religion, the need to end “Islamic Phobia” and give his perspective on the Iraqi war.

He said his opinions were personal and did not reflect the views of his government. He works as a lecturer at the University of Modern Languages in Pakistan and is visiting as a part of a State Department program designed to increase American awareness and understanding of other countries’ perspectives. After his UTEP presentation, Ahmad visited New Mexico State University and Santa Fe, N.M while staying in the U.S

“When I was about to come to America everyone kept saying I was going to have a culture shock but I didn’t, Ahmad said. “Not everything in the U.S. is new to me and this is all just the global village. My ultimate goal in coming to America is to tell people about Muslims and how they aren’t terrorists. I myself am Muslim and we need to stop ignorance. Islamic phobia is not good. We are not that much different just because we are on different sides of the globe. The only difference is our environment”

There are 150 million Muslims in Pakistan, which makes up 97% of the population while the remaining 3% are either Christian or Hindu. After the 9/11 attacks in the U.S., the discrimination against Muslims has dramatically increased and even more so since the London Bombings two weeks ago, he said.

“In Pakistan there are many places that have a shortage on electricity so when 9/11 occurred no one in my country really knew about the event but Pakistan is not leading the terror group. We are also victims of terrorism,” Ahmad said. “I think this allegation is not right towards Muslims.”

Since the bombings in London occurred July 7 on the subway ripping through three underground trains, Pakistani Intelligence Officials stated that the three suspects are of Pakistani origin according to MSNBC.

“A person is not going to be a good Muslim until he learns to accept all types of religions. Everyone has the right to be respected,” Ahmad said. “I personally have read the bible and it has a lot of the similar stories and meanings compared to the Koran.”

During the 2004 U.S. election numerous Pakistanis tuned in to watch the polls with many opposing with the Iraqi war.

“When the election was being held every Pakistani was watching TV, thinking that Bush should not be in power. On the other hand, our government thinks he should remain president. It was amazing how many people were watching the American election,” Ahmad said. “We do not support the war in Iraq; there is a constant rise in anti-Americanism all around the world. People are protesting against the war in my country just as they are protesting in the U.S. I think Bush should use soft power because countless numbers of people have died and they have spent a lot of money.”

About 40 attended the public conference at UTEP.

“I came a little late to the lecture but I thought this was a very interesting speech,” Crystal Avila, 21 said. “I was most amazed when he talked about their culture and religion.”

Bette Hervey, 76 was disappointed with the conference because the acoustics made it difficult to hear Ahmad.

“I thought that it was an insult to us and to him that he did not have a microphone because he has such a soft voice and I came here to learn something,” Hervey said. “He came all this was to America to explain to us his viewpoints and I had trouble hearing him.”