BOSTON, March 27 (IslamOnline.net) - It was one o'clock Friday afternoon in the basement of Boston University's student center. Shoes by the dozen were neatly aligned in the entryway of the spacious hall that serves as the Muslim prayer room.

The imam then begun his talk on the duty of each follower to find his own path, as more students, and even a few professors, straggle in.

The room fell silent. Friday prayers have begun.

The scene is rather a part of much vigorous activities now held in American universities by Muslim students seeking to know - and provide information - about their countries of origin, the American embassy in Cairo said in a report sent to IslamOnline.net Saturday, March 27.

In their efforts to reverse stereotypes, student groups have been pressed into the role of adjunct instructors, filling gaps in the formal curriculum and reaching more students than those enrolled in Middle Eastern studies.

Boston University's Islamic Society offers information sessions to the entire campus and regularly distributes pamphlets and brochures on Islam from tables in the student center, according to the report.

On the university campuses, organizations representing Arab, Muslim, and Iranian students provide welcome cultural reminders from home as well as education for Americans seeking knowledge and understanding of the students' countries of origin.

The student organizations include many members who are not of Arab, Muslim or Persian ancestry. Almost half of the Persian Society at Tufts University is non-Persian.

During Islamic Awareness Week, the Muslim Students Association at Tufts University sponsors lectures, a film series, and a demonstration by an Arabic calligrapher.

Zaid al-Hinai, president of Tufts' Muslim Student Association said that his organization has prodded the university to add courses on Islamic literature, women in Islam, and Islamic philosophy. Also welcome on many campuses would be courses on contemporary Middle Eastern societies, he said.

Abdul Wahad Kayyali, of Tufts' Arabic Student Association, sees the Arab political point of view misrepresented in American society, and on American campuses.

He recommends greater cross-cultural interaction, scholarly exchanges, and media contacts to break down the wall of stereotypes formed by both sides.

The student associations are also seen as useful to help their members deal with cultural questions that arise while living in the United States.

At Boston University, an imam will field questions from female students over whether or not to wear the hijab, and from males over the “obligation” to grow a beard. Weekly discussion circles held at Harvard University probe interpretations of Islamic texts and thought, gender relations, and the relationship of Islam and science, as per the report.

But these roundtables routinely spill over into more broader topics such as the role of protest in Islam, even the Islamic view of the human genome project.

Tariq Mohammed Yasin, president of Harvard University's Islamic Society, also advocates active involvement in American society.

“Withdrawal from society isn't an answer. It only results in a false sense of security,” he said.

His organization encourages voter registration through its mailing lists and recently held a talk on Islam and civic participation at one of its group dinners.

Yaarub al-Yaarubi, president of Northeastern University's Arab Student Association, is of a similar mind.

Though he will eventually return to his native Oman, he hopes Arab-Americans will not retreat into isolation, but will contribute to America's cultural mosaic.

Despite the social adjustment difficulties that the students sometimes encounter, many acknowledge the advantages of American academia: the multicultural makeup of U.S. campuses and the flexibility that allows students to explore many fields of study, men and women alike.

However, the image mostly painted by the American administration does not come that rosy for many Arab and Muslim students in the country’s universities, especially in the aftermath of 9/11 - which witnessed a rise in hate crimes and a strong appearance of Islamophobia.

The measure was dismissed by the students organizing the event civil rights groups as “unprecedented” intimidation.

“It was just about women in Islam and other related issues as hijab, inheritance and honor killings. We invited the general public to know more about this,” Sahar Aziz, one of the organizers, has told IOL then.

For Arabs and Muslims outside the campus, hopes for more integration came also under similar pressures.