In its discussion panel Wednesday night, the Muslim Student Association sought to build bridges between Islamic and Christian faiths.

The panel, titled “Building Bridges Between Neighbors,” addressed a need for education and unity of faiths to coincide with Muslim Awareness Week.

Keynote speakers included Rita Root, reverend for the Federated Church of Sycamore, and Karen Danielson, head of public education and outreach for the Muslim American Society in Chicago.

They spoke to an audience of about 30 students and DeKalb residents in the Holmes Student Center’s Lincoln Room.

The panel began with a traditional Muslim prayer read from the Qur’an, then led to presentations from both panelists. The two speakers presented for about 40 minutes, then led into a question and answer session.

“I left Christianity for a while, and followed another faith tradition and then came back because I realized that it spoke the clearest to me,” Root said.

Danielson gave the audience a brief history of the Islamic faith and explained the need to understand the source of stereotypes and blanketed generalizations of Muslim people.

“Understanding Islam and Muslims is complicated,” Danielson said. “Not all Muslims are Arab and not all Arabs are Muslim.”

Danielson and Root both addressed concerns and questions of the audience, including the rights of women in both religions, the American media’s role in intolerance and how to promote unity on campus.

“Do you want peace here?” Root said in response to a question about promoting peace between the two faiths. “Because if we want peace, it has to start with peace inside of each of us.”

Both panelists addressed a question from the audience about representation of Muslims in the American media.

“I think that Muslims are poorly represented in American media because fear sells and we buy it,” Root said. “Fear of the other is very popular in society.”

Danielson agreed.

“There are a number of factors contributing to the media’s perception and getting to know one another can turn that around,” Danielson said. “There are just as many atrocities that have been committed by Christians against others as well.”

Hanan Hagezi, a visitor from Egypt, was among the crowd.

“I think it is very important for American society to be able to learn more about Islam. It’s important to narrow the gap,” she said. “After Sept. 11, there was a lot of tension and growing hostility.”