Being brought up surrounded by Christians and going to public schools that taught with textbooks that had 2 full pages on Christianity and half a page on all other religions, I felt pretty sheltered. Once I got to college, I was immediately intrigued by all the different classes one could take. I mean, a class on walking? Gender studies? These were amazing concepts to me, and the idea that I could take a whole class on a topic that was so controversial, Islam, got me excited. So I signed up.

Walking in, I realized not many people felt the same way that I did. There are seven people in my class. How could no one else wanna know about this religion that supposedly is the root cause of terrorism and is trying to take over the US?

The class is called "Islam, Pluralism, and the Other," and the things you will learn in this class are more than anything you ever could have got from the news. The class not only provides a layout of the basic and complex beliefs of the religion, but it also provides an insight into how Muslims have been seen as the Other, and in addition how Muslims see other religions. The class teaches the important differences in the beliefs of many Muslims and the beliefs of some terrorists.

In addition, in this class, one thing you will learn is the common misconceptions about Islam. You will learn about the diversity within the religion, which is critical in understanding international relations and the things you see on television. It is so common to see religions as extremely monolithic and extreme in Islam's case. However, this class will teach you that there are numerous different ideas and versions of the religion.

Lastly, something really cool about this class is being able to actually read from the Qur'an. This book is claimed to have terrible ideas about hundreds of topics, ranging from the treatment of women to jihad to anything else imaginable.

Once you are actually capable of reading it and having the ability to talk about it with fellow classmates as well as a professor who has an education in the topic, it allows you to realize that the Qur'an is not as different from the Bible as you may think, and it doesn't teach about hate and destruction (though some may find their own hateful meanings in it). It talks about the fact that Muslims need to accept some other religions. Plus, the Qur'an even talks about following the laws of the country you live in, so I doubt there will be any kind of US takeover anytime soon.

There are many misconceptions and assumptions made about the religion of Islam, and because it is becoming a more prominent topic globally, I think anyone who wants to understand the news and simply the people around them should take this class and realize that Islam is not a bad religion. There are bad people of all faiths, and the discrimination against Islam is not something to be downplayed. You can learn a lot about acceptance in this class, and if you take it, you will never regret it, I guarantee.