Justin Moore, OU Senior Outreach Chair of MSA. Photo by Tyler Aljoe
Justin Moore is a 21 year old student at the University of Oklahoma. He was born and raised in Kansas City, Mo., but recently moved to Oklahoma City. Moore is a senior at OU and a double major in Spanish and English. Other than school, Moore is involved in an on-campus organization called as the Muslim Student Association.
The Muslim Student Association is a religious organization on whose members gather together for the sake of Allah, to show the true meaning of Islam, and to undo any misconceptions and stereotypes people might hold about the religion. Moore is the organization's outreach chair, a job that requires him to contact several religious organizations in the area. He also interacts with students at the Oklahoma Memorial Student Union every Wednesday by giving out the Qur'an and answering any questions about Islam.
This open forum helps students of the University of Oklahoma and the Norman community understand more about the faith of Islam.
Moore converted to Islam in April of last year. Moore converted to Islam after approximately a year and a half of interfaith dialogue with friends and religious scholars. He read the Qur'an and did soul searching. Moore said it was not a strict and continuous affair; at times there were periods of intermissions. Moore said the Kalima, or testimony of faith, was the most important decision of his life, which he made at the age of nineteen.
"I feel at home in my faith because I believe it to be the truth," Moore said. "I feel at peace with every tenant of Islam because it is a moral guide, a reassurance, a benefit."
Moore said he was attracted to Islam because there was very little room for ambiguity in the religion. He became intellectually interested in all things relating to Islam.
Moore believes that OU has been very accommodating to Muslims. He thinks that some Oklahomans are uninformed and do not understand Islam in general.
Moore wants people are not familiar with the Muslim to better understand what it means.
"The etymology of the word Islam comes from the word salaam, which means peace, so a Muslim is one who submits him self peacefully to God," said Moore.
Moore said that when people find that he is a Muslim they are very shocked. Many people try to conceal their surprise, but some are more embracing to the idea. Moore said that the biggest problem he runs into is that people can not distinguish between the religion and culture.
After college, Moore plans to attend graduate school outside the state of Oklahoma and continue to practice his faith. He would like to become a professor of literature. His interests include translation, cultural differences, and finding identity through language.
