Common Ground: Being Muslim in the Military
Muslim Student Association and Army & Navy ROTC team up to presents
This event sought to acknowledge and create a dialogue about the relationship between Muslims and the Military. Professor Awadh A. Binhazim spoke generally about Islam and touch on fundamental misunderstandings that saturate the media and general society. Captain Darryl Cox, an active military member and a Muslim, followed by speaking about his personal experience in the military.
Awadh A. Binhazim was born and raised in Kenya and was educated in Saudi Arabia, Kenya, and The University of Georgia; he is currently professor of pathology at Meharry Medical College. Professor Binhazim’s interest in Islam is in comparative religion studies and contemporary subjects such as the engagement between Islam and the west, education in the Muslim world, tackling the issue of poverty in Muslim communities, and intellectual and economic empowerment of Muslim youth. During the period of 1999 – 2006, Professor Binhazim was elected to the Board of Directors of the Islamic Center of Nashville, TN and served in various roles including Secretary, Director of Public Relations, and Outreach and as Vice President. His extensive work on Islam and Muslims paved the way to the formation of Olive Tree Education; an Islamic outreach and education awareness group that he founded and currently serves as its president. During 2002 – 2008, he was appointed by Mayor Bill Purcell to serve as Commissioner in the Metro Action Commission of Nashville.
CPT Darryl Anthony Cox is an Army Reserve officer on Active Duty orders working under the Operations and Intelligence Section (S-2/S-3) as the Homeland Defense Coordinator, Anti- terrorism Officer, and Physical Security Officer for the Southeastern Medical Area Readiness Group located in Nashville TN. He has served in the Army Reserve for his entire adult working life. CPT Cox previously served as the second Higher Headquarters Detachment Commander, SE-MARSG – Nashville from November 02, 2007 to June 12, 2009. He assumed his current assignment on January 10, 2009.
CPT Cox was born in Memphis, Tennessee to the union of William Cox Sr. and Gloria Cox. Cox was the youngest of 4 sons, (MAJ William Cox Jr, CPT Tony Cox, and Lina). After high school, he studied at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, but earned his Bachelor of Arts in History from the University of Memphis and is currently working on his Master of Arts in Criminal Justice Administration at Tennessee State University. Cox converted to Islam in November 1999 after extensive study of the religion. Cox, who is still a fervent student of Islam, has also fulfilled his obligation to perform the Hajj (Sacred pilgrimage to Makkah, Saudi Arabia) and is learning Arabic to get a better comprehension for the Qur’an, because it is the language for which the book was revealed.
This event sponsored by Project Dialogue, the Office of Religious Life, and the Office of the Dean of Students