Religion is arguably the most important force in life for most people in this world and I am no different. While life experiences have played a huge role in shaping my personality, even they could not exceed the influence Islam has exerted on my life.

One of the most important lessons Islam has taught me is that people are equal no matter where they come from, what color their skin is, what economic and sociological background they have, and what their cultural identity is. This concept is quite loyal to the concept of diversity in modern societies. Racism may still be an issue in the world but Islam has always condemned it by making it clear one should not be discriminated against on the basis of his skin color.

Islam has also taught me about the importance of equitable distribution of wealth in the society. I believe in hard work but I also believe everyone should have equal opportunities to achieve economic progress. It disturbs me when greed becomes so widespread that it affects the lives of millions of people who had nothing to do with the irresponsible behavior of few corrupt people as we have seen during the recent financial crisis and numerous economic crises before that.

According to Islam, all lives are equal and even the flow of one innocent blood is equal to the murder of entire humanity. Thus, I believe in peace and respect for all people in the world and condone violence. Use of power should only be allowed to defend weak and not to suppress others. In this regard, Islamic message is close to the message promoted by Gandhi and Dr. King because violence cannot ensure peace, especially when the victims are innocent people.

I look forward to learn more about other faiths at Pepperdine University because I believe different faiths have more similarities than differences. We should not allowed few fundamentalist elements to create differences between people from different faiths.