When Muslim lawyer, spokesman and activist Azhar Usman stepped up to the podium Thursday night in Fisk Auditorium, his first order of business was to change the name of his speech. “Uncovering the Position of Islam in the Current Crisis,” is an impossible task, he said.

This set the tone for Usman’s speech, which stressed the vast and diverse nature of Muslim culture worldwide.

“There is no ‘Islamic perspective’ … because our culture is not monolithic,” said Usman, a spokesman for the Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago.

No other culture is so stubbornly misunderstood by Americans, Usman said, and likewise, American culture has become the most widely misunderstood culture in the Muslim world.

Sponsored by the Muslim-cultural Students Association, the event drew a crowd of about 60 Northwestern students, faculty and alumni. The crowd received a brief lesson in Islam, which Usman said is peaceful by the meaning of its name.

Osama bin Laden and the Taliban regime represent an extremist sect of the religion. But Usman said Americans should still look for the source of the tragedy and consider why “anti-Americanism is running wild throughout the world.” Contrary to what many people believe, Usman said terrorists do not act out of hate for freedom and democracy, but simply as a means to achieve their goals.

More than anything, their goal is to achieve recognition for their way of life, Usman said. While the United States supported Afghanistan during its war against the Soviet Union in the 1980s, after the war ended the United States left Afghanistan isolated and without a legitimate government.

“Unfortunately, the long-term road of democratizing some Middle Eastern countries may have been paved by these events,” Usman said.

When asked how the United States should have responded, Usman said the government made a critical error in using war rhetoric when describing the attack and the U.S. response.

“Declaring a war on terrorism in the wake of September 11 would be like if we had declared a war on bombing after Pearl Harbor,” Usman said. “It’s meaningless to declare a war on an act.”

He went on to say that many Muslims claim the U.S. response is actually a war on Islam in disguise. Instead, he said the United States needs to treat the event as a “crime against humanity,” which an international court of law could pursue. Clarifying the difference between an “act of war” and a “crime,” Usman said the attack on Pearl Harbor was an act of war.

Weinberg freshman Asiya Bari said Usman’s expertise stuck out among the recent speeches and forums pertaining to Islamic culture.

“It was good to finally have someone speaking who is actually very knowledgeable on the religion,” said Bari, a practicing Muslim.

McSA President Jawad Hussain said that although one of the planned speakers could not attend, “all and all, the forum went very well.”

He added that he would like a bigger crowd at the next event Nov. 11, when San Francisco-area journalist Alison Weir will talk about her experiences living in both Afghanistan and the Palestinian areas of Israel.