The Muslim world is more complex than many think, and its relationship with human rights is evolving even today, stressed former Gambian diplomat Sulayman Nyang during a talk Tuesday night primarily sponsored by the Muslim-cultural Students Association.

Nyang, professor of African Studies at Howard University, spoke to a crowd of about 40 people about human rights issues in the Muslim world as part of Islam Awareness Week.

Nyang emphasized that the Muslim world is not “monolithic,” but rather a collection of politically and socially diverse countries.

“Human rights violations can manifest themselves under monarchical regimes, they can manifest themselves under civilian regimes and they can also manifest themselves under military regimes,” Nyang said.

Nyang, a former ambassador at the Gambian Embassy in Saudi Arabia, connected the state of human rights in the Muslim world to how Muslim societies have evolved in the last 200 years.

The Ottoman Empire’s collapse into smaller nations and the rise of Arab nationalism in the newly formed countries fueled the desire for human rights and self-determination, he said.

However, some Muslim leaders, like Gamel Abdel-Nasser of Egypt, exploited national unity and anti-colonialism to justify violating their citizens’ rights and rigging votes, Nyang said.

Nyang said recently the United States has a tendency to ignore human rights violations depending on its political interest.

“So long as this guy is our son of a gun, we like him,” Nyang said. “When Saddam Hussein was gassing the Kurds, nobody said anything in the United States.”

Nyang said he hoped his listeners would leave knowing three things: Muslim societies are diverse and changing, their struggle with human rights is a recent phenomenon, and the development of human rights is influenced by the historical background of Muslim culture.

Tasnim Imran, a Weinberg sophomore, said she attended the event because she wanted to learn about human rights in relation to Islam.

“From a Western point of view, some people would judge Islamic states as being backwards,” she said. “(But) unless you can really understand and live there and see how people live you can’t understand how they feel.”

Aamair Tajuddin, executive vice president of the McSA, said events like this help clear up misconceptions about Muslims.

“I think after 9/11 there all of a sudden became a negative stereotype towards Muslims,” said Tajuddin, a McCormick sophomore. “Slowly we’re regaining our status again. Especially at Northwestern people are open and people accept diverse cultures so it’s a lot easier to see that we are accepted.”

Reach Evan Hill at [email protected].