BYU Muslim compares religions

PROVO,

Utah — The first time Sameer Ahmad saw members of the Brigham Young

University student body \"rise and shout\" he thought he'd made a big

mistake coming to BYU.

\"I'd been told, 'That's a Mormon college, stay away!'\" said Ahmad,

addressing the room at the Eleventh Annual Religious Education Student

Symposium in the Wilkinson Center Friday. \"I was a little freaked out.\"

But the tuition was reasonable and the university came highly

recommended as a learning institution, so Ahmad, who was born in

Pakistan but raised in New York, ignored the warnings and came to Utah

in 2007 with high hopes.

Then he went to student orientation in the Marriott Center.

\"Everyone started singing the Cougar anthem. I thought it was some kind of Mormon ritualistic event,\" Ahmad said.

Then he found he had to take a basic Book of Mormon class.

\"I approached the professor after the first class intending to drop

the class but he convinced me to stay and take the opportunity to

compare my own beliefs to the material being presented. That's how I

came to be here,\" Ahmad said.

Ahmad was included on a list of students asked to present their

papers at the annual symposium. He compared the Islam and Mormon

religions.

He said while Muslim people believe in one God who is eternal, they

do not believe — as Mormons do — that he has a physical body and is

part of a Godhead.

He said both religions believe in a merciful, compassionate and all