The Marshall University Muslim Student Association sponsored a cultural bake sale Tuesday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. in celebration of Islam Awareness Week and to raise funds for its club.

“You don’t get baklava every day,” said graduate student Malak Khader.

MSA members Khader and Suzann Al-Qawasmi, both getting their master’s degree in public administration, said they want people to get a taste of their culture, but their main goal is to open dialogue with people on campus.

“We thought it would be an interesting twist on a bake sale, and it’s really ultimately to help us raise some money to host some more events so that people can get to know Islam through the students at Marshall,” Khader said.

Khader said the MSA had many goals for the bake sale, including raising funds, gaining members and spreading awareness about Islam.

“Our main goal is just to get people to talk to us,” Khader said.

Khader said she hopes Marshall students will spend time talking to Muslim students this week during all their events.

“Even if they don’t buy anything, if they just come and just talk to us, that is our ultimate goal,” Khader said.

The bake sale included an assortment of baked goods. Al-Qawasmi said there were Syrian and Libyan desserts.

“We have Arabic apple pies,” Khader said. “And then we also have American, so if people aren’t risk-takers they can eat their brownies and cookies.”

Both Khader and Al-Qawasmi said baklava was their favorite dessert.

Khader said members of the MSA and women in the Muslim community made the treats for the bake sale.

Al-Qawasmi said they have a Viber group with Muslim women in the community, so they sent a message about the bake sale and several women said they would bake for it.

“The MSA is hosting the event, but it wouldn’t be possible without the support of the Muslim community in Huntington,” Al-Qawasmi said. “They’re always there to support us with anything that we need.”

Al-Qawasmi said she hoped to meet new people as they approached the baked goods.

“Last semester we ended up making friends, people who I still keep in touch with now who were just interested in the religion at first, and now they have a better understanding of it and we’re friends now,” Al Qawasmi said.

“We want to show people we’re not a violent people that they see portrayed in the media,” Al-Qawasmi said.

“If they just talk to us, we hope that they can see that,” Khader said.

Lydia Waybright can be contacted at [email protected].