CAIRO, April 17, 2006 (IslamOnline.net) – US Muslims, including students, are championing local campaigns to reach out to fellow Americans and convey the peaceful message of Islam.

"You know, show them Muslims aren't all that bad," Bassam Tariq, an advertising and pre-public relations sophomore and outreach coordinator for the Muslim Students Association, told The Daily Texan on Monday, April 17.

The association organized on April 10-14 an Islam Awareness Week in the city of Texas, including a film festival featuring short films dealing with stereotypes and misconceptions about Muslims and their faith.

"The objective of the film festival was to empower Muslims to express themselves in the creative sector," Bassam said.

Muslim scholars and students came together on Saturday, April 15, to discuss research papers aimed at developing better understanding of Muslims in America.

Two recent polls showed that almost half of Americans have a negative perception of Islam and that one in four of those surveyed have "extreme" anti-Muslim views.

Though is no scientific count of Muslims in the US, the six to seven million is the most commonly cited figure.

Some of the featured films deals with how best to integrate into American society while adhering to Islamic teachings.

"In the end, it's all about sticking to your religion and remaining true to yourself and your ideals," said Ameera Butt, a journalism junior.

Hammad Rizvi, a film author and producer, said his feature was about reevaluating oneself and being aware of one's ideals.

He said he attempted in the movie to address the conflicts that Muslims confront in constructing collective and individual identities within American society.

Other features in the festival dealt with breaking down stereotypes with humorous parodies.

One film involved a stereotypical southerner named Cleatus who asks questions about many common anti-Islam misconceptions such as associating it with violence.

Another feature intended to make the local mosque in the area more inviting to Muslims in the city.

Some American Muslims have sought more "creative" ways to highlight the true face of Islam, reported the USA Today on Sunday, April 16.

Astonishing American attendees, a hijab-clad young Muslim woman stood at the center of a chandeliered banquet hall in the city of Detroit singing the US national anthem.

"The way things are now, I bet the average American would never think of the image of a covered girl singing our national anthem," said Denise Hazime, a 25-year-old Muslim American law student.

Mosques in the city have also embarked on public relations campaigns to offer tours for non-Muslims to its premises to help promote their role and activities.

More recently, a group of 27 eighth-grade girls and boys from a Catholic school toured the Dearborn-based Islamic Center of America, Michigan.

Imam Hassan Qazwini said his mosque, the largest in the United States, was trying to do its part to open dialogue with non-Muslims.

Muslims in San Jose, California, have also made special efforts for a similar purpose.

"Images are more powerful than any words," said Irfan Rydhan, 31, a spokesperson and organizer for the South Bay Islamic Association in San Jose.

Rydhan organized "Muslim Unity Day" last year at Paramount's Great America amusement park to provide an image of Muslims being carefree.

Many American Muslims blame the media for portraying their faith as evil.

"We say we're peaceful people, but it doesn't matter what we say," said Rydhan.

"They see these violent images on TV, and those people look like us."

A Washington Post/ABC News poll released in March showed that a majority of Americans have a negative view of Islam.

James Zogby, the president of the Arab American Institute, said part of the problem was that most Americans do not have a basic understanding of what is going on in many parts of the Muslim world.

"The problem is not the nature of the religion; it is the dislocation and disruption of normal society brought on by the trauma of war," he said.

"It's similar to what happened in our own country during the post-Civil War period where you had lynchings and the emergence of extremist currents that lasted for decades."