Muslim students find simliarities with Mormons

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — He's been to LDS general conference and sacrament meeting, given a family home evening lesson and shared his beliefs during fast and testimony meeting.

But the one thing that still puzzles Talha Siddiqui, 19, a Muslim from Islamabad, Pakistan, is why Latter-day Saint students at Brigham Young University in Provo are so eager to get married.

"It's kind of funny how to an outsider everyone is talking about getting married," he said. "How can you all think about the same thing? That kind of felt a little weird for me. Other than that, things have been great."

Siddiqui is one of 10 Pakistani students studying at BYU, where he says he's been warmly welcomed.

"If I tell (someone) I'm not a Mormon, I'm Muslim from Pakistan, they generally have some questions to ask," he said. "Initially, they're surprised to hear that I've come totally from the other side of the world. But I don't think anyone has been mean to me."

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Last November, Ahmad won the BYU Religious Education Student Symposium with a paper he'd written during his Book of Mormon class comparing Mormonism and Islam.

"We emphasize the same teachings, the same set of beliefs, even though the way of participating (is different)," Ahmad said. "We're essentially asking for the same thing, asking God for guidance and for repentance. As long as we keep respecting those (common values) it builds mutual trust and is helpful in the long run."

Andrew Moulton, 19, Siddiqui's friend and roommate from Oregon, said this semester has been enlightening for him.

"I didn't know that our cultures were so similar," Moulton said. "As Americans we are taught to believe that Islam is a violent culture and stuff like that, but it's not. I think that was my initial surprise, (to learn) what wonderful people Muslims are."

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