Thousands of Chico State students stopped between classes Monday afternoon to receive roses.

The Great Prophet Mohammed Association handed out more than 2,500 flowers between 11:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. to students to promote love, peace and joy. The student-run organization aims to introduce and educate students and the community about the different concepts of the Shiite version of Islam.

“The main goal of this activity is to show the true message of Islam and promote the right image of Muslim societies all over the world,” said Hadi Hamoud, a group member and junior computer science major.

The rose represents love and peace, and the organization felt that it was the best symbol to convey their message to students, said Reda Alrashid, treasurer and junior computer information systems major. Each rose had a tag attached to it with information about Prophet Muhammed’s message.

The tag read:

“Peace is an inevitable result of being compassionately connected to other souls on the earth and without any personal relationship except humanity.
Love is a charming mystery, yet it has never been solved. Little love from each of us, towards each of us can do wonder. When we love: we respect, devote and compromise. An atmosphere of mutual love and compassion can be brought about in the world only when we consciously rise above all insidious demarcation of caste, color, and creed.”

This is the second year the organization has hosted the event, Alrashid said. Last year the organization handed out 1,500 roses.

This year it handed out 2,500 roses throughout the campus after getting positive feedback from students, he said. The organization spent over $1,500 to create the event, but it’s worth the cost.

Many of the group members, such as Batool Al Dawood, a first-year pre-medical science major, received positive feedback from students.

“People really seem to like the event,” Al Dawood said. “People even try to hug me after I give them a rose.”

Jessica Sherman, a first-year business administration major, was excited to receive her rose Monday afternoon.

“I feel so special,” Sherman said. “This rose is definitely Instagram-worthy.”

It takes a lot to walk up to someone and give them a rose, said Tayla Copeland, a sophomore environmental science major.

“The rose just makes you smile,” Copeland said.

Men eagerly accepted their roses as well, Alrashid said.

“As we pass out the roses, many people encourage us to have it again and again, Alrashid said. “We hope that more organizations join us the next time we are doing this. We just want to continue to promote love, peace and joy among the students.”

Ariel Hernandez can be reached at [email protected] or @Aj7uriel on Twitter.