A new Muslim group in Columbia hopes you'll begin to refer to Judeo-Christian values as Judeo-Christian-Islamic values.

The local chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) organized last month in the Midlands. Director Minhaj Arastu, a history teacher at Irmo High School, says among the group's goals is improving the image of Muslims. For example, Arastu says values shared with Christians and Jews should be referred to as, "Judeo-Christian-Islamic" values.

"Islam shares a Biblical heritage with Jews and Christians, and so when we talk about the value of life, or family values, we can talk about them as being Judeo-Christian-Islamic," Arastu told 89.7 WMHK.

Dr. Warren Larson, the Director of Muslim Studies at Columbia International University agrees there are some shared values, but there are stark differences, especially when it comes to marriage.

"According to the Koran, you can have up to four wives, if you can afford it," Larson said.

"I think another major difference would be in reference to how a woman is treated. In the Koran, it looks very much like you are allowed to beat your wife, and that is certainly not true of Christianity."

Arastu says one of the first priorities of the Midlands chapter of CAIR is voter registration.