Engaging with others

The Mosque Open Day and City Centre Awareness Project are the two major channels through which we engage with the wider community. Their principle purpose is to facilitate, for the members of the Muslim community and the wider community, engagement into dialogue and to provide a suitable platform for building bridges of mutual understanding and human fellowship.

Every event brings its own surprises and make us feel how worthwhile is this work and our efforts. It also gives us great satisfaction when we succeed in changing people’s widely held prejudiced perceptions about Islam and the Muslims and when we find they are thankful as a result.

For example, in our February’s CCAP stall we received a commendation from a passing gentleman, who briefly stopped to tell us how much he appreciated our efforts. He told us that he did not believe in any religion but agreed with our work of building bridges of understanding and community cohesion. Such moments bring with them a feeling of deep satisfaction.

On the same stall, we were visited by two ladies, who although at first seemed reluctant to engage us in conversation, after some encouragement, told us that they have had enough of the continuous media focus on Islam and the Muslims and the resulting bad press. Commenting that it was all distortion and misleading information and that they were fed up, they continued “NO MORE. We want to know about Islam and understand Muslims by learning it all from them. We want to read their literature and develop our own understanding”.

I was gratified, and glad that is not always the case that when a lie is repeated hundreds of time it starts to be accepted as the truth. Lies, which in the first place are baseless propaganda, must never be allowed to survive.

My faith and hope continues to grow stronger. I feel that those two ladies represent the sentiments of millions of people who do not want to live in a continual state of confrontation, based as it is, on the outpourings of an ill-informed and prejudiced press. I feel that this is a new beginning, and makes all our efforts worthwhile.

During our Mosque Open Days we are host to many visitors, who often surprise us. For example, in February, we invited one person to tour the Mosque. The Lady responded to our invitation and entered the mosque. She said that it was all scary for her. She started apologising, saying that when she was at school she never studied Islam. She looked extremely confused. I took the lead in our conversation and showed her around.

According to her, Mohammad was God to Muslims and everything was scary about the Muslims.

I started explaining to her the beginning of Islam and its meanings and applications in daily life. I explained the Islamic teachings with regards to God the Almighty, The One Who is the Creator of all and the Master of the Day of Judgement. I also explained to her how Jesus and Mohammad were distant cousins; Mohammad being from the progeny of Ishmael and Jesus being from the progeny of Isaac, both sharing the common lineage from Abraham.

I explained to her the commonalities between the Abrahamic Faiths as well as from where Islam takes its distinct position.

The lady was extremely pleased at her visit, felt it had been worthwhile and said that she would be recommending it to others.

If more people would become involved in this type of activity, it would encourage others to take part in dialogue and social engagement, develop a better understanding of each other’s faiths and beliefs, and contribute to the building of a cohesive human society.