Understanding Islam

Times Reporter   

 

Too often we as a society base our thoughts and opinions on things shown to us without learning more about the subject firsthand. This is true of many things, including many people’s perceptions of Islamic people.  

Helping people see past fears and misconceptions are just a couple of reasons why members of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at community are coming to Strathmore. 

Umair Khan, a missionary based out of the Baitun Nur Mosque in Calgary, and his colleagues are bringing an ‘Understanding Islam’ exhibit to the Strathmore Municipal Library Feb. 6 to 8. On Feb. 8 there will be a question and answer period beginning at 3 p.m. 

“That is where we want people to come and ask us those questions they felt might be a little racist, we want people to ask that, we want people to put us on the spot and question our religion because we are very deep in our belief that we will give answers from the Holy Quran and Islam perspective that will satisfy people,” said Khan.

“I understand that if I wasn’t Muslim, if I was a non-Muslim and I was seeing what happened on the news then yes it’s easy to get a certain image, a wrong image about the community. We understand that and if anything we’re actually happy if people speak up and lets us know their concerns so that we can kind of do our part in clarifying that.” 

“One of the main reasons that we do this is that people have the wrong perception of Islam, especially because of things happening around the world. Many people say that Muslim communities aren’t doing enough to speak up, so we want people to know that our community, we are speaking up… to let people know that we aren’t all extremists we’re peaceful people.”  

If questions are asked respectfully and asked with intention of clearing up a preconceived notion, Khan said they will have no problem answering it, even if it may seem like a controversial question. 

Khan said he is hoping to also get some of the women from their Mosque to come to Strathmore to talk about why they cover up. In Islam women are encouraged to look beautiful for her husband and family members, but in public they must keep modest. In public you don’t know what the intentions are of the person looking at you, and so they cover up as a way of safeguarding a woman’s respect and she gets judged based on who she is, not her physical appearance. 

“We want people to meet them and ask them why they wear that. I personally would rather have them explain it, because that is their own struggle too in a society where it is a modern society, people want to show off their physical beauty. It is tough for a lot of these girls,” said Khan. 

There are different interpretations of the Holy Quran. Khan said his group are Muslims who believe in the Messiah. Many are waiting for the literal fulfillment of the prophecies whereas Khan and members of his community believe in the metaphorical side. 

The motto Khan and members of his Mosque and community stand by is ‘love for all, hatred for none.’ Love of homeland is also a big part of their faith. Obviously not all of them have been born in Canada, but they are big on respecting the country they choose to call home, and each year on Canada Day the Baitun Nur Mosque holds a Canada Day celebration that sees thousands of people attend. The girls and women will still wear their headscarves, and will sing the national anthem and celebrate the fact they are able to live in peace in such a beautiful country.

“Yes, we’re Canadians but that doesn’t mean we have to get rid of our religion, we like to make our religion part of our Canadian identity,” said Khan. 

The hope is to have someone on hand all three days the exhibit is at the library, though the official question and answer period will only be held on Feb. 8. This is a great opportunity to find out the answer to many of the questions you may have about the Islam culture.