Source & Credit: Observer | Canada
By Kate McLaren | QMI Agency | August 8, 2010
TIMMINS, Ont. --A backlash from the 2001 attack on the World Trade Center has seen Muslims mistakenly tarred with the same brush as violent extremists.
"Muslims are not terrorist people," Ansar Raza, a member of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, which is the leading Islamic organization to categorically reject terrorism in any form.
"In our community, we do not believe in holy war."
Members of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community visited Timmins recently to spread their message of peace and unity.
"We want to introduce our community and also dispel the myth that religion is the root of all evil, and it can be used to unify different faiths and cultures," said Raza.
As part of a Northern Ontario tour with stops in Sudbury, Sault Ste. Marie, Terrace Bay, Thunder Bay and Timmins, 12 Ahmadiyya members met with community leaders and law enforcement representatives.
Raza explained the group's secondary goal while touring the north is to educate people about the Islamic culture.
"There are so many commonalities between the faith we practise and other religions such as Judaism and Christianity."
Based in Maple, Ont., the Ahmadiyya community practises "jihad by the pen" to defend Islam, teaching moderation and restraint, not violence, in the face of opposition.
While in Timmins, the group met with Mayor Tom Laughren to discuss holding future seminars in the city.
"I give them a lot of credit for doing what they're doing," said Laughren.
"We talked a lot about multiculturalism in Timmins and I think their message is one that people would definitely be receptive of."
He added that learning about different cultures and religions is a good thing.
"We would have no problem if they wanted to come back and help to educate people about this."
Seminars are designed to dispel myths about religion, present the Islamic faith and values and prove that people of different faiths can live together in harmony.
Raza explained the group's northern tour was an important step in laying the groundwork for future visits.
"We wanted to visit, to talk to leaders, talk to the authorities and let them know why we're here and what we're doing," he said.
"People see a bunch of Muslim guys in a small town and they often wonder what they're doing here."
He said aside from the Islamic culture being linked to terrorism, the biggest misconception is its treatment of women.
"People think that our religion causes us to suppress women --and this is totally wrong. We work shoulder to shoulder with women.
"In some Third World countries, yes, women are mistreated but that's because of the culture, not the religion."
With the Ahmadiyya community expanding over the past few years, the group has not visited Northern Ontario before. Raza said fears of mixed reactions from the various towns visited went unfounded.
"We've had a great response and full co-operation from everyone. People have welcomed us with open arms," he said.
"The communities we've visited are absolutely beautiful. We've taken lots of snapshots. Now the plan is to go back down south and make a plan to come back and host some seminars."
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