Encompassing southeastern Wisconsin and part of northeastern Illinois, the group was invited back to the Center by Daud Ahmad and other leaders from Racine’s Muslim community to discuss the role they see Islam playing in improving black residents’ lives.
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| Photo: Gregory Shaver gregory.shaver@journaltimes.com / The Journal Times |
Source/Credit: The Journal Times
By Alison Bauter | June 22, 2013
RACINE — Local Muslims shared their convictions Saturday, reaching out with the message that Islam can help solve issues plaguing Racine’s black community.
The George Bray Neighborhood Center, 924 Center St., again played host to a presentation from the Lake County, Ill.-based Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, which has previously done presentations there on Islam and on the Quran, the Muslim holy book.
Encompassing southeastern Wisconsin and part of northeastern Illinois, the group was invited back to the Center by Daud Ahmad and other leaders from Racine’s Muslim community to discuss the role they see Islam playing in improving black residents’ lives. According to Ahmad, and his fellow Ahmadiyya panelists, community issues like drugs, violence and single-parent homes are best addressed by embracing Islam.
“We have to change the mindset of the people, first and foremost,” he told the approximately 15 attendees, most of them also Muslim.
The Islamic mentality removes the fear of death and replaces it with fear of God, according to Ahmad. By being mindful of God, ordinary people can confront those who are causing problems in the community without fear, he said.
“I’m a black man in Racine, but I’m really so much more than that,” said Ahmad, saying mindfulness of God reminds each person that he or she has a higher purpose.
Additionally, Ahmad said, the tenets of Islam foster economic mindfulness and encourage what’s called “zakat,” or charitable giving. It encourages discipline through fasting and mandating prayer five times a day, he said.
For black people, drugs and alcohol “are crippling our community,” Ahmad said. Under Islam, both are forbidden.
Ahmad said he didn’t intend to force his beliefs on anyone, but hoped Saturday’s event would peak listeners’ curiosity and that they would begin independently researching Islamic practices.
Personally, he said, “As a Muslim, I know that Islam is the solution.”
-- alison.bauter@journaltimes.com
Read original post here: Islam a solution for community issues, forum speakers say
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