Weekend lunches and hangouts in the backyards are common for the families, but this week, the Rashid's had a particular reason for inviting the Alton's over.
Source/Credit: NewsTalk 650
By Lasia Kretzel | March 5, 2015
Meet a Muslim Family campaign aims to unite Canadian Muslims and non-Muslims
It's all smiles and laughter as Shamoon and Najia Rashid welcome their neighbours into their home.
The couple, along with their four children have lived in Saskatoon for five years; two years in their new Evergreen neighbourhood home. Both were born in Pakistan and lived in Perth, Australia before moving to Saskatoon. Shamoon has lived in Nigeria, Montreal and Mississauga.
Their neighbours, Roberta and Bruce Alton and their three daughters have lived just behind them since the Rashid's moved in and the families have grown quite close over the years.
As the adults get comfortable in the living room, the kids eagerly scamper off to the bedroom to play together.
Weekend lunches and hangouts in the backyards are common for the families, but this week, the Rashid's had a particular reason for inviting the Alton's over.
As members of Canada's Ahmadiyya Muslim community, they wanted to participate in the Meet a Muslim Family campaign.
The two-week campaign has Ahmadiyya Muslims across the country invite friends, colleague or anyone interested into their home to dispel misconceptions about Muslims and Islam. The campaign is held several times throughout the year, but events in the last year prompted community members to promote the event more heavily than usual.
It's an active approach for a community whose reputation is continually tested in the media, such as in recent stories about a Quebec judge who refused to hear a woman's case because she wore a headscarf and Canadians charged with terrorism-related offenses with alleged ties to ISIS.
“Because of what's going on in the media and especially what's happened in Ottawa with the shootings, people are not comfortable and this is the type of environment that it gives them to know more about you and who Muslims are,” Shamoon, 40, said. “A lot of times they realize, we're all the same.”
He says he hopes to foster friendships with neighbours and co-workers and thinks the one-on-one talks with someone they know makes for a safe and non-judgmental environment.
Roberta Alton says the campaign is a welcome initiative.
“It allows people to take that step; it's kind of that open door that maybe people would have questions but don't know how to broach it,” she said.
Over a lunch of Biryani, a traditional Pakistani rice dish, and chicken wings, the Rashid's help the Alton's understand some of the misconceptions. Najia, 35, jokes about the questions they often get asked.
“(They say) 'are you a terrorist?'” she said with a laugh.
Despite the joke, she says their family has still encountered prejudice. While living in Australia, she said neighbours shunned them and threw out the food the Rashid's brought them as a sign of friendship. She said the atmosphere has improved since moving to Saskatoon.
The families sat together in the living room and neither the men, or women felt the need to separate themselves. Najia and her two daughters don't always feel obligated to wear their headscarves at home. Najia said the families are comfortable enough with each other that she feels safe keeping the scarf lowered around her shoulders, however the women do put on the scarves for a photograph.
“Our teachers teach us we have to cover ourselves properly. It doesn't mean we have to hide from other people,” Najia said.
They also explain some of the different sects of Islam and how the Ahmadiyya community is persecuted and not considered true Muslims by other more mainstream sects because Ahmadis consider Mirza Ghulam Ahmad founder of Ahmadiyya as a Messiah, while other sects claim Mohammed was the last prophet.
However, Shamoon blames a lot of the infighting, extremism, and terrorism around the globe to power-hungry religious leaders and an ill-educated and often illiterate middle-eastern populace.
The knowledge is empowering to Roberta.
“When you have your questions answered, it makes you feel peaceful about any concerns you might have,” she said, adding having an open dialogue with her neighbours is also good for their children. “I want them to understand. I don't want them to have questions and get misinformation. It's better to get it from someone I trust.”
To sign up for the campaign — run through the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at Islamic organization — people fill out a request to meet-up with a local Muslim family through the Meet a Muslim Family website.
The meet-ups aren't only filled with serious conversation. The Rashid's and Alton's discussed differences between western and Pakistani weddings, their love of food and their family vacations and projects.
But both families walked away with a better understanding of each other.
“The world would be a different place within one generation,” Roberta said. “Within one generation you would see such a huge change if there was just more tolerance taught not in schools but at home, because that's where it matters.”
lkretzel@rawlco.com
Follow on Twitter @lkretzel
Read original post here: Saskatoon Muslims open homes to community
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